Retreat and Rearguard 1914: The BEF’s Actions From Mons to the Marne

by Jerry Murland

The British action at Mons on 23 August 1914 was the catalyst for what became a full blown retreat over 200 blood drenched miles. This book examines eighteen of the desperate rearguard actions that occurred during the twelve days of this near rout. While those at Le Cateau and Nery are well chronicled, others such as cavalry actions at Morsain and Taillefontaine, the Connaught Rangers’ at Le Grand Fayt and 13 Brigade’s fight at Crepy-en-Valois are virtually unknown even to expert historians. We learn how in the chaos and confusion that inevitably reigned units of Gunners and other supporting arms found themselves in the front line.

The work of the Royal Engineers responsible for blowing bridges over rivers and canals behind the retreating troops comes in for particular attention and praise. Likewise that of the RAMC.

No less than 16 VCs were won during this historic Retreat, showing that even in the darkest hours individuals and units performed with gallantry, resourcefulness and great forbearance.

The book comes alive with first hand accounts, letters, diaries, official unit records, much of which has never been published before.

Genres: World War I

224 pages, Hardcover

Published December 13, 2011

Reviews

[JD · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very well researched and detailed book about the British rearguard actions during August 1914 that allowed the BEF to escape during the great retreat of 1914 after the German invasion of Belgium and France. The stories are filled with bravery, devotion to duty and sacrifice by the fighting officers and troops, while the general staff under Sir John French made blunder after blunder. The author gives good detail on how this came to be, with Britain having a small and professional volunteer army that were very experienced in small battle, yet the general staff was not accustomed to handling big formations of troops which lead to many mistakes in the early days of the conflict.

What I liked most about the book, is that the author followed the retreat through the eyes of a few individuals that were in the thick of the actions, and the battles are described in great detail with maps attached where needed. I have always been fascinated by the early days of the First World War before the war in the trenches started, and what was eye opening in this book, was that battle casualties of those killed were not as high as I thought they were, but that the majority were taken as prisoners by the Germans. A nice chapter in the end is also what happened to some of the men that were trapped behind German lines after the retreat, with some escaping back to Britain, some caught as spies and executed and even some men that were in hiding till the end of the conflict!!
Very good read and highly recommended to anyone wanting to learn more about the opening days of the Great War.

[Daniel Greear · Rating 3 out of 5]

Retreat and Rearguard, 1914: The BEF’s Actions from Mons to the Marne by Jerry Murland:

Eh, this was okay. I couldn’t wait to read it and started it last night after I finished my last book. I quickly found myself zoning out and skimming, thus I finished it in a day. That’s not to say I didn’t enjoy this book to a certain extent, and I also did learn from it. Some passages are interesting and I don’t know if I can successfully quantify why the book wasn’t a better read for me.

I’ve read many books on WW1 so here’s yet another. The first few days and weeks of the war, before trench warfare, are the most interesting to me. This seemed to be the perfect book to read about that period as it’s about the British Expeditionary Force in August and September 1914. Specifically, I became interested in learning more about the BEF during my WWI class in college when my professor discussed how the original army was basically defunct by 1915.

The BEF was “that contemptible little army” of professional soldiers who were much different than the conscripts in the much larger armies of France and Germany. The officers and men were good soldiers, many of whom had earned their stripes in The Boer War. Sadly, a large number of these men were wiped out, but more survived than I expected.

The most interesting part of the book was the end, where the author details the stories of soldiers stuck behind enemy lines. I think I found the rest of the book to be far too technical. It’s also quite repetitive as the BEF continues to do the same thing, retreat, until they, along with the French, make their stand on The Marne and turn the tide.

Disappointingly, it would seem the myths surrounding the first action at Mons are not true. Chiefly among these is the story about how the British infantrymen were such good shots and so quick that the Germans thought they were getting shot at by machine guns and not rifles. This is pretty easily dispelled by the author. Additionally, the mythic angels of Mons are not even mentioned…

[Tweedledum · Rating 5 out of 5]

I learnt about this book through a circuitous route. Jerry Murland posted a request for information about someone who is mentioned several times in this book. By chance my son saw his post and contacted him. That someone was my grandfather who died in 1920 and of whom we knew very little. To discover that Jerry has uncovered a very substantial amount of the history of his part in this courageous story was amazing.

Personal interest aside I found the book very compelling. Jerry has succeeded in drawing together all the complexities of this action to create a very readable narrative that brings vividly to life again many of the courageous men and women who played a part in this history. The statistics of the First World War have often got in the way of telling the human story. This book goes some way to redressing that balance and in timely in it's publication on the eve of the centenary of that conflict. A very fitting tribute meticulously researched.

[Richard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Murland provides an exhaustive and, more importantly, updated account of the actions of the BEF in the opening weeks of the Great War. Murlands narrow scope allows him to better focus on some of the less known (or less focused upon) rearguard actions/skirmishes.