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In the early hours of Tuesday morning the 5th August, 1914, the British Foreign Office issued this statement: “Owing to the summary rejection by the German Government of the request made by His Majesty’s Government for assurances that the neutrality of Belgium will be respected, His Majesty’s Ambassador at Berlin has received his passports and His Majesty’s Government have declared to the German Government that a state of war exists between Great Britain and Germany as from 11 p.m. on the 4th August.” Thus was the British Empire officially informed that the Great War had, at last, come upon Europe. Actually the Government had given orders for the mobilization of the Army some eight hours earlier, at 4 p.m. on the 4th; so that at that hour on that day this history properly begins. The war took Great Britain by surprise. This does not mean that England was totally unprepared for such an eventuality; though comparatively small our land forces were in a condition of readiness and efficiency never before equalled. Nor does it mean that the idea of a war with Germany was new; through many years its likelihood had been canvassed and openly speculated upon both by soldiers, headed by the veteran Earl Roberts, and politicians. But it does mean that the man in the street did not think it would come in our time, and certainly no one could see any possible connection between the assassination of the Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his Consort at Serajevo on 28th June and an international war on a vast scale. The British temperament is not in its nature warlike; Englishmen do not soldier, like some, from a sheer love of soldiering. That is why the mass of the nation has always been steadily averse to conscription. In spite of warnings it was willing to take the risk, preferring quality to quantity where its army was concerned. It is perhaps well to give here, in this introductory, in order to link up the story that is to follow with the past history of the regiment, a brief outline of the changes which went to the making of the British Army as it was at the beginning of hostilities, and the situation which led to the war. The South African War had brought it home to the Government that the system initiated in 1871 failed to meet modern needs in certain fundamental respects. It was realized that drastic reforms were overdue; that new methods were essential. The work of reorganization was undertaken by Mr. (now Lord) Haldane, then Secretary of State for War; it was made all the more imperative by the aggressive and openly ambitious imperialism of Germany. Whilst still relying in the first instance on her naval supremacy, England could no longer think in terms of small forces fighting in far-flung corners of her mighty Empire. The danger loomed nearer home, and the possibility of a British force at grips with a foe across the narrow seas had to be faced; nay more, it had to be provided for and planned against. An agreement was made with France, our ancient enemy on many a bloody field, and the General Staffs of the two countries explored the measures necessary for the defence of the frontiers from the sea to the Vosges.
During the Great War eight battalions of the regiment went on active service and another seven (including 1st Garrison Battalion) served at home. No less than 32,000 men passed through the ranks of the regiment of whom some 6,000 died; forty-eight battle honours were awarded and one VC. Appendices contain separate rolls of honour of officers and other ranks with names grouped alphabetically by ranks; all ranks list of honours and awards and foreign awards, and separate lists of Mention in Despatches. The 1st, 6th, 7th and 8th Battalions served on the Western Front, the 2nd Battalion in Macedonia with 28th Division following ten months in France and Belgium, the 1/4th in India and Aden, 1/5th in India and Mesopotamia and finally the 10th Battalion (formed in Egypt in Feb 1917 from two converted Kent yeomanry regiments) fought in Palestine and on the Western Front with 74th (Yeomanry) Division. Apart from one chapter describing the raising of wartime battalions and the initial disposition of the two TF battalions, and one on their affiliated regiment, the Queen s Own Rifles of Canada, the chapters of this history each cover well-defined periods of the war in the various theatres in which the parts played by all battalions involved are recorded. The groundwork or skeleton is based on battalion, brigade or divisional war diaries, fleshed out by personal narratives and diaries provided by men who had fought and survived. Where possible, the names of the officers who became casualties in any action are given in the text after the record of the battle, but only the number in the case of other ranks. Again, wherever possible the recipients of honours (all ranks) have been named in the account as news of their decorations reached their battalion. A good history.
In this valuable resource, over 1,000 annotated sources from Great Britain, France, and Germany offer a historiographical reference for study of the British army at the beginning and in the first battles of World War I. Unique to this bibliography is the comprehensive coverage of sources, resulting in a more complete picture of the circumstances of activities of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF). Sources include coverage of the BEF's military role, as well as background information about domestic military considerations and Allied and enemy efforts. This volume will support researchers and students in their efforts to find out what the Expeditionary Force's contributions were in World War I, and for expanding their knowledge of the Great War and British military history. In this valuable resource, over 1,000 annotated sources from Great Britain, France, and Germany offer a historiographical reference for study of the British army at the beginning and in the first battles of World War I. Unique to this bibliography is the comprehensive coverage of sources, and it results in a more complete picture of the circumstances of activities of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF). Sources include coverage of the BEF's military role, as well as background information about domestic military considerations and Allied and enemy efforts. This volume will support researchers and students in their efforts to find out what the Expeditionary Force's contributions were in World War I, and for expanding their knowledge of the Great War and British military history. The volume includes four chapters of historiographical essays discussings the interpretations and controversies that surround the performance and leadership of the BEF in 1914-1915. The essays direct readers to the major sources that support various ideas and indicate gaps in the historiography of the subject. Following the historiographical essays is an annotated bibliography of more than 1,000 sources that are relevant to the study of the BEF.
Containing over 25,000 entries, this unique volume will be absolutely indispensable for all those with an interest in Britain in the twentieth century. Accessibly arranged by theme, with helpful introductions to each chapter, a huge range of topics is covered. There is a comprehensiveindex.
Recent studies of the British Army during the First World War have fundamentally overturned historical understandings of its strategy and tactics, yet the chain of command that linked the upper echelons of GHQ to the soldiers in the trenches remains poorly understood. In order to reconnect the lines of communication between the General Staff and the front line, this book examines the British army’s commanders at battalion level, via four key questions: (i) How and where resources were found from the small officer corps of 1914 to cope with the requirement for commanding officers (COs) in the expanding army; (ii) What was the quality of the men who rose to command; (iii) Beyond simple overall quality, exactly what qualities were perceived as making an effective CO; and (iv) To what extent a meritocracy developed in the British army by the Armistice. Based upon a prosopographical analysis of a database over 4,000 officers who commanded infantry battalions during the war, the book tackles one of the central historiographical issues pertaining to the war: the qualities of the senior British officer. In so doing it challenges lingering popular conceptions of callous incompetence, as well more scholarly criticism that has derided the senior British officer, but has done so without a data-driven perspective. Through his thorough statistical analysis Dr Peter Hodgkinson adds a valuable new perspective to the historical debate underway regarding the nature of British officers during the extraordinary expansion of the Army between 1914 and 1918, and the remarkable, yet often forgotten, British victories of The Hundred Days.
This is one of the most valuable books in the armoury of the serious student of British Military history. It is a new and revised edition of Arthur White's much sought-after bibliography of regimental, battalion and other histories of all regiments and Corps that have ever existed in the British Army. This new edition includes an enlarged addendum to that given in the 1988 reprint. It is, quite simply, indispensible.
The battle of Loos was one of the most hard-fought battles that the British Expeditionary Force waged during the First World War. This work presents an interpretation of Loos, placing it not only within its political and strategic context, but also discussing command and control and the tactical realities of war on the Western Front during 1915.