1914: The First Months of the Fighting

by Lyn Macdonald

This is an account of the first few months of the Great War, from the build-up of the fighting to the first Battle of Ypres, written by the author of "Somme", "They called it Passchendaele" and "The Roses of No Man's Land".

Genres: History, Nonfiction, World War I, Military History, War, Military Fiction, 20th Century

464 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1987

About the author

Over the course of her career Lyn Macdonald established a popular reputation as an author and historian of the First World War. Her books are They Called It Passchendaele, an account of the Passchendaele campaign in 1917; The Roses of No Man's Land,, a chronicle of the war from the neglected viewpoint of the casualties and the medical teams who struggled to save them; ,Somme, a history of the legendary and horrifying battle that has haunted the minds of succeeding generations; 1914, a vivid account of the first months of the war and winner of the 1987 Yorkshire Post Book of the Year Award; 1914-1918: Voices and Images of the Great War, an illuminating account of the many different aspects of the war; and 1915: The Death of Innocence, a brilliant evocation of the year that saw the terrible losses of Aubers Ridge, Loos, Neuve Chapelle, Ypres and Gallipoli.

Her superb chronicles of popular history were notable for their extensive use of eyewitness and survivor accounts, and she drew on oceans of contemporary letters and diaries as well as capturing the memories of a dwindling supply of veterans. In doing so, she cast a unique light on the experiences of the ordinary ‘Tommy’ in the wider context of the First World War, documenting the innocence of a lost generation and bringing to life the disillusionment, the questioning and the heroism of the men of the British Army. “My intention,” she said, “has been to tune in to the heartbeat of the experience of the people who lived through it.”

Reviews

[Sweetwilliam · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you are interested in the history of the BEF during the first three months of the Great War than 1914 is a good book for you. Macdonald does a nice job of summarizing the events that led up to WWI and the actual deployment to France and Belgium but for me, the real fun starts with the first major action for the BEF at the battle of Mons. The book follows the BEF from the defeat at Mons in August, to the furious rear guard action at Le Cateau, to the victory at the Marne, the Aisne and finally, First Ypres in late November. This is my second Lyn Macdonald book and she uses the same recipe that she used in They Called it Passchendaele. She does a great job of framing and piecing together eye-witness accounts so that the story flows and events can be followed and understood through the words of the participants.

Make no mistake that the main focus of this book is the BEF. The French are only covered as their movements impact the BEF and are really “big picture.” This book is for the anglophile or those that are interested in the history of the first three months of the war from the BEF’s perspective. If you are looking for a comprehensive understanding of events on the Western Front in the year 1914 than there has got to be a better book out there that could provide the French and German perspective. Also, the personal accounts include many British period colloquialisms that were a little difficult to decipher at times.

There were a few lulls in this book but I really liked the coverage of the combat. The battle of Mons on August 23rd was the first time the BEF engaged an enemy on the continent since Waterloo. The first casualty inflicted by the BEF on the Germans was delivered by the slash of a sword by a dragoon on horseback who refused to sheathe his sword because he wanted his mates to see the blade adorned with the blood of the enemy. This would be about the last time cavalry would fight on horseback. In fact there is an eye-witness account of a charge by German cavalry against infantry. The German cavalry didn't get within 300 yards and all on horseback were slaughtered. My favorite account was the elite BEF artillery battery that fought a decisive rearguard action at Le Cateau. An order was misunderstood and the men thought they were to fight to the last. The men interviewed said it was much like the Light Brigade at Balaclava. Was there a man dismayed as the battery was destroyed? There were several stories that demonstrate the fog of war in 1914. Communications were mostly by semaphore and there were plenty of units not getting the word to withdraw and were decimated. One of my favorite stories was of the Northumberland Hussars paused to allow a French cavalry unit of Cuirassiers to pass by. The Cuirassiers wore a funny looking helmet that was sure to become ceremonial by 1915. As the soldiers exchanged military courtesies, a British private soldier exclaimed out loud “Wey, I thought them buggers war garman hoolans! I wor firin ' at the likes o' them all day yesterday!”

