Western Front

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As the First World War progressed more troops were needed for the Western Front. To meet this demand Expeditionary Force A from India was sent to reinforce the British Troops – particularly in France.[1]

Many men who fell during these campaigns are honoured by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. Amongst these are 4,742 soldiers from India whose names are recorded on the Neuve Chapelle Memorial in France. In 1964 these names were expanded to also commemorate 210 servicemen of India whose graves at Zehrensdorf Indian Cemetery in East Germany could not be maintained.

Related articles

War Diaries

Included in the many records held at the National Archives Kew is the series WO 95 - War Office: First World War and Army of Occupation War Diaries.

In addition to Battalion war diaries, there may be higher level Brigade and Division war diaries, which may provide information about Battalions not be found in the relevant Battalion diaries, or Battalion diaries may not have survived. The vast majority of war diaries for RFA units [Royal Artillery] were kept at the brigade level.[2]

Some War Diaries, many of which are handwritten, have been digitised and are available (on a pay basis) online from various sources: from the National Archives through the Discovery catalogue[3], from Naval and Military Archive[4], part of Naval & Military Press, which also publishes print and DVD-ROM versions, and through Ancestry which contains the database "UK, WWI War Diaries (France, Belgium and Germany), 1914-1920" (selected, and at times, part war diaries only)[5][6](search hints[7][8]) (and another database for Gallipoli). The Ancestry database also contains War Diaries for some Indian, Australian, New Zealand, and other regiments.
Some transcribed war diaries (where the handwriting has been deciphered for you!) edited by Martin Gillott, series title (and publisher) Great War Diaries, for British Army and Indian Army regiments, are available through Amazon.co.uk[9] in Kindle editions which have a Search facility (anyone with Kindle Unlimited can read them for free). (Download of a free Kindle App is available onto a PC, Mac or tablet - you don't need Kindle). The transcribed Indian Army Great War Diaries currently (2017/12) available are 15th Ludhiana Sikhs War Diary 1914-15: Indian Army on the Western Front; 57th (Wilde's) Rifles (Frontier Force) War Diary 1914-15: The Indian Army on the Western Front; 59th (Scinde) Rifles (FF) War Diary 1914-15: Indian Army on the Western Front.

Also see External links below.

The Australian War Memorial website[10] contains Australian and New Zealand Army War diaries (available for free).

There is also a record series, consisting of of printed volumes at the British Library, called "Indian Army First World War - War Diaries" IOR/L/MIL/17/5/2421-4246 : 1914-1921, which includes Western Front War Diaries. Includes War Diary [Collection], Army Headquarters India, Indian Expeditionary Force 'A' [France]. GSI, 1914-19. 26 vols IOR/L/MIL/17/5/3086-3149. This record series also includes records which do not specifically include the words "War Diaries" in the title, which may relate to the Western Front such as IOR/L/MIL/17/5/2421-2499. Note: this record series is not available online.

Recommended reading

Recommended by Peter Moore on the Military reading list
"Sepoy in the Trenches: The Indian Corps on the Western Front, 1914-15 by Gordon Corrigan, Kent, UK; first edition. 1999; 16 plates; 9 maps; hardcover; 274 pp. An excellent, updated account of the sufferings and heroism of the Indian regiments sent to France in the bitterest of winters clad only in tropical uniforms until transferred to the Mesopotamian Campaign in 1915. The author, a retired Major (late Royal Gurkha Rifles and ex-10GR), 1998), has an authentic feel for the old Indian Army and the times".

“Well worth tracking a copy, both as a fascinating book and a display of how good military history should be written.“[11]

For an interview with the author Gordon Corrigan, see below.

Time zones

During the First World War, France was in the same time zone as Great Britain, (Greenwich Mean Time). Germany was one hour ahead (GMT+1). Germany first introduced Daylight Saving time Sunday, 30 April 1916, 23:00:00 when clocks were forwarded one hour. France followed on Wednesday, 14 June 1916, 23:00:00 pm when clocks were forwarded 1 hour. (Details.[12])

Indian treacle (opium)

On the Western Front, Sikh troops were supplied with Indian treacle, an euphemism for opium, which was part of their ration.[13]

External links

Video and transcript: "Illiterate but Literary: The Censored Correspondence of Indian Soldiers in France, 1914-18" by Dr David Omissi, recorded on 2 November 2015 nam.ac.uk, including YouTube video.
See Historical books online, below.
Neuve Chapelle Memorial ww1cemeteries.com

