New Book Retreat and rearguard 1918

[andrew pugh]

Good Afternoon All.

Just ordered a book called Retreat and Rearguard 1918 by Jerry Murland, has anybody read it?

[1st east yorks]

Yes, i enjoyed it. It covers the two weeks from Mons upto the Marne. Another good book on the same subject is John Terraines Mons and the retreat to victory.

Anthony

[paulgranger]

Er..he's written 2 Retreat and Rearguard books, and this is his latest covering the withdrawal of 5th Army after 21 March 1918. If it's as good as the 1914 book, it will be well worth a read. It's on my watch list.

[squirrel]

Just waiting for it it to be delivered.

[Jerrymurland]

Thought I would put Chris Baker's review of the new book on here:

Retreat and rearguard Somme 1918

The Fifth Army retreat

by Jerry Murland

published by Pen & Sword Military, July 2014

ISBN 978 1 78159 267 0

cover price – £25.00

Hardback, 217pp plus notes, infantry order of battle, bibliography, index. Illustrated.

reviewed by Chris Baker

A new work from the prolific pen of Jerry Murland, who many readers will know from his previous excellent work on the British Army in the retreat from Mons and in the battle of the Aisne, both in 1914. In “Retreat and Rearguard Somme 1918″ Jerry is dealing with an altogether different kind of war as experienced by the British Army. Gone are the days of cavalry charges and extreme shortage of guns and ammunition, for this work covers a period when the British and Commonwealth forces were increasingly able to exploit the fruits of material advantage and mechanised warfare. The book concentrates on a number of incidents during the defensive fight carried out by Hubert Gough’s Fifth Army against the immense German Operation “Michael” offensive which began on 21 March 1918. For Gough’s men, it was a “perfect storm”. They had recently taken over a long stretch of front line from the French, thanks to a political decision that flew in the face of military advice, and found it almost without defences. They had also been forced to reorganise the infantry brigades from four battalions to three, due to a critical shortage of manpower. The Machine Gun Corps companies had also only just reorganised. And to cap it all the British had recently begun to adopt a “defence in depth” tactical approach which placed the infantry in isolated posts, with the theory that their guns would halt any enemy incursion in the gaps between them and safe in the knowledge that the British artillery was present in mass and well on top of its game. Sadly for the Fifth Army, the Germans had developed tactics that were tailor-made for defeating this approach: a pulverising artillery bombardment that would cut off and neutralise the British artillery, and rapid “storm trooper” units that would penetrate into gaps in the British defence and fan out behind the posts. They also had, for a while, an overwhelming advantage in terms of sheer numbers of men, for they had been recently able to transfer many divisions from the now-silent Eastern Front. For many British infantrymen in the thick fog of 21 March 1918, the first they knew that enemy infantry had attacked was when they were behind them. Units in the forward posts were surrounded: they faced the appalling choice of surrender or to fight to the last. The German attack advanced rapidly through the gaps, forcing Fifth Army into a general retreat. As this took place, units were ordered forward to hold a position as long as possible – and they too often found themselves cut off and surrounded. Gough, in many quarters an unpopular General who might well have faced the sack for earlier battles, was removed as a scapegoat – for a battle in which his army had little chance of success.

It is understandable but a pity that the scope of the book has been limited to the British Fifth Army front, for the German attack did not succeed anywhere near as well against the better-prepared Third Army. The second phase, Operation “Mars” on 28 March 1918 in the Third Army area, proved to be a sound defeat for German arms.

In the mass and pace of the German advance against Fifth Army, many units and posts were simply annihilated. It is unsurprising that there are few documentary or even verbal accounts of what took place. Jerry Murland had wisely decided to focus on those where there is a body of evidence. The stories make for grim reading, yet are also uplifting for the men’s courage and stoicism in the face of extreme danger and tension. He covers, amongst others, the fights for the posts, keeps and redoubts from Le Fere up as far as Ronssoy and Epehy; the retreat to the Crozat Canal and the defence of the Somme crossings; battles for Rosieres and Moreuil. In comparison with the well-trodden paths of the Somme and Ypres, these places are little heard-of today but they deserve attention and respect. “Retreat and rearguard Somme 1918″ does a good job in bringing them alive again. To some extent the story is already covered by the British Official History and by Martin Middlebrook’s “The Kaiser’s Battle” but the author has plumbed the depths of official and personal accounts from both sides to create a pacy, well written and well-illustrated work.

