Two views of the Great Retreat
Imperial Germany had long planned the conflict that was to become the First World War, but when the onslaught came there was little sign that the nations which would be embroiled were prepared for the storm. Germany advanced in the east and west where French and Belgian armies were forced to retire by overwhelming odds. The small British Army, the 'B. E. F', was rushed to the continent with most of its troops having less than a week between garrison life and the firing line. Under Sir John French, it was allocated the western end of the line, and at Mons it inflicted far more causalities on the enemy than its numbers would suggest. No army of its size, however, could stand against the German superiority in men (at least five to one) or artillery and machine guns. An envelopment was inevitable and so a stubbornly fought retreat was ordered. Near Le Cateau, the British turned at bay and Smith-Dorrien's determination to stand and fight undoubtedly saved the British Army from annihilation. Many people imagine the First World War as a stalemate of mud, wire and trenches, but in the first six months it was a great European war fought in much the same way that Napoleon, Wellington and Blucher had fought a century before. This Leonaur Original edition contains two concise accounts of the early campaign of the great conflict where the 'Contemptible Little Army' of the B. E. F earned undying fame in the history of military conflict.
Leonaur editions are newly typeset and are not facsimiles; each title is available in softcover and hardback with dustjacket; our hardbacks are cloth bound and feature gold foil lettering on their spines and fabric head and tail bands.

Two views of the Great Retreat
Imperial Germany had long planned the conflict that was to become the First World War, but when the onslaught came there was little sign that the nations which would be embroiled were prepared for the storm. Germany advanced in the east and west where French and Belgian armies were forced to retire by overwhelming odds. The small British Army, the 'B. E. F', was rushed to the continent with most of its troops having less than a week between garrison life and the firing line. Under Sir John French, it was allocated the western end of the line, and at Mons it inflicted far more causalities on the enemy than its numbers would suggest. No army of its size, however, could stand against the German superiority in men (at least five to one) or artillery and machine guns. An envelopment was inevitable and so a stubbornly fought retreat was ordered. Near Le Cateau, the British turned at bay and Smith-Dorrien's determination to stand and fight undoubtedly saved the British Army from annihilation. Many people imagine the First World War as a stalemate of mud, wire and trenches, but in the first six months it was a great European war fought in much the same way that Napoleon, Wellington and Blucher had fought a century before. This Leonaur Original edition contains two concise accounts of the early campaign of the great conflict where the 'Contemptible Little Army' of the B. E. F earned undying fame in the history of military conflict.
Leonaur editions are newly typeset and are not facsimiles; each title is available in softcover and hardback with dustjacket; our hardbacks are cloth bound and feature gold foil lettering on their spines and fabric head and tail bands.

This Is A New Release Of The Original 1917 Edition.

This is a reproduction of a book published before 1923. This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book.

This is a reproduction of a book published before 1923. This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book.

This scarce antiquarian book is a selection from Kessinger Publishing's Legacy Reprint Series. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment to protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature. Kessinger Publishing is the place to find hundreds of thousands of rare and hard-to-find books with something of interest for everyone!

This book is a facsimile reprint and may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages.

This scarce antiquarian book is a selection from Kessinger Publishing's Legacy Reprint Series. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment to protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature. Kessinger Publishing is the place to find hundreds of thousands of rare and hard-to-find books with something of interest for everyone!