Table of Contents

Maps
Introduction
The"Hybrid" Officer Goes to War: British Commanders and Staff Officers in 1914
Command in Crisis: Mons, Le Cateau, and the "Great Retreat"
The Advance to the Aisne and the Advent of Trench Warfare, 6-30 September
The Costs of Confidence: Command and the Demise of II Corps, 1-30 September
Losing the Race for the Flank: The First Incarnation of IV Corps, 9-25 October
A Hazardous Experiment: Command and the Indian Corps in the First Battle of Ypres
The Victors of First Ypres: Sir Douglas Haig and I Corps, 21 October-11 November
Conclusion: Personal Leadership, "Hybrid" Officers and "Social Darwinism": The Nature of Command in 1914
Bibliography

Promotional Information

The first study of the British Expeditionary Force in 1914 to incorporate extensive archival research, this book investigates the ideas and behavior of officers at the beginning of the conflict.

About the Author

NIKOLAS GARDNER is currently lecturer in Military History at the University of Salford, UK.

Reviews

"A perceptive and thoughtful book which makes an excellent read. An important examination of the exercise of command in the BEF up to the end of first Ypres concentrating on command at Corps level and at GHQ. This important work is essential reading in understanding how the BEF operated in 1914."-Stand To! Journal of the Western Front Association

"Gardner's important book adds much to our understanding of the BEF as an army, and of operations in 1914....[a]n interesting, well-argued and original survey which is recommended to those interested in the First World War, or questions of military leadership."-War in History

?[A] fresh and original study....[p]rovides some new and thought-provoking insights into the conduct of the BEF's operations from Mons to First Ypres.?-Birmingham Univ. Centre for 1st World War Studies

?[T]his is an important contribution to the current historiography and Gardner certainly presents the case for the wider re-examination of the French and German archival records in 1914 in the light of his own work on the British Expeditionary Force.?-History: The Journal of the Historical Association

?A perceptive and thoughtful book which makes an excellent read.?-Stand To! Journal of the Western Front Association

?Gardner's important book adds much to our understanding of the BEF as an army, and of operations in 1914....[a]n interesting, well-argued and original survey which is recommended to those interested in the First World War, or questions of military leadership.?-War in History

"ÝA¨ fresh and original study....Ýp¨rovides some new and thought-provoking insights into the conduct of the BEF's operations from Mons to First Ypres."-Birmingham Univ. Centre for 1st World War Studies

"ÝT¨his is an important contribution to the current historiography and Gardner certainly presents the case for the wider re-examination of the French and German archival records in 1914 in the light of his own work on the British Expeditionary Force."-History: The Journal of the Historical Association

"[A] fresh and original study....[p]rovides some new and thought-provoking insights into the conduct of the BEF's operations from Mons to First Ypres."-Birmingham Univ. Centre for 1st World War Studies

"[T]his is an important contribution to the current historiography and Gardner certainly presents the case for the wider re-examination of the French and German archival records in 1914 in the light of his own work on the British Expeditionary Force."-History: The Journal of the Historical Association