Sketches

Maps

  • Maps of the French Artillery Survey Group, 1917 - ca. 1919. USA Army versions, based on French military maps. Contains 9 online French Trench Maps. Click on “Search within this series”, then click on “Archival Descriptions with digital objects” (Left hand side of webpage). Website of The U.S. National Archives and Records Administration.
This series contains Plans Directeurs maps. Information about these types of maps is included in the article "The Great War and Modern Mapping: WWI in the Map Division" May 15, 2015. New York Public Library.
Initial Burial Plats for World War I American Soldiers, 1920 – 1920 Digitised maps detailing the location of American soldier battlefield grave sites. Series RG92: WWI Grave Plats. Click on “Search within this series”. The U.S. National Archives and Records Administration.
Volume II 10th edition with maps to 1918. Gallica BnF
Includes the National Archives series WO 153 "War Office: War of 1914-1918: Maps and Plans". The catalogue may be searched through Discovery. The maps and plans in this series were collected from various sources, mainly for use by the Official War Historians, and as such were originally held in the Cabinet Office Historical Section. Many were extracted from regimental war diaries. More details, Western Front maps.
Conventional map signs, British and French [Military] Also some German. Printed by U.S. Geological Survey, 1918. Harvard University Digital Library.

Historical books online

Also see First World War - Historical books online, including general histories such as The Times History of the War with illustrations, and periodical publications with illustrations such as The Illustrated War News.

Histories and general

Despatch from Field-Marshal Sir Douglas Haig ... covering the period from 8th December, 1917, to 30th April, 1918 London : Printed under the authority of H.M.S.O. 1918. Harvard University Digital Library.
Real War 1914-1918 by B H Liddell Hart 1930 Archive.org. An enlarged edition was published as: A History of the World War, 1914-1918, 1934. Reprinted as
History of the First World War by B. H. Liddell Hart 1972 Archive.org Lending Library. B. H. Liddell Hart Wikipedia.
The Role Of British Strategy In The Great War by CRMF Cruttwell 1936 Archive.org
Other regimental histories, see 2nd King Edward's Own Goorkha Rifles (The Sirmoor Rifles); 8th Gurkha Rifles- the 2/8th Gurkha Rifles had many deaths on the Western Front; 2nd Bombay Pioneers;
Volume of 14 Maps National Library of Australia, with a description in the catalogue entry.
World War I Collection Combined Arms Research Library [CARL] Digital Library.
The Army behind the Army by Major Alexander Powell USA 1919 Archive.org
American Armies and Battlefields in Europe: a History, Guide, and Reference Book prepared by the American Battle Monuments Commission 1938 Archive.org. A revision of the 1927 publication A Guide to the American Battlefields in Europe HathiTrust Digital Library
The U.S. Air Service In World War I in four volumes, edited by Maurer Maurer, The Office of Air Force History. 1978 Archive.org.
The Canadian Forestry Corps; its inception, development and achievements by C.W. Bird and J.B. Davies HMSO London 1919 Archive.org. Includes a chapter "Operations in France", which includes a brief mention, page 42, of the use of Indian labour. The final chapter from page 50 "An Imperial Link" is missing.
  • French Official Histories: Les Armées françaises dans la Grande Guerre sga.defense.gouv.fr. French language. Eleven Tomes, some with multiple volumes, mostly about the Western Front. With online maps (Cartes) and at times panoramic sketches (Croquis panoramiques).
Gallica – The BnF Digital Library contains many publications, mostly French language. Use specific search terms, or the Advanced Search for Sujet search terms such as Guerre mondiale ( 1914 -1918) -- Histoire des unités or Guerre mondiale ( 1914 -1918) -- Campagnes et batailles.
Also available from the Universty of Hamburg Library as pdf downloads: Der Weltkrieg and Schlachten des Weltkrieges, or if these URLs are not permanent, use Recherche [Digitalisierte Bestände].
Deutschlands Krieg in der Luft : ein Rückblick auf die Entwicklung und die Leistungen unserer Heeres-Luftstreitkräfte im Weltkriege by Ernst Wilhelm Arnold von Hoeppner 1921. Archive.org. German language. Also available National Library of Estonia - English webpage option available.
  • Some Regimental and Divisional Histories, and some Manuals from the British Library Digital Collection may be accessed by Searching the British Library Main Catalogue, using search term such as Army Great Britain or War Office Great Britain, or specific search terms. Then use side filters, Online, Books. Note: Selecting the filter for date does not appear to be accurate, so it is best to re-order the Search results according to date, and then select those applicable to WW1.
Books on Archive.org classified by the uploader "World War, 1914-1918 -- Regimental histories Great Britain". Also use the Search.
Books on Archive.org classified by the uploader "World War, 1914-1918 -- Campaigns" Includes some regimental histories.
The Doings of the Fifteenth Infantry Brigade August 1914 to March 1915 by its Commander Brigadier General Count Gleichen (now Major-General Lord Edward Gleichen) 1917 Archive.org
A History of the Black Watch (Royal Highlanders) in the Great War 1914-1918 [in three Volumes] Edited by Major General A G Wauchope 1926. lib.militaryarchive.co.uk. Requires Flash 'enabled' to view the books. If you see a Flash icon, click on it. Vol I (1st, 2nd & 3rd Battalions). Vol II (4th, 5th 6th, 7th Reserve Battalions, The Royal Highlanders of Canada & The Sydney Scottish Rifles). Vol III (8th, 9th, 10th, 11th, 12th, 13th & 14th Battalions). Volume III transcribed edition lib.militaryarchive.co.uk.
The History of the Norfolk Regiment, 1685-1918. Volume II 4th August 1914 to 31st December 1918 by F. Loraine Petre, published 1926. lib.militaryarchive.co.uk. Requires Flash 'enabled' to view.
An internet Search using the term lib.militaryarchive.co.uk may find other histories from this source.
Maps issued in a separate case [Volume 2]: 19 maps and 5 photographs National Library of Australia
Specimens of British trench orders. This book discusses the duties of the Canadian Corps trench officers, based on examples from the British Army. Includes trench orders, battalion trench standing orders, brigade standing orders for the trenches, and the 55th (West Lancashire) Division trench orders. Link to pdf download, Combined Arms Research Library [CARL] Digital Library.

