The British Army and the First World War

Armies of the Great War

by Ian F.W. Beckett, Timothy Bowman, Mark Connelly

This is a major new history of the British army during the Great War written by three leading military historians. Ian Beckett, Timothy Bowman and Mark Connelly survey operations on the Western Front and throughout the rest of the world as well as the army's social history, pre-war and wartime planning and strategy, the maintenance of discipline and morale and the lasting legacy of the First World War on the army's development. They assess the strengths and weaknesses of the army between 1914 and 1918, engaging with key debates around the adequacy of British generalship and whether or not there was a significant 'learning curve' in terms of the development of operational art during the course of the war. Their findings show how, despite limitations of initiative and innovation amongst the high command, the British army did succeed in developing the effective combined arms warfare necessary for victory in 1918

Genres: World War I, Military History

482 pages, Paperback

First published June 30, 2017

About the author

Dr. Ian F.W. Beckett is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society and retired Professor of Military History at the University of Kent, Canterbury.