Open Daily: 10am - 10pm | Alley door pickup 10am - 7pm 3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
612-822-4611

  • Open Daily: 10am - 10pm
    Alley-side Pickup: 10am - 7pm

    3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
    612-822-4611

Open Daily: 10am - 10pm | Alley-side Pickup: 10am - 7pm
3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
612-822-4611
Guns at Le Cateau: Two Accounts of the B. E. F. in the First World War-The Royal Regiment of Artillery at Le Cateau, 26 August, 1914 by a

Guns at Le Cateau: Two Accounts of the B. E. F. in the First World War-The Royal Regiment of Artillery at Le Cateau, 26 August, 1914 by a

Becke, A. F.
De Sausmarez, C.

Paperback

Military BiographiesWorld War I

ISBN10: 1782821856
ISBN13: 9781782821854
Publisher: Leonaur Ltd
Published: Dec 11 2013
Pages: 164
Weight: 0.47
Height: 0.38 Width: 5.50 Depth: 8.50
Language: English
The stand of the Field Artillery, 1914

Although Europe was at peace for the first half of 1914, plans for the invasion of France by tens of thousands of German soldiers, supported by a huge resource of material and artillery, were well in place. By contrast the small standing army of Great Britain languished in its garrisons. When war broke out the B. E. F was hastened to the continent in little more than a week. That the British were not annihilated in the first days of conflict demonstrates the quality of every aspect of the British Army, which many at that time believed to be the best army-man for man-in the world. However, no force of its size could stop the inexorable advance of the enemy, German superiority in numbers began to tell and the retreat from Mons was ordered. By the 25th of August the First German Army was so hard on the heels of the British II Corps that, despite orders to the contrary, Smith-Dorrien, the corps commander, realising that he could not rely on support while his corps retreated, defied Sir John French and ordered his men to stand and fight at Le Cateau, east of Cambrai. There the British fired shrapnel shells into the advancing Germans, inflicting and sustaining terrible casualties, but ensuring that the B. E. F would exist to fight another day. Angry at the time, Sir John French later freely acknowledged that Smith-Dorrien's action had saved the army from destruction. Published to coincide with the centenary of the outbreak of the First World War, this unique Leonaur book contains two accounts of the fighting at Le Cateau, an iconic example of the British Army performing at its very best.

1 different editions

Also available

Also in

World War I

View All