Loos 1915: The Unwanted Battle
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This book looks at the major British offensive of the forgotten year – 1915 and examines how the necessity of demonstrating Allied solidarity in a coalition war, where the British who were the junior partners on land, persuaded the British government to overrule the advice of the generals and order the British Expeditionary Force to embark on a battle that it did not want to fight over ground that was quite unsuitable for the attack.
Once committed to taking part, the need to compensate for insufficient artillery led to the first use by the British of gas, but changes in wind direction at the last minute meant that this was only partially effective when the infantry left their jump off trenches at 0630 on the morning of 25 September. The book examines the reasons for deciding to use gas and its effectiveness or otherwise. First Army, which mounted the attack, was composed of regular, territorial and New Army British units, and regular Indian and Gurkha battalions. The book compares and contrasts these different types of soldiers, and looks at their strengths and weaknesses.
The book looks at the lessons drawn from the Loos battle and asks how they influenced the war fighting doctrine of the BEF thereafter.
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