Forty Days in 1914

[andigger]

Found this book in the local used book shop and based on the intro and maps thought it was interesting enough to buy. After searching the Forum it is mentioned a few times - in the must haves for 1914 in particular - so I feel good about that. I am finishing up The Vanished Army now, so this should be on the list soon to start.

It was published in 1919

The intro also caught my eye...

"This little book owes its origin to curiousity. I wanted to see if it was possible to discover what the Germans were planning and doing during the retreat from Mons. I found that by piecing together evidence obtainable from the accounts of the early parts of the war published in Germany, in the neutral countries, in France, and by Belgian authorities, as well as from the reports of the very full investigations which have been conducted into the German atrocities in northern France and in Belgium, it was possible to work out the movements of the German armies, and from those to deduce the German plans. The information obtained in this way threw what has been to me an entirely new light upon the campaign, and made clear what had previously been dark.

Much of what I have written about the Germans is necessarily conjectural, and therefore I make no claim to be writting history. But I believe the positions I have ascribed to the German forces at various dates are in the main accurate, and I must leave my readers to judge of the deductions which I have drawn from those movements."

[armourersergeant]

Andy,

I have not got a copy of this so would be interested in a review of this when finished.

regards

Arm

[Robert Dunlop]

I enjoyed Maurice's book. The more so because it gives an insight into how he deduced what had happened in the first forty days. He was not always correct but it is interesting none-the-less.

As an aside, I admire what he did to LG.

Robert

[delta]

What did he do to LG?

[armourersergeant]

I guess this is what Robert is alluring to,

In 1918 he had published in a newspaper, after trying to the official routes, a letter that repudiated the claims made by LG that the forces in F and F were large as a fighting force.

best explained here from the long long trail.

There is a book written by his daughter, Nancy, called 'The Maurice Case' Lg hounded Maurice almost for the rest of his life. LG had to use all his mucurial skills to wrangle out of responsibility for it.

regards

Arm

[spike10764]

Andy,

I echo Arms comment - could you do us a review when you have finished the book, please ?

[andigger]

Will definitely update here when I start the book. Just a heads up though, its on the plate for June.

Andy

[Robert Dunlop]

Maurice published a second edition of his book in 1920. The original was published in 1918, before all of the German Army commanders and other authors had published their accounts of the same time period. The second edition has more accurate details about the German movements.

Maurice spoke fluent German. He spent time with the German General Staff, meeting with von Schlieffen, von Moltke and others involved in the development of the Schlieffen Plan. He begins by describing the German plan. Maurice's time in Berlin adds some interesting insights to this account. He then goes on to describe the French plan, illustrating how Plan XVII was evolved in light of the political context.

There are chapters on the German march through Belgium, and the battles for Namur, Dinant, and the Sambre crossings. These lead into the chapters on Mons, the retreat, and von Kluck's fateful decision to turn inside Paris. He gives an overview of the battles of the Ourcq and Marne. Maurice uses the final chapter to discuss how the British High Command should be prepared for future wars.

Maurice had two broad aims when he wrote the book. The first was to promote awareness, particularly in France, of the role that the BEF played in the first six weeks of the war. He places the BEF in the broader context by providing a succinct account of the other key engagements and developments on the Western Front. Maurice adds some interesting insights based on his access to GHQ as chief staff officer of 3rd Division.

Maurice also analysed the Schlieffen Plan and its execution. His understanding not just of the German language but also od German military thinking makes his book almost unique as a comteporary work.

And the style makes it easy to read.

Robert

I guess this is what Robert is alluding to...

Correct. Thanks, Arm.

Robert

[andigger]

Actually getting an early start on this since my other book hasn't arrived from ABE yet.

Anyway it reads really easily and the maps are great. A couple of early points he's made which got me to thinking are:

1. The Germans needed to consider which units were on the vanguard of their march threw Belgium. Given German geography the Entente Powers would expect to see troops from Westphalia and Hanover, but troops from Saxony might give away the troop diversion from the Eastern front to knock France out of the war early then turn on Russia.

2. He says while gallant the Belgian resistance at Liege netted only a 48 hour delay in the realistic German advance owing to the distances the troops were marching from within Germany. However if the Germans had gotten to Mons 2 days earlier the story for the BEF most certainly would have been different.

So that is where I am to date. More updates and thoughts to follow.....

Andy

[keithmroberts]

available for download from the internet archive.

keith

[Crunchy]

I have the first edition of his work. In the Preface he writes " This little book owes its origin to curiosity. I wanted to see if it was possible to discover what the Germans were planning and doing during the retreat from Mons" He then goes on to say that he pieced together evidence obtained from German accounts published during the war, in Germany, Belgium and the neutral countries, and from them "it was possible to work out the movements of the German armies, and from these to deduce the German plans." He adds that "Much of what I have written about the Germans is necessarily conjectural, and therefore I make no claim to be writing history."

Nonetheless, it is a remarkable piece of work for someone who deduced the German actions from snippets of information, and it is pretty close to the mark. Map 1 is of interest, at least to me, as it gives a good overview of the movements of the Corps of the German First Army and the BEF, and shows the divergence between them after Le Cateau, and before the Germans swung south again, crossing the BEF's trail north of the Marne. He brings a contemporary soldier's anlysis to the narrative.

It is well worth reading, especially alongside Selwyn Tyng's excellent The Campaign of the Marne.

Cheers

Chris