Warfare in News

Posted on Monday 12th January

Duncan Marlor's brilliant analysis of Britain's decision to go to war in 1914, Fatal Fortnight (published by Frontline Books, 2014), has been shortlisted for the 2015 Paddy Power Political Book Awards in the World War One Book of the Year category.

During the last two weeks of July 1914, that fatal fortnight, the British Cabinet, which had been firmly opposed to becoming involved in the developing conflict in Europe, changed direction completely and declared war on Germany.
Duncan Marlor's absorbing new book investigates Britain's decision to involve itself in such a cataclysmic and, ultimately, catastrophic war, tracking the efforts of Arthur Ponsonby, the Chairman of the Liberal Foreign Affairs Committee, who led the backbench battle to try and keep Britain out of the conflict.

Fatal Fortnight provides us with a unique ‘behind the scenes’ insight into the intrigues and machinations in Westminster and how the politicians were persuaded that war was in Britain’s best interests.

This brilliantly analytical book, derived from original prime sources, has been nominated for the 2015 Paddy Power Political Book of the Year award being held in London on Wednesday, 28 January. Available here with £5 off the RRP for a limited time.

Further Reading

Fatal Fortnight

Only £25.00

Fatal Fortnight

(Hardback - 240 pages)

Much has been published about how Britain's ruling circle came to its decision for war in 1914 but little about what rank and file Members of Parliament thought and did as the continental 'Armageddon' drew closer. Fatal Fortnight tells the story of Arthur Ponsonby, and his backbench Liberal Foreign Affairs Committee. The book describes the suspense around Parliament as the skies darkened. It tells how, after the Foreign Secretary made his proposal that Britain should… Read more...

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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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