Medical Services including Veterinary

"At the Somme" [War Poetry] by Mary Borden-Turner published in The English Review, August 1917, page 97. Mary Borden Wikipedia.
Elsie and Mairi Go To War : two extraordinary women on the Western Front by Diane Atkinson 2010 Archive.org Lending Library
Also see Fiction below, for a book where there is a representation of these two women, but not as the main character.

Indian Army

Army Service Corps

Artillery

  • With the Guns by F. O. O. [Forward Observation Officer] [Cecil J. C. Street] 1916 Archive.org
The Making of a Gunner by F. O. O. [Forward Observation Officer] [Cecil J. C. Street] 1916 Archive.org
  • Battery Flashes by "Wagger" [Cecil W Longley] 1916 Archive.org. He was an artillery signaller, (who subsequently became an officer) and is considered to have been in the 2nd Gloucester Battery of 1st South Midland Brigade RFA (240 Bde).[19]
  • My .75 : reminiscences of a French gunner of a .75mm battery in 1914 by Paul Lintier, translated 1917 from the original French Ma Pièce. Souvenirs d'un canonnier, 1914. (Avec une batterie de 75.) published 1916. Archive.org. A book in the series Soldiers' Tales of the Great War.
  • Servants of the Guns by Jeffrey E Jeffery [catalogued Jeffrey E Marston] 1917 Archive.org. Most of the soldiers in the Battery were Welsh. The author became a Prisoner of War.
  • Carry On: Letters In War-Time by Coningsby Dawson, Canadian Field Artillery. 1917 Archive.org. Letters dated July 16, 1916, to February 6, 1917. The author was a Canadian novelist . Also published under the title Khaki Courage: Letters In War-Time
The Glory Of The Trenches: An Interpretation by Coningsby Dawson 1917 Archive.org
Living Bayonets: a Record of the Last Push by Coningsby Dawson 1919 Archive.org. Letters from April 14, 1917 to October 6, 1918.
The Test of Scarlet, a Romance of Reality by Coningsby Dawson 1919 Archive.org. A 2011 edition was published under the title The Test of Scarlet: Experiences of an Artillery Officer During the First World War.

Cavalry

Chaplains (Army)

The Soul of the Soldier; Sketches from the Western Battle-Front by Thomas Tiplady, Chaplain to the Forces. 1918 Archive.org. Includes "Chapter XI “Missing”" page 130, which explains when this classification was used.
  • Letters of an Army Chaplain by William Duncan Geare 1918. Classified by IWM as Royal Army Chaplains Department, Liverpool Regt., Bn. 7, Liverpool Regt., Bn. 9. Digital Collection Württembergische Landesbibliothek, Stuttgart. English text, German website. For download, select "Ganzes Werk herunterladen". To read online, select "DFG-Viewer".
  • A Padre in France by George Birmingham, the pseudonym for James Owen Hannay, c 1919. Archive.org. He was appointed to the Chaplains Department, British Army

