Battle of Loos

[Johno7439]

Any recommendations on books about the Battle of Loos? I have been asked to give a short talk and have nothing in my collection on the battle. Any and all pointers welcome.

Yours Aye

Ewan

[David Ridgus]

Ewan

In my view, for a general history, the best two are the most recent two:

The Battle of Loos by Philip Warner (2009)

Loos 1915 by Nick Lloyd (2013)

David

Edit: I was forgetting Niall Cherry's 'Most Unfavourable Ground' (2012) Well reviewed although I have not read it so can't really comment

[WilliamRev]

The Battle of Loos is hard work isn't it? I had to worry away at it before I started to understand what happened, and even then it seems to be six (or more?) different battles all happening simultaneously.

Perhaps the best book is Nick Lloyd's "Loos 1915": it is quite dense and a hard read, but contains all the facts; Niall Cherry's "Most Unfavourable Ground - the Battle of Loos 1915" is rather chatty in style and more accessible: he is very good at casualty figures and RAMC stuff, that being his main interest. A good starting point is perhaps the two volumes by Andrew Rawson in the Battlefield Europe Guide, which have plenty of photos, and go through the battle in each area stage by stage.

There is a book "Battle Story: Loos 1915" on the battle by Peter Doyle which I haven't read - I understand that it is aimed at schools or people with very little prior knowledge of WW1, but you might want to investigate it further.

William

Edit: I must disagree with David above: Just my own view of course, but I found Phillip Warner's book (first published in 1976, but re-printed in 2009) to be a complete disaster of a book: it reads as though he ran out of time, and so leaves huge chunks of the battle out; his choices of contemporary accounts look hurried and odd.

[Latze]

I think one should be aware that the book by Lloyd as well as the one by Cherry suffer from being written solely from British sources. Both do nowhere check what their sources tell them against German accounts. In Stand To #96 and #97 there was a very nice history of Saxon 123. Infantry Division (which fought at Loos without being in the centre of events) that shows what would be possible if someone would take the time to trawl through all the German material...

[Michelle Young]

Agree Warners book is a car crash, it could have been so good. Don't forget the Official Histories. I found Nick Lloyds very good.

Michelle

[Jack Sheldon]

At the risk of appearing immodest, take a look at the relevant chapter of my German Army on the Western Front 1915. That provides an overview on Loos from the German perspective.

Jack

[David Ridgus]

Edit: I must disagree with David above: Just my own view of course, but I found Phillip Warner's book (first published in 1976, but re-printed in 2009) to be a complete disaster of a book: it reads as though he ran out of time, and so leaves huge chunks of the battle out; his choices of contemporary accounts look hurried and odd.

Ewan

I bow to William's greater knowledge. Because it is not my prime area of interest I probably read it with a more innocent eye than I would have applied elsewhere. It seemed a decent canter round the course to me but I am more than happy to be corrected.

David

[mmckay395]

If you want to know about the Battle of Loos, then read these:

Nick Lloyd's Loos 1915
Jack Sheldon's chapter on the battle in his book on the German Army in 1915 (After that you might as well read the rest of the book too)
The two Battleground Europe books are also good.

I've heard good things about Niall Cherry's book but haven't read it yet,

If you fancy some lighter reading I wrote an article on the 1/6 North Staffords attack at Hohenzollern. #shamelessselfpromotion

http://www.burtonmail.co.uk/News/The-most-awful-sight-The-Sixth-North-Staffords-attack-on-the-Hohenzollern-Redoubt-20130917105053.htm

[Ron da Valli]

Some interesting recommendations there. My great grandfather was killed in action on 25/9/1915 at Loos, and so any information would be of great interest.

Pte 6765 Peter Ward, 2nd Scots Rifles ( Cameronians).

[Jim Hastings]

Evening All,

I really enjoyed Niall Cherry's 'Most Unfavourable Ground' and Andrew Rawson's Battleground Europe 'Loos - Hill 70' (I concentrate on the 1st Division actions in my reading, but I'm sure the sister title on Hohenzollern will be as equally as good) and would highly recommend both

I have not read Nick Lloyd's book (but may well do spurred on by the comments above), maybe because I heard it was set at a higher command level (is that so?) and I like getting down to Brigade, Battalion, or ideally Platoon level if I can.

