The first study in almost 40 years of the battle that marked the transition from war as it had been to war as it would become.

Together with the Somme (1916) and Passchendaele (1917), this battle defined World War One
Draws on wide range of British, French, Belgian and German primary sources
Many new personal accounts and sources which were simply not available to authors of the previous books on the subject
Shows the beginnings of trench warfare...and also the last gentleman's conflict.

The battle for Ypres in October and November 1914 represented the last opportunity for open, mobile warfare on the Western Front for the next four years. It marked the transition between war as it had been and war as it would become. The first battle to associate the British army with the ' immortal salient' and, indeed, regarded as the end of the ' old army', the mythologizing of the British struggle has obscured the major role of the French and Belgians in defending Flanders. But it has also been mythologised from the German perspective, the so-called kindermord (slaughter of the innocents) proving a useable myth for the Nazis through the participation of the young Adolf Hitler. In the first study of First Ypres for almost 40 years, Ian Beckett draws on a wide range of sources never previously used to reappraise the conduct of the battle, its significance and its legacy.

Professor Ian F W Beckett is an internationally known specialist on the British army and the First World War who has taught at both British and American universities. A Fellow of the Royal Historical Society, he was formerly Professor of Modern History atthe University of Luton and a Senior Lecturer in War Studies at the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst. His many publications include The Great War, 1914-1918, The First World War: (Longman), The Essential Guide to Sources in the UK National Archives (The National Archives), The Army and the Curragh Incident, 1914 (Bodley head), The Judgement of History: Lord French, Sir Horace Smith-Dorrien and 1914 (Tom Donovan Publishing).

Ypres The First Battle 1914

Ypres The First Battle 1914