Infantry and others

Hospital Days by "Platoon Commander" 1916 Archive.org.
Carrying on - After the First Hundred Thousand by Ian Hay 1917 Archive.org. Also published under the title All in It : K(1) Carries On: A Continuation of the First Hundred Thousand.
Gentlemen At Arms by "Centurion" a Captain in the British Army who has served in France [J H Morgan] 1918 Archive.org. Stated elsewhere to be Volume 13 in the series Soldiers’ Tales of the Great War. [20]
Fragments from France by Captain Bruce Bairnsfather 1917 Archive.org. A collection of cartoons. Published in 1916 (2nd edition) as The Bystander's Fragments from France. Vol. I, More Fragments from France 
Vol. II, Still more Fragments from France 
Vol. III, Fragments from France 
Vol. IV University of Wisconsin Digital Collections; More Fragments from France Parts V-VIII c 1918 Archive.org.
From Mud to Mufti by Bruce Bairnsfather 1919 Archive.org American edition, with American Preface, London edition.
The Men I Killed by Brigadier General F P Crozier 1937 Archive.org, Public Library of India Collection. Frank Percy Crozier Wikipedia. He commanded the 9th (Service) Battalion of the 107th (Ulster) Brigade and subsequently commanded the 119th (Welsh) Brigade.
List of Books about the French Foreign Legion booksandwriters.co.uk

In the Air

Plane Tales from the Skies by "Wing Adjutant" [Wilfrid Theodore Blake] 1918 Archive.org
  • Above the Battle by Vivian Drake 1918 Archive.org. Royal Flying Corps. Digitised microfiche.
  • Lafayette Escadrille
The Story of the Lafayette Escadrille told by its Commander, Captain Georges Thenault. Translated by Walter Duranty 1921 Archive.org
The Lafayette Flying Corps ed. by James Norman Hall & Charles Bernard Nordhoff Volume I, Volume II 1920. Archive.org
Victor Chapman's Letters from France 1917. He was a member of the Franco-American Aviation Corps, who was killed 23 June 1916. Archive.org
With the French Flying Corps by Carroll Dana Winslow 1917 Archive.org
The Way of the Eagle by Major Charles J Biddle 1919 Archive.org. He was an American who joined the French Foreign Legion, Aviation Section, who flew in Escadrille Lafayette and subsequently in the AEF.
One Man's War : the Story of the Lafayette Escadrille by Lieutenant Bert Hall and Lieutenant John J. Niles 1929 Archive.org

Despatch Riders

  • Adventures of a Despatch Rider by Captain WHL Watson, 1915 Archive.org. Elsewhere it is stated that editions after the first edition were heavily edited for censorship reasons, but as this edition was published in 1915, it may be the original edition.
Captain WHL Watson was also the author of Tales of a Gaspipe Officer by Despatch Rider. ‘Military cyclists are popularly known as Gaspipe Cavalry’ Blackwood’s Magazine Nos 198, 199 and 201, December 1915-March 1916, and January 1917 Archive.org. Page 795, page 76, page 246, page 360, page 45.

Machine Guns

Tales from a Dugout by Arthur Guy Empey 1918 Archive.org.
First Call: Guide Posts to Berlin by Arthur Guy Empey 1918. A guide for new recruits into the American Army, and their families.
Arthur Guy Empey Wikipedia

Tanks

Eyewitness. Being Personal Reminiscences of Certain Phases of the Great War, Including the Genesis of the Tank by Major-General Sir Ernest D Swinton, R E (Retired) 1933 Hathi Trust Digital Library. Also available on Archive.org. Digital Library of India Collection 1932 edition.
Men and Tanks by J C MacIntosh. 1921 Archive.org. Part of the series On Active Service.

Secret Service and Spies

  • The Secret Corps : a Tale of "Intelligence" on all Fronts by Captain Ferdinand Tuohy 1920 Archive.org. Also see a postwar book below. The author was/became a news reporter and post-war foreign correspondent.
  • Detective & Secret Service Days by Edwin T Woodhall 1929. Link to a pdf download, STOU Digital Repository Sukhothai Thammathirat Open University, Thailand. Note, this website has been noticed to be unavailable at times, possibly it may only be accessible during "office hours". Extracts from the book: "Book I" pages 31-122, "Book II Secret Service Days", pages 125-162, of 282 pages in total. Archive.org. The 1937 edition was titled Detective and Secret Service Days. The author chronicles his experiences beginning briefly with his early days in 1906 in the London Metropolitan Police Force, and then on to when he subsequently became attached to the CID at Scotland Yard, the Special Political Department, the Secret Service Department and the Special Central Department. Details of the author casebook.org. Elsewhere it is stated that Chapter III "Military Ishmaels", page 143 is about Toplis who is discussed in an article,[25] and that Chapter IV, "A Charming Spy", relates to Mata Hari, see below. He was also the author of Spies of the Great War : adventures with the Allied Secret Service by Edwin T. Woodhall 1932.
  • Secret Service by Major-General Sir George Aston, formerly of the Naval Intelligence Department and the Secretariat of the War Cabinet 1930 Archive.org
  • The Intelligence Service within the Canadian Corps, 1914-1918 by Major J E Hahn, James Emanuel late General staff, 4th Canadian Division CEF 1930 HathiTrust Digital Library.
  • All's Fair : the Story of the British Secret Service Behind the German Lines by Captain Henry Landau 1934 Archive.org. Henry Landau Wikipedia.
Secrets of the White Lady by Captain Henry Landau 1935 Missing at least page 13 which is found in a 2nd digital file, also missing at least one page. Both editions HathiTrust Digital Library. The White Lady was the codename for an underground intelligence network which operated in German-occupied Belgium during World War I. Dame Blanche (resistance) Wikipedia.
  • Mata Hari by Major Thomas Coulson 3rd impression. Full title: Mata Hari Courtesan and Spy, first published 1930. Archive.org,
Also see Chapter IV "A Charming Spy" in Detective & Secret Service Days by Edwin T Woodhall 1929, above.
Official French files Margueritte Gertrude Zelle (French language), part of the database of those who were shot during the First World War. Click on the eye icons for the files. memoiredeshommes.sga.defense.gouv.fr. If this link is not permanent, try the website Search, using the French version website.
The National Archives Kew has two records KV2/1-2 "'Mata Hari' alias MCCLEOD Margaretha Geertruida (Marguerite Gertrude)", both available as a pay download. Catalogue record