I was a little disappointed that the book ends with the completion of First Ypres in late November. I wanted to hear about the Christmas truce of December 1914. Anyway, by November the BEF had suffered 90% casualties. It only took about 3-months for the BEF to be virtually destroyed in the first war to end all wars. The Allies would win but someone else would have to do the fighting. The professional army was history by November.

I am an American but I found the story of the BEF to be very interesting. I plan to finish the series.

[Eric Byrd · Rating 3 out of 5]

"There," said Wellington, sitting in the park at Brussels two weeks before Waterloo, and answering Creevey's question about how well he hoped the coming campaign would go, "it all depends upon that article whether we do the business or not." He had seen a private soldier of one of the infantry regiments enter the park, gaping about at the statues. "Give me enough of it," he went on, "and I am sure." (John Keegan)


The Mad Minute was a pre-World War I term used by British Army riflemen during training at the Hythe School of Musketry to describe scoring 15 hits onto a 12" round target at 300 yards (270 m) within one minute using a bolt-action rifle (usually a Lee-Enfield or Lee-Metford rifle). It was not uncommon during the First World War for riflemen to greatly exceed this score. Many riflemen could average 30+ shots while the record, set in 1914 by Sergeant Instructor Alfred Snoxall, was 38 hits. During the Battle of Mons, in August 1914, there were numerous German accounts of coming up against what they believed was machine gun fire when in fact it was squads of riflemen firing at this rate. (Wikipedia)

[Norm · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this just after "Poilu", a first-person account by a French corporal of his 4-year service in the French army. This book is less personal, and perhaps errs a bit on the side of focussing on the men who survived, while 90% of their comrades were killed, wounded or captured. None of the first-person accounts excerpted here evidences much grief or horror at the huge casualties; much is made (deservingly) of the British sacrifice to help hold off the Germans from overwhelming the allied forces. There is a bit too much interest in the glory and not enough on the price. That said, there is some very good writing and information here, I felt like I learned a lot.

[Greg · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good history of the first few months of the First World War, almost exclusively from the British perspective. Macdonald includes scads of quotes from soldiers, from recollections and their diaries, to add a front-line perspective that many histories lack. You can feel the dread and frustration as the Brits back away after Mons, waiting for a chance to stand firm.

The type on my edition is tiny and faint, which is frustrating, but maybe I'm just old. I also get tired of Macdonald's penchant for Britishisms--I have no idea what weighing sixteen-stone is, and wonder if even your average Brit reader does. But that's a minor issue with some wonderful writing.

I do yearn for more detail, always a problem with military history. I read something like "the Germans advanced and we gave them what-for" and wonder what in the world that looked, smelled, sounded, or felt like. Or what it even means. Were they firing over a distance? Was there hand-to-hand? But that's a lot to ask for if you still want the overall strategic view, which this gives wonderfully.

There are some great sections about the artillery, and what it was like firing into masses of infantry while dodging machine guns and rifle shot by hiding behind a gun's shield, so you do get a feel for that, as well as what it was like for the cavalry and infantry stuck sleeping in fields overnight. She builds suspense wonderfully, or maybe the war itself did that, because the book is awfully hard to put down once the two forces start to collide.

[Jerome Otte · Rating 4 out of 5]

A graphic and very readable work.

The narrative relies heavily on firsthand accounts from British soldiers. Like so many books on war, it fleshes out the “innocence” of ordinary soldiers on their way into horrors that they had never before experienced. The maps are clear, if a bit small. The writing is vivid and does a good job conveying the drama of so many famous episodes.

Sometimes, however, MacDonald imagines what people were thinking (even speculating on facial expressions) I get that this book relies heavily on firsthand testimony, but that seems like a bit of a stretch at times.

There’s some other quibbles: at one point MacDonald refers to a British “Guards Division” (weren’t these formed after this period of the war?) She also refers the German army's I Corps, even though that unit was facing the Russian army in the east. She presents the Schlieffen Plan as being devised “with such precise attention to detail and with such clarity of logic and it seemed such an infallible blueprint for success that no attempt was ever made to revise it or even alter it in the smallest detail.” A lot of older books have suggested this, but if you’ve read newer scholarship on the war, this line will probably be met with skepticism.

A solid, well-written work.

[Xroldx · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first year of World War 1 as seen throught the eyes of British soldiers from all ranks. Macdonald gives you a sense of the struggle of the British. A good book though it would have been more complete if she included the same information from the soldiers who were on the other side of the trenches as well.

[Meniah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Macdonald did a great rendition to this momentous time in history. Filled with detailed accounts from survivors of the war, a type of book to pick up from time to time.

[Bap · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book covers the fate of the British Expeditionary Force in 1914 which totaled about 100,000, consisting of professionals who were in the British Isles in August 1914 or reservists called up to fight. These troops had been stationed throughout the empire and fought border wars in the northwest provinces of India, the Boer War, and in skirmishes throughout the vast lands controlled by the Empire.

The force was sent to plug a gap as the French retreated from the long planned sycle movement by the Germans that had been modified. The BEF fought stoutly at Mons and we’re driven back until the French counterattacked in the Battle of the Marne- the BEF then raced to the sea to save the channel ports ending up in the first battle of Ypres. The Germans were stopped and both armies dug in for trench warfare. These brutal fights were holding actions where the BEF took massive casualties such that 90 per cent had been killed, captured, or wounded by the end of 1914. the Brits called for help from the Territorials and instituted mass conscription to take the place of the BEF. Many tragic and wasteful battles lay ahead but the BEF had played its part to prevent the Germans from sweeping to victory before bloody stalemate sunk in. The remnants of the BEF would be folded in to the replacement armies.

The author fails to provide a description of how the French held up in the first five months or a more complete understanding of how the Germans missed their chance and what a narrow miss it was.

[Christine · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have collected Lyn Macdonald's WWI histories over the years with the intent to read them 'someday' and decided 2021 was the year to read them. I knew she utilized participant's experiences in her writing; diaries, letters, interviews but not to the extent she does. The way she is able to provide details through soldier's and civilian's memories is amazing,; t puts you in the heart of the endless hours in the rain, marching, stopping to rest only to move on before food is available because the enemy is coming or the line needs to be reinforced.
There are drawbacks to the technique. If a reader is looking for a comprehensive discussion of the underlying politics of war, high-level strategy, minute by minute detail this book will not satisfy.
I recommend readers have some of the more detailed histories at their side to complement this type of narrative history.
My one complaint about this book was the maps, specifically the lack of detailed maps. I am a visual learner/reader and appreciate being able to refer to a map to follow action, understand distances, proximity and so on. I do have the comprehensive histories which tend to have more, and more detailed maps, but they don't always match up to the specific times/locations in this book. At the end of the reading this is a small quibble. If your reading has focused on high level overviews and strategy I recommend Macdonald's books to put the human face and voice to the history.

[Dropbear123 · Rating 4 out of 5]

4/5 stars for both enjoyment and amount of info. About 430 pages but in the old Penguin edition I read the writing was very small.

Covers the British perspective of the opening months of the First World War from the arrival of the BEF in France in August through to November with the end of the First Battle of Ypres. Not much on the French or German points of view Lots of personal accounts and they are well chosen imo. The book is well written and fairly easy to follow imo.

Overall I would recommend it for anyone interested in WW1.

[Tony Styles · Rating 5 out of 5]

Unsurpassed…

A magisterial account of the first 90 days of the catastrophe that was the Great War. A heart stirring and gripping commentary describing the passing from the old world to the new in a war that Arno Mayer said was fought, ‘…to perpetuate the old regime.’ Almost unputdownable…

[Stephen Durrance · Rating 5 out of 5]

Outstanding. A must-read.

[Les · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lyn MacDonald's work on the British Army's phenomenal effort in the early days of WW1 against an army that was numerically much stronger. Her use of soldiers' letters and diaries adds colour to the more strategic narrative and gives the reader some idea of what it was like to be there. Her end point was chilling; that most of those Brits who started the war with such high hopes in August 2014 were dead by the end of the First Battle of Ypres the following November. I finished the book almost 100 years to the day of the centenary of the Battle of Mons which seems fitting somehow.

[Margaret · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lyn Macdonald's research and writing is first class. She blends the right amount of politics and strategy with extracts from diaries and interviews with soