Trial by fire : command and the British Expeditionary Force in 1914 / Nikolas Gardner

Near fine copy in the original gilt-blocked cloth. Slightest suggestion only of dust-dulling to the spine bands and panel edges. Remains particularly well-preserved overall; tight, bright, clean and strong. Physical description: xvii, 259 p. Series: Contributions in military studies ; no. 227. Contents: Cover -- Trial by Fire -- Copyright Acknowledgments -- Contents -- Maps -- Acknowledgments -- Introduction -- NOTES -- 1 The "Hybrid" Officer Goes to War: British Commanders and Staff Officers in 1914 -- AT GHQ-SIR JOHN FRENCH AND HIS STAFF -- Sir John French -- Sir Archibald Murray -- Henry Wilson -- George "Uncle" Harper -- George Macdonogh -- FIELD COMMANDERS-HAIG, SMITH-DORRIEN, RAWLINSON, CAPPER, HUNTER-WESTON, AND HUBERT GOUGH -- Sir Douglas Haig -- Sir Horace Smith-Dorrien -- Henry Rawlinson -- Thompson "Tommy" Capper -- Aylmer Hunter-Weston -- Hubert Gough -- TENDENCIES AND TRAITS OF BRITISH OFFICERS IN 1914 -- CONCLUSION -- NOTES -- 2 Command in Crisis: Mons, Le Cateau, and the "Great Retreat" -- THE ASSEMBLY OF THE BEF -- Staff Work -- Communications -- Exercise of Command -- THE ADVANCE INTO BELGIUM AND THE BATTLE OF MONS, 21-23 AUGUST -- THE FOREST OF MORMAL, LANDRECIES, AND LE CATEAU, 24-26 AUGUST -- THE "GREAT RETREAT": 27 AUGUST-5 SEPTEMBER -- CONCLUSION -- NOTES -- 3 The Advance to the Aisne and the Advent of Trench Warfare, 6-30 September -- THE ADVANCE TO THE AISNE, 6-12 SEPTEMBER -- The Initial Stages, 6-7 September -- The Pursuit, 8-12 September -- THE BATTLE OF THE AISNE: 13-30 SEPTEMBER -- The End of the Advance, 13-15 September -- The Mounting Costs of the Campaign -- CONFRONTING TRENCH WARFARE: OFFICERS' RESPONSE TO STALEMATE ON THE AISNE -- Tactical Solutions and Stopgaps -- Promotions and Removals -- Tensions and Rivalries in the Upper Ranks of the Army -- CONCLUSION -- NOTES -- 4 The Costs of Confidence: Command and the Demise of II Corps, 1-30 October -- THE TRANSFER OF THE BEF AND THE DYNAMICS OF GHQ, OCTOBER 1914 -- THE TRANSFER TO FLANDERS AND THE ADVANCE OF II CORPS -- THE GERMAN COUNTEROFFENSIVE AND THE DEMISE OF II CORPS -- CONCLUSION -- NOTES.5 Losing the Race for the Flank: The First Incarnation of IV Corps, 9-25 October -- GHQ AND IV CORPS AT THE OUTSET OF THE ADVANCE -- THE ADVANCE OF IV CORPS, 14-19 OCTOBER -- THE DEPLETION OF 7 DIVISION AND THE DISPERSAL OF IV CORPS, 20-27 OCTOBER -- CONCLUSION -- NOTES -- 6 A Hazardous Experiment: Command and the Indian Corps in the First Battle of Ypres -- SEPOY-OFFICER RELATIONS IN 1914 -- THE COMMANDERS OF THE INDIAN CORPS -- MANPOWER AND FIREPOWER IN THE INDIAN CORPS IN 1914 -- THE ARRIVAL OF THE INDIAN CORPS ON THE WESTERN FRONT, OCTOBER-NOVEMBER 1914 -- CASUALTIES IN THE INDIAN CORPS AND THE RESPONSE OF INDIAN SOLDIERS TO THE 1914 CAMPAIGN -- CONCLUSION -- NOTES -- 7 The Victors of First Ypres: Sir Douglas Haig and I Corps, 21 October-11 November -- THE PARALYSIS OF THE HIGH COMMAND: RELATIONS BETWEEN GHQ AND I CORPS, OCTOBER-NOVEMBER 1914 -- THE STRENGTH OF I CORPS -- THE STAND OF I CORPS, 29-31 OCTOBER -- THE ANTICLIMAX: 1-11 NOVEMBER 1914 -- THE MAKING OF A HERO: THE HAIG DIARIES, FIRST YPRES AND THE REPUTATION OF SIR DOUGLAS HAIG -- CONCLUSION -- NOTES -- Conclusion: The Nature of Command in 1914 -- THE LESSONS OF 1914 -- NOTES -- Bibliography -- PRIMARY SOURCES -- Public Record Office, Kew -- Imperial War Museum, London -- Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives, King's College, London -- Liddle Collection, Brotherton Library, University of Leeds, Leeds -- Churchill College, Cambridge -- British Library, London -- Intelligence Corps Museum, Chicksands, Bedfordshire -- National Army Museum, London -- National Library of Scotland, Edinburgh -- Contemporary Accounts and Memoirs -- SECONDARY SOURCES -- Articles -- Books -- Index -- About the Author. Subjects: Great Britain. Army History World War, 1914-1918. Great Britain. Army. British Expeditionary Force. World War, 1914-1918 Campaigns Western Front. 1 Kg.…