Volunteers and others

  • The First World War, 1914-1918: Personal Experiences of Lieut.-Col. C. à Court Repington 1920. [An autobiography]. Volume I, Volume II Archive.org. Charles à Court Repington 1858-1925. Wikipedia. He was a former British Army Officer who was military correspondent for The Times 1904–1918, who had many influential contacts with officers in the Army's highest ranks.
  • The diary of an English resident in France during twenty-two weeks of war time by Rowland Strong 1915 Archive.org. Elsewhere it is stated Rowland Strong was/had been the Paris correspondent for the Observer, the Morning Post and the New York Times.
The diary of an English resident in France during war time. Second series, Jan.-Dec. 1915 by Rowland Strong 1916 Archive.org.
A Reporter at Armageddon: Letters from the Front and Behind the Lines of the Great War by Will Irwin. 1918. Archive.org.
"The Next War"; an Appeal to Common Sense by Will Irwin 1921 Archive.org.

Prisoners of War

Issue No 16 February 15, 1916 British Library Digital file. The British Library has additional digital files for Issues 17-27 (September 1916). To access, through the Main Catalogue, use the search term BLL01016586686 Then click on "I want this', select the required edition, and click Go. Alternatively, rather than using the Main Catalogue, the digital file for Issue 16, on the right hand side of the page, has an item "View the catalogue record".

Miscellaneous

Forty Years With Dogs by E H Richardson 1935. Pdf download, Digital Library of India. Archive.org version. "A Biography of E H Richardson" k9history.com, probably based on the autobiography.
Hathi Trust Digital Library catalogue record for 17 Volumes, viewable by those in regions such as North America. All except the last are stated to be Public Domain in the USA.
Gallica: Bibliothèque nationale de France There are 13 digital files for this publication on Gallica, but they are classified by year published, not volume number. (1919 (4), 1920-1923, 2 each year, 1924 (1)), and it is unclear whether these contain the complete series of 17 volumes, or 13 volumes. The last one digitized on Gallica is classified as 1924, and has the title 5th Annee Tome XVII, Volume 17. There is a Search facility (whole collection) or individual book files. For individual book files, click on the icon for Table des matières, for contents. Volume 17, the final volume, contains a Contents section which appears to cover all 17 Volumes, click on the icon for Table des matières. It is then possible to click through to relevant articles, which may be located in other volumes.

Vocabularies

German Army

Germany's Dishonoured Army by Professor J H Morgan (Late Home Office Commissioner with the British Expeditionary Force) 1915 Archive.org
German Atrocities: An Official Investigation by J H Morgan 1916 Archive.org.
  • My War Memories, 1914-1918 by General Ludendorff 1919. Volume I, Volume II Archive.org. Also published under the title: Ludendorff's Own Story, August 1914-November 1918. The Great War from the siege of Liege to the Signing of the armistice as viewed from the Grand Headquarters of the German Army by Erich Von Ludendorff Quartermaster-General of the German Army.
The General Staff and its problems : the history of the relations between the high command and the German Imperial Government as revealed by official documents by General Ludendorff... translated by F. A. Holt. 1920 Volume I, Volume II Archive.org
Deutsche National Bibliothek catalogue entry: Infanterieregimenter Select the main category and subcategories, then select Publikationen, then use the filter on the RHS of the page "Online (frei zugänglich)". (German language). Also see the Great War Forum topic "Regimental histories at the German National Library (DNB)".[27] Deutsche National Bibliothek catalogue entry: Deutsches Heer includes links to categories Kavallerie, Artillerie etc, however only a few titles appear to have been digitised.
Die württembergischen Regimenter im Weltkrieg 1914 – 1918 Links to multiple volumes of different württembergischen Regimenter (German language). Digital Collection, Württembergischen Landesbibliothek, Stuttgart. If URL Is not permanent, use Suchen. Use the search term Weltkrieg, or Infanterie Regiment to locate many other regimental histories and and other publications. Also from this website Kriegsgeschichte der 12. Batterie Fußartillerie-Regiment Nr 13.
Digital Library of Wielkopolska (Network of Polish Digital Libraries) contains some online German Regimental Histories (German language).[28]
Links to further regimental histories (German language) may be found in the Great War Forum topic "Free German Regimental History Books"[29] and "More German Regimental histories due soon"[30]. For some of the latter Search SLUB Dresden Sächsische Landesbibliothek – Staats- und Universitätsbibliothek Dresden (SLUB) Dresden.
German language digitised documents from State Archives of the Russian Federation. German language webpage, Google Translate English webpage. Includes KriegsTageBuch (KTB) and German maps. tsamo.germandocsinrussia.org