Well worth reading.

[trenchtrotter]

Nearly finished my copy and I can thoroughly recommend it. I can only echo Chris's comments above. The style is good and the narrative flows in an easy and logical way depicting the often confusing events on the ground in that chaotic week. Some of the actions covered are truely awe inspiring and yet the men involved were never accorded merited decorations.

Again as Chris States the areas covered are not so well visited and the men not so well remembered. After all what percentage of Somme visitors ponder the long lists of names at Pozieres Cemetery compared to Thiepval.

Well done Jerry for an excellent book.

TT

[andrew pugh]

Good evening All.

Just finished the book, an excellent read,This is a period of the war that is much forgotten about but was equally as important as the Somme battles,Spot on Jerry, when will you be writing one about the 1st Battle of Bapaume March 1918, and the demise of the 2nd Division and 5th Army?

Keep them coming Jerry

Regards Andy

[Jerrymurland]

Thanks Andy, your comments are much appreciated. I am currently working on Retreat and Rearguard 1940 so much of my time is being taken up with that at the moment. In addition the Battle Lines Guidebooks are continuing and Jon Cooksey and I are working on the Somme volume at the mo - Flanders in the process of being published. So the 3rd Army in March will unfortunately have to wait a bit - but its not forgotten! I had originally intended to include it in the Fifth Army account but space was at a premium.

[andrew pugh]

Hi Jerry.

If you do write a book at some point in the future on the 2nd Division during the German Spring Offensive 21st/26th March 1918 there is a brilliant hand written account in the I.W.M by a chap called Hoyle he was in the 24th Battalion Royal Fusiliers he wrote it while in hospital in England and gave it to a nurse at some point, end she gave it to the museum.I personally found it interesting because what he wrote gave me a deep understanding of what my Great Uncle went through, because he could have known him, at that time because there were only 80 of them left when he wrote what he saw and experienced.If you want a copy let me know.The only thing missing is the sound and smell in his account.Good luck with the book writing.

Kind regards Andy

[Jerrymurland]

New review by Paul Reed:

Retreat And Rearguard Somme 1918 by Jerry Murland (Pen & Sword 2014, ISBN 978 1 78159 267 0, 238pp, illustrated, £25.00)

Jerry Murland has made a name for himself with a series of ‘Retreat And Rearguard’ books and those looking at lesser known battlefields of the Great War. His work is always well researched and written. This is no exception and looks at the fighting on the Somme front in March 1918 in Gough’s Fifth Army sector from St Quentin back to the Crozat and Somme canals, and indeed beyond. This is a well constructed account, one of the best I have read on March 1918 since Middlebrook’s classic account, and it is well supported with material from a number of sources, including the National Archives. In this year of Great War books appearing almost every second I fear superb titles like this will get easily missed but I hope not as it deserves a wide audience.

The book is available from the Pen & Sword website, from amazon and other good websites

[MBrockway]

Anyone care to comment on the depth of his coverage of 14th (Light) and 20th (Light) Divisions? A particular area of interest for Andy and me.

Mark

[Jerrymurland]

Plenty on both divisions Mark and possibly some new evidence that goes some way to exonerating their record on 21 March.

[MBrockway]

Plenty on both divisions Mark and possibly some new evidence that goes some way to exonerating their record on 21 March.

???

Units that stood firm while totally surrounded and fought till their ammo ran out need no exoneration.

Nevertheless I know what you mean so added to the Xmas list!

There are a several good topics about the fighting retreat of 14th (Light) Div here one the forum - search on 'Barber'