Warfare in News

Posted on Thursday 21st August

Captain Bruce Bairnsfather's biographers Tonie and Valmai Holt have created an online petition as part of their campaign to gain recognition for the Bairnsfather's work and the effect of his cartoons upon morale during the First World War.

The Holts propose that a leading member of the Government should make a statement in the House that Bairnsfather's contribution should be retrospectively recognised and that that statement should be made in October 2015, shortly before the 100th Anniversary of the publication of Bairnsfather's most famous cartoon - 'The Better 'Ole'.

For more information or to sign the petition, visit iPetitions.com.

More examples of Bairnsfather's work can be seen in this article by Major and Mrs Holt, Bairnsfather, Billets and Bullets.

Further Reading

In Search Of The Better 'Ole

Only £19.95

In Search Of The Better 'Ole

(Hardback - 224 pages)
by Major and Mrs Holt

Bruce Bairnsfather created one of the best-known cartoon characters of the First World War - 'Old Bill' and he drew what many consider to be the most enduring cartoon of all time - the 'Better Ole'.

Reprinted due to popular demand this biography was the first to be published about the man and his work.

During the First World War the contribution of Bairnsfather's work to the morale… Read more...

Of further interest...

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Bairnsfather, Bullets and Billets

Fri 13th December

Battlefield guide authors Major and Mrs Holt have begun a campaign for the nation to formally honour First World War cartoonist Captain Bruce Bairnsfather. Read article...

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Bairnsfather's Christmas Truce, 1914

Mon 17th December

Extracted from In Search of the Better 'Ole by Tonie and Valmai Holt, a look at Bruce Bairnsfather's Christmas Truce, 1914 by Major and Mrs Holt. Read article...

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The Better 'Ole – 100 Years On

Tue 17th November

On the centenary anniversary of the drawing and publication of Bruce Bairnsfather's most famous cartoon, Tonie and Valmai Holt explore the history Read article...

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Operation Market Garden - 17 September 1944

Tue 17th September

An overview of Operation Market Garden by renowned battlefield guide authors Major and Mrs Holt, focusing on the first day of the operation Read article...

Dates in History

German forces cross the Somme River

24th March 1918

On March 24, 1918, German forces cross the Somme River, achieving their first goal of the major spring offensive begun three days earlier on the Western Front. Operation Michael, engineered by the German chief of the general staff, Erich von Ludendorff, aimed to decisively break through the Allied lines on the Western Front and destroy the British and French forces. The offensive began on the morning of March 21, 1918, with an aggressive bombardment. The brunt of the attack that followed was directed at the British 5th Army, commanded by General Sir Hubert Gough, stationed along the Somme River in northwestern France. This section was the most poorly defended of any spot on the British lines, due to the fact that it had been held by the French until only a few weeks before and its defensive positions were not yet fully fortified. Panic spread up and down the British lines of command, intensified by communications failures between Gough and his subordinates in the field, and German gains increased over the subsequent days of battle. On March 23, Crown Prince Rupprecht, on the German side of the line, remarked that The progress of our offensive is so quick, that one cannot follow it with a pen. The next day, German troops stormed across the Somme, having previously captured its bridges before French troops could destroy them. Despite having resolved to concentrate on weaker points of the enemy lines, Ludendorff continued to throw his armies against the crucial villages of Amiens (a railway junction) and Arras—which the British and French were instructed to hold at all costs—hoping to break through and push on towards Paris. By that time, German troops were exhausted, and transportation and supply lines had begun to break down in the cold and bad weather. Meanwhile, Allied forces had recovered from the initial disadvantage and had begun to gain the upper hand, halting the Germans at Moreuil Wood on March 30. On April 5, Ludendorff called off Operation Michael. It had yielded nearly 40 miles of territory, the greatest gains for either side on the Western Front since 1914. He would launch four more offensive pushes over the course of the spring and summer, throwing all of the German army’s resources into this last, desperate attempt to win the war. (www.history.com)

Further Reading

The Somme
(Paperback - 355 pages)
by Richard van Emden

The offensive on the Somme took place between July and November 1916 and is perhaps the most iconic battle of the Great War. It was there that Kitchener’s famous ‘Pals’ Battalions were first sent into action en masse and it was a battlefield where many of the dreams and aspirations… Read more at Pen & Sword...

Only £14.99 at Pen & Sword Books.

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