Post War including British Occupation of Germany

  • The Occupation of the Rhineland : 1918-1929 by J. E Edmonds, (James Edward, Sir). Originally published under restricted circulation 1944. Series: History of the Great War. Available in a reprint edition,[31] which in turn is available as an online book on the Ancestry owned pay website fold3, located in World War II/Military Books/Germany.

Fiction

Audio version: All Quiet On The Western Front Archive.org
About the book Wikipedia. First published 1929, original German title Im Westen nichts Neues Archive.org.
  • Half-novel, half-autobiography, the author states the events described actually happened : The Middle Parts of Fortune: Somme and Ancre, 1916 by Frederic Manning 1929. Pdf download of a transcription, University of Sydney Digital Collection. Subsequently published in an expurgated version as Her Privates We by Private 19022. 1930 Archive.org. Considered “as being true to the actual experience of modern warfare in ways that nothing else had managed to be”.[32] On a list of "The 20 most significant novels of the Great War".[21]
  • The Secret Battle by A P Herbert 1919. Archive.org. One of three novels published in 1919 praised for its convincing account of war, and recommended by Churchill.[33] The first part of the book is set at Gallipoli, the latter part on the Western Front. The Secret Battle Librivox audio book by A P Herbert. Archive.org. A. P. Herbert Wikipedia.
  • The Silence of Colonel Bramble by André Maurois. Translated from the French by Thurfrida Wake. Verses translated by Wilfrid Jackson. 1920 Archive.org. The author, writing under a non de plume which subsequently became his legal name, was an Interpreter, and subsequently Liaison Officer with the IXth (Scotch) Division, when the book was written.
  • Verdun The Prelude, and The Battle by Jules Romains. Translated from the French by Gerard Hopkins. 1940, first published in English 1939. Archive.org Note: Lacks title page. Book 15 Prélude à Verdun and Book 16 Verdun (published 1938), Volume 8 (some editions), from the 27 volume series Men of Goodwill (Les Hommes de bonne volonté). 2nd Archive.org file
  • Peter Jackson, Cigar Merchant : a Romance of Married Life by Gilbert Frankau Seventh edition 1920. Archive.org. This book "is semi-autobiographical and gives an excellent feel for life as a Kitchener volunteer officer in both the infantry and then the RFA 1914-16… it was also one of the first books to reveal to the general public what Shell Shock was all about. A classic".[34]
  • Sketches by Boyd Cable, the nom de plume of Ernest Andrew Ewart, who was appointed Temporary Second Lieutenant 2nd September 1914 in the Royal Artillery where he served in France. By February 1917 he was Acting Captain while commanding a section of a Divisional Ammunition Column. In June 1918 he was awarded an OBE [Officer of the Order of the British Empire] at which time he was Captain, Propaganda Branch, Aircraft Production Department, Ministry of Munitions. Appointed Acting Lt-Colonel, whilst specially employed 12 November 1918.[35]
Between the Lines by Boyd Cable 3rd edition 1917, first published October 1915 Archive.org. Librivox Audiobook Between the Lines, read by Delmar H Dolbier. Archive.org.
Action Front by Boyd Cable 1916 Archive.org
Grapes of Wrath by Boyd Cable 1917 Archive.org
Front Lines by Boyd Cable 1918 Archive.org
Air Men o' War by Boyd Cable 1919 Archive.org
  • Novels by Sapper, the nom de plume of Herman Cyril McNeile , a writer of war stories that were hailed as realistic revelations of the truth about war. [36] He was the author of the later Bulldog Drummond series. Archive.org.
Men, Women and Guns 1916. Also available in an audio edition.
Sergeant Michael Cassidy, R. E. 1916
The Lieutenant and Others 1916
No Man's Land 1917
  • Edgar Wallace who subsequently became known as the ‘King of Thrillers’ wrote, between 1904 and 1918, a large number of mostly humorous sketches about life in the British Army relating the escapades and adventures of privates Smith (Smithy), Nobby Clark, Spud Murphy and their comrades-in-arms, including
Smithy and the Hun by Edgar Wallace 1915
Nobby: Jam for the Enemy by Edgar Wallace 1915
Nobby On Getting Commissions by Edgar Wallace 1915 . Transcriptions from Roy Glashan’s Library formerly FreeRead freeread.com.au.
  • Young Hilda at the Wars by Arthur H Gleason 1915 Archive.org. The photograph at the front of the book is stated to be that of Helen, the author’s wife. Other characters in the book are stated to be based on Ambulance drivers Elsie Knocker and Mairi Chisholm who worked as volunteers in Belgium.[37]