I have been tempted by Warner's many times, but the reviews posted on the GWF I have always found usefully honest and to be heeded, so I have resisted buying it. I have heard (I believe Chris Baker may have reviewed it as such) that it was useful for the veterans accounts if nothing else.

Hope your talk goes well Ewan

Best wishes

Jim

[geraint]

Don't forget Lyn Macdonald's 1915 Death of Innocence - has a synopsis on Loos based on participants' experiences. getting on a bit by now - but an useful little primer.

[4thGordons]

I enjoyed Niall Cherry's book ("Most Unfavourable Ground") and thought it was well done. I have Jack Sheldon's in my pile. Skimmed bits and it looks excellent -- just need to get through some "required reading" before I get to it.

Chris

[Black Maria]

Battle histories are not my thing but i enjoyed reading Warner' s book because ( as Jim has mentioned) of all the first hand accounts from veterans who were still alive when it was published back in the seventies.

[Dust Jacket Collector]

If you want to know what it was like to actually fight in the battle then For me the outstanding account is Patrick Macgill's 'The Great Push' . He later claimed that he couldn't tell the whole truth at the time but it seems real enough to me. The original is quite scarce but there are paperback copies easily available.

[EastSurrey]

When I was writing in 2011 about 24th Division at Loos, I found Lloyd's book very good. I also found Gordon Corrigan's 'Loos-the unwanted battle' very useful, alongside the Official History and Rawson. I thought Warner's book confused and disappointing. The point about German sources is an important one. Jack Sheldon's books are always excellent and it's nice to see recognition for Andrew Lucas's articles on the Saxons in 'Stand To!'

Michael

[Jim Hastings]

Good evening Michael, hope you are well?

Looks like Lloyd's book will be whittling its way to me shortly then, judging by the posts above. Interesting point about Corrigan's, another one I was tempted by but resisted because a review said it was about the background leading up to the battle rather than about the battle itself - I hasten to add this was not a GWF members review - so is there actually much on the battle itself within? If so, another buy, as I like Corrigan's writing and I'm always on the look-out for 1915 based books

Many thanks, and sorry for jumping on the post a bit Ewan, Jim

[Martin Bennitt]

For a description from one who was there, don't forget the closing pages of Ian Hay's contemporary novel 'The First Hundred Thousand', which ends with the Battle of Loos. You might read en extract in your talk. Niall Cherry's book I enjoyed, as well as Andrew Rawson's 'The Hohenzollern Redoubt' (one of my family was fatally wounded there) in the Battleground Europe series. I haven't read Lloyd or Cherry. Oh, and if you have the time and opportunity before your talk, visit the site and the Loos Museum (Gilles Payen, one of the curators, is a Forum member).

Hope it goes well.

Cheers Martin B

[Latze]

At the risk of appearing immodest, take a look at the relevant chapter of my German Army on the Western Front 1915. That provides an overview on Loos from the German perspective.

Jack

I don't think that Jack could appear immodest by recommending a very good book! I should have mentioned it also in my rant.

[EastSurrey]

Jim,thankyou,I'm fine.I trust you are well,too.I borrowed Lloyd and Corrigan through Kent Libraries at the time. As I recall, Lloyd was very good on the strategy, whilst I seem to recall Corrigan was useful as more of a tactical study by an experienced infantry officer.

Michael

[Roxy]

Ewan,

I'd recommend fellow Pal Niall Cherry's ' Most Unfavourable Ground'. However, there are a few others worth a read:

Major and Mrs Holt's Battlefield Guide - The Western Front - North and Battlefields of the First World War.

Richard Holmes The Western Front

John Keegan The First World War

Lyn Macdonald 1915 The Age of Innocence

Malcolm Brown The IWM Book of The Western Front

Trevor Royle The Flowers of the Forest - for a Scottish perspective

Andrew Rawson Battleground Europe Loos - Hill 70 (there is another on Hohenzollen)

Alan Clark The Donkeys - mostly discredited nowadays

Philip Warner The Battle of Loos - for the words of those there

Nick Lloyd Loos 1915

Gordon Corrigan Loos 1915 - The Unwanted Battle

And I am sure that there are a few more.

Good luck!

Roxy

[Michelle Young]

A Fox Under My Cloak by Henry Williamson is worth looking out too

[Johno7439]

Thank you for all the pointers. I plumped for Nick Lloyd's book and Jack Sheldon's German Army on the Western Front 1915. Both should be in my grubby paws shortly.