Items related to The Battle of Loos
Loos is a small mining town between Lens and La Bassee in northern France. But on 25th September 1915, and for a few days after, it was the centre of one of the most intense and bloody battles of the First World War. Yet hitherto the attention it has received from historians has usually been for its mistakes rather than for its extraordinary qualities. The casualties were appalling - about 60,000, of which the majority died on the first day. The main objective - a large-scale breakthrough - was not achieved although some 8,000 yards of enemy trench were captured and in some places their defenses were penetrated up to two miles. Yet if the initial gains had been exploited the course of the war might have been different. If courage and determination could have won the day by themselves, Loos would have been a success. It is these qualities which Philip Warner's narrative reveals above all. For a large part of this story of Loos consists of survivors' own accounts and diaries of the time, including that of Sir John French. The author has traced survivors from all parts of the line, infantry, gunners and officers, and through their words has revealed one of the most horrific tales of war yet to be published as well as the determination and heroism that in the end turned the scales to victory.
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Review:
The full story of the battle of Loos, an offensive presaging those of the Somme and Passchendaele, drawn from the memories and written accounts of veterans and survivors. --Chris Buckland
About the Author:
Philip Warner (1914-2000) enlisted in the Royal Corps of Signals after graduating from St Catharine's, Cambridge in 1939. He fought in Malaya and spent 1,100 days 'as a guest of the Emperor' in Changi and on the Railway of Death, an experience he never discussed. He was a legendary figure to generations of cadets during his thirty years as a Senior Lecturer at the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst. Yet he will arguably be best remembered for his contribution of more than 2,000 obituaries of prominent army figures to The Daily Telegraph. In addition he wrote fifty-four books on all aspects of military history, ranging from castles and battlefields in Britain, to biographies of prominent military figures (such as Kitchener: The Man Behind the Legend; Field Marshall Earl Haig; Horrocks: The General who Led from the Front and Auchinleck: The Lonely Soldier) to major histories of the S.A.S., the Special Boat Services and the Royal Corps of Signals.
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- PublisherClass Warfare
- Publication date1976
- ISBN 10 1859593976
- ISBN 13 9781859593974
- BindingPaperback
- Edition number1
- Number of pages272
- Rating
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