  • Green Envelopes No author appears on the title page. Published by John Murray London 1929. Letters home from the Front, from many soldiers, to a village in England. A review says "These are the familiar "green envelopes" of active service during the war. ...letters which were really written…" (names changed). The British Library catalogue entry includes the words "A novel", however in the collection of the Australian War Memorial, the book is classified WW1 Personal narratives, British. Digital Collection, Württembergischen Landesbibliothek, Stuttgart, with the library website in German. Read online or download, the latter is "Ganzes Werk herunterladen".
  • A novel: Across The Black Waters by Mulk Raj Anand. Reprint edition, possibly 1955, originally published 1940. Pdf download, Digital Library of India. A novel about Indian (Punjabi) soldiers who have crossed the black waters, against all the advice of their forefathers that calamity would befall anyone who went overseas, to join the British and their allies on the Western Front. The author was born in Peshawar in 1905, so was too young for first-hand experience of the war, but the book has a very authentic feel, suggesting that he not only did his research in books but also listened to the stories of older men who came back. He grew up in military cantonments, according to the introduction.[38] Review by Randeep Wadehra, August 6, 2000 The Tribune
  • A novel: The Ravi Lancers by John Masters 1972. Internet Archive (Archive.org) Lending Library. (Only one person at a time is able to borrow, so you may need to wait for the book to be returned. First you must register) . An Indian cavalry regiment is sent to France at the outbreak of the First World War.
  • A novel: Hira Singh: When India Came to Fight in Flanders by Talbot Mundy. Archive.org. Published in Britain as Hira Singh's Tale: When India Came to Fight in Flanders. Serialized in Adventure magazine, October 18 - December 3, 1917. Published in book form 1918. A fictional account of a cavalry regiment taken prisoners of war by the Germans.
  • William – an Englishman by Cicely Hamilton c 1919. Archive.org, missing pages 169-170, but file colour perhaps easier to read, Archive.org, all pages, Librivox audio recording Archive.org, missing pages 169-170. The author worked at the Scottish Women's Hospital at Royaumont and organised Concerts at the Front. The book, written in a tent within sound of guns and shells, won the Prix Femina-Vie Heureuse in 1919.[39]
  • A romantic novel: The Nurse's Story : In Which Reality Meets Romance by Adele Bleneau 1915 Archive.org. The hero of this romantic novel is a Captain in the Ludhiana Sikhs (page 97). There are suggestions that when it was published the book was considered to be fictionalized memoirs, perhaps not written under the author’s actual name. A film based on the book was made in 1919. The book is from the collection of the US National Library of Medicine, so perhaps is considered to have a realistic nursing background. For a review of this novel scroll if necessary to page 7, 5th column of the Pittsburgh Press (newspaper) dated August 7, 1917.
  • Rilla of Ingleside by L M Montgomert 1921 Archive.org. Librivox audio version, read by one reader, Librivox audio, multiple readers Archive.org. The final book in L. M. Montgomery's Anne of Green Gables series for girls, set in Canada. The story of the life of the women at home whose family members fought on the Western Front.
  • Biggles Pioneer Air Fighter by Captain W E Johns 1954. Archive.org, Digital Library of India Collection. Contains thirteen short stories, eleven of which were originally published in The Camels Are Coming (1932) and two of which were originally published in Biggles Of The Camel Squadron (1934), originally written for older adolescents. Note however Wikipedia states "The early First World War books were reprinted in the 1950s, when the Biggles books had acquired a younger readership and were bowdlerised". "Biggles" by Daniel Tangri. friardale.co.uk.
  • Dastral of the Flying Corps by Rowland Walker. First published 1917. Gutenberg.org. Archive.org version About the author. The author was in the RFC. An adventure story.
  • Adventure stories for younger readers
    • By Herbert Strang. Gutenberg.org.
    A Hero of Liége: A Story of the Great War 1914.
    Fighting with French: A Tale of the New Army 1915.
    Burton of the Flying Corps. 1916

