In 1914, the British Army fielded an Expeditionary Force of seven divisions totalling 150,000 men in support of France and Belgium. From these modest beginnings over seven million men eventually volunteered or were conscripted. Nearly a million of them came from the Empire and Dominions. British Army Handbook is a highly illustrated and comprehensive guide to all aspects of the British Army in the Great War.
It covers the men who fought for Britain, from the ‘Old Contemptibles’ – the professionals who stemmed the German advance at the beginning of the War – to the Territorials, Kitchener’s ‘New Army’ volunteers and the conscripts who eventually defeated the Kaiser’s armies four years later.
Andrew Rawson examines all aspects of a soldier’s everyday life including training, trench life, life behind the lines, uniforms, and weapons. He charts the growth of the Army from a small professional body into a huge civilian Army and the steep learning curve it had to follow. Unique detailed divisional histories are also included, an invaluable tool for researchers and family historians.
Included in this new book are details on how the Army constantly strived to introduce technological, tactical and logistical improvements in the Arms and Services. Personalities – commanders and prominent veterans – are discussed as well as the legacy of remembrance, cemeteries, fiction and poetry, making this an indispensable guide to Britain’s Army of the First World War.
Andrew Rawson is a self-employed civil engineer. He has written six books for the ‘Battleground Europe’ series and three for the ‘Images of War’ series; both with Pen & Sword’s. This is his first book for Sutton. Andrew lives in Skipton, North Yorkshire.
ISBN 0 7509 3745 9 Publication Date: 1st June 2006 Hardback £25.00
To request an interview with Andrew or to order a review copy, please contact Victoria Carvey on 01453 732 423 or email [email protected]
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