Strategy and command: the Anglo-French coalition on the Western Front,

[Robert Dunlop]

This is a fascinating (but expensive) book. Prete has done an excellent job of examining the competing British and French strategies for the early months of the war. He then analyses the relationships with British GHQ, French GQG, and the key politicians in this light. Prete has included a lot of French primary sources, including very rare information from Berthelot's diary (he was Joffre's first Chief of Staff), as well as Foch's and Poincaré's diaries (to name but a few). The book is very well written and provides a range of new insights. There are some things that Prete has relied on secondary sources for. And he hasn't fully appreciated the tactical situations that overrode some of the strategic aspirations. These are minor issues though, which do not detract from this very important contribution to understanding the early months of the war, especially from the French perspective. This is not a book for anyone who doesn't like criticism of the British High Command (or perhaps it is ). Highly recommended. I can't wait for the next two books in the proposed trilogy (covering 1915 and 1916 respectively).

Robert