References

  1. ↑ India and the Western Front bbc.co.uk/history
  2. ↑ rflory. ROYAL FIELD ARTILLERY Great War Forum 2 December 2018. Retrieved 2 December 2018.
  3. ↑ Discovery catalogue
  4. ↑ Naval and Military Archive
  5. ↑ UK, WWI War Diaries (France, Belgium and Germany), 1914-1920 consisting of WO 95/1096–3948 records. Ancestry. However, within this series, there appears to be a further selection of diaries available - not all are included.
  6. ↑ stiletto_33853. Ancestry vs National Archives Great War Forum 26 January 2018. Retrieved 26 January 2018. Ancestry diaries may have large parts (many months) missing compared to TNA files.
  7. ↑ MrSwan. Ancestry war diaries Great War Forum 17 December 2017. Retrieved 18 December 2017.
  8. ↑ Guest. Finding War Diaries: Beating Ancestry's Poor Indexing Great War Forum 27 January 2018. Retrieved 30 March 2018.
  9. ↑ Gallipoli Diaries and Great War Diaries amazon.co.uk
  10. ↑ Australian Imperial Force unit war diaries, 1914-18 War
  11. ↑ Filsell, David. Indian Re-evaluation Great War Forum 18 July 2014. Retrieved 3 June 2018.
  12. ↑ Time in France Wikipedia. France DST 1916, with links to other years. Germany DST 1916, with links to other years. UK DST 1916, with links to other years. timeanddate.com
  13. ↑ page 66, ‪British Logistics on the Western Front: 1914-1919‬ by Malcolm Brown. quoting end notes 84, 85 WO 95/74 Director of Supplies, War Diary 29 October 1914, 1 November 1914 page 72
  14. ↑ Indian infantry unit war diaries go online The National Archives
  15. ↑ MLW. Online German documents in Russian Archives WW2Talk Forum 19 March 2015. Retrieved 6 August 2018.
  16. ↑ Frederick Abernethy Coleman bonhams.com
  17. ↑ Maureene. Online books-accounts by nurses etc Great War Forum 2 November, 2015. Retrieved 7 December 2018.
  18. ↑ Larkin, Roy. The Motor-Bus in War. A.M.Beatson , 1918 Historic Military Vehicle Forum 8 February 2015. Retrieved 31 January 2016.
  19. ↑ Porter, David. was "wagger" a real gunner? Great War Forum 7 August , 2015. Retrieved 3 June 2018.
  20. ↑ Page from Great War Dust Jackets Scroll down.
  21. ↑ 21.0 21.1 21.2 21.3 21.4 21.5 21.6 21.7 Great War Dust Jackets page listing "War Memoirs : a highly personal top 20", by Great War Dust Jackets and "The 20 most significant novels of the Great War" from The Novels of World War 1 : An annotated bibliography by Philip Hager & Desmond Taylor. Garland Pub. 1981.
  22. ↑ The Spectator 29 December 1917, page 14.
  23. ↑ Naval & Military Press
  24. ↑ Three Chevrons Naval and Military Press
  25. ↑ "Monocled Mutineer, Percy Toplis" pixelsurgery.com
  26. ↑ CROONAERT German Map of the main French prison camps, labor commandos and hospitals Great War Forum 21 March 2017. Retrieved 3 June 2018.
  27. ↑ Ken S. Regimental histories at the German National Library (DNB) Great War Forum 10 February 2016. Retrieved 20 November 2018.
  28. ↑ charlie2. Free German Regimental History Books Great War Forum 1 May 2017. Retrieved 3 June 2018.
  29. ↑ charlie2. Free German Regimental History Books Great War Forum 7 September 2017. Retrieved 3 June 2018.
  30. ↑ charlie2. More German Regimental histories due soon Great War Forum 12 April 2018. Retrieved 17 April 2018.
  31. ↑ The Occupation of the Rhineland : 1918-1929 by J. E Edmonds. Naval & Military Press reprint edition.
  32. ↑ "An outsider at war" by Richard Johnstone 4 June 2012. Inside Story.
  33. ↑ Pages 51-52 English Fiction and Drama of the Great War, 1918–39 by John Onions. Google Books
  34. ↑ charlesmessenger Casemate Books - a question Great War Forum 12 November 2016. Retrieved 3 June 2018.
  35. ↑ Details from the London Gazette.
  36. ↑ "‘Sapper’ : From Realism to Melodrama", a paper originally delivered at the conference of Les Amis du Roman Populaire in Amiens, in 2014. Great War Fiction. Retrieved 29 July 2016.
  37. ↑ A page from Chapter V, Elsie and Mairi Go to War: Two Extraordinary Women on the Western Front by Diane Atkinson. Google Books.
  38. ↑ Liz in Eastbourne. Across the Black Waters by Mulk Raj Anand Great War Forum 3 March 2016. Retrieved 3 June 2018.
  39. ↑ William – an Englishman by Cicely Hamilton persephonebooks.co.uk.

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