Ian Beckett - Ypres: The First Battle 1914

YPRES

The First Battle, 1914

IAN F.W. BECKETT

First published 2004 by Pearson Education Limited

Published 2013 by Routledge

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ISBN-13: 978-1-4058-3620-3 (pbk)

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We were only clinging to the ground by our eyelids

Major General E.S. Bulfin, Diary, 31 October 1914

This book was researched and written while I was privileged to hold the visiting chair of Major General Matthew C. Horner Professor in Military Theory at the US Marine Corps University, Quantico, Virginia for 20022003 and 20032004. I am most grateful for the support of the then Chief Executive of the Marine Corps University Foundation, Major General Don Gardner, USMC (Retd), who has since become President of the University, and his staff, especially the Chief Operating Officer, Lieutenant Colonel John Hales, USMC (Retd), and the Director of Business Operations, Julie Sledd. I am also grateful for the support of the academic and military staff of the Universitys constituent colleges including the Command and Staff College, the War College and the School of Advanced Warfighting. Within the General Alfred M. Gray Marine Corps Research Centre, I received equal support from the Director, Dr Kurt Sanftleben, and his staff, including the Director of Research Archives, Kerry Strong, the Director of the Library, Carol Ramkey, and Catherine MacLaren of the Reference Service Centre, who was indefatigable in pursuit of inter-library loans on my behalf.

I also owe my particular thanks to Rod Suddaby and the staff of the Department of Documents at the Imperial War Museum; Dr Alastair Massie and the staff of the National Army Museum; Mitch Yockelson of the US National Archives; the staff of the Special Collections at the Brotherton Library of the University of Leeds; and Dr Jan Dewilde and his staff at the In Flanders Fields Museum, Ypres. Rob and Sue Perry were very helpful hosts at their excellent bed and breakfast establishment, Essex Villa, at Langemarck, when I was conducting my research in Ypres.

At Longman Pearson, as always, Heather McCallum has been a sympathetic and supportive commissioning editor. I am also grateful to the senior editor, Melanie Carter, for seeing the book through press and to the copy editor, Heather Ancient.

Quotations from the Royal Archives appear by gracious permission of Her Majesty the Queen. Those from Crown copyright sources in the National Archives (formerly the Public Record Office) and elsewhere appear by permission of Her Majestys Stationery Office. I am also indebted for permission to use and/or quote from archives to Earl Haig and the Trustees of the National Library of Scotland; the Trustees of the British Library Board, the Churchill Archives Centre, Churchill College, Cambridge; the Brotherton Library, University of Leeds (Liddle Collection); the Trustees of the Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives, Kings College, University of London; the US National Archives; the Service Historique de lArme de Terre, Vincennes; the Trustees of the Imperial War Museum; Katherine Dean; Lord Clinton; Comtesse de Roany; Lady Patricia Kingsbury; Henry F. Waddy; Mrs Denise Boyes; John Pym; Kate Grimond; David McLennan; Davina Loch; Captain Hugh Owen, RN; Mrs Diana Stockwood; Mrs Ann Smallman; and Colonel P.N.M. Jebb.

As always my greatest debt is to my wife, Trina, who on this occasion had to bear my attempts to complete the manuscript while we were supposedly on holiday on the otherwise enchanting island of Eleuthera in the Bahamas.

IFWB

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In some instances we have been unable to trace the owners of copyright material, and we would appreciate any information that would enable us to do so.

1 Flanders 1914

2 Advance to contact, 20 October 1914

3 Kindermord, 2224 October 1914

4 The South, 1924 October 1914

5 Army Group Fabeck and the struggle for Gheluvelt, 31 October 1914

6 Nonnebosschen, 11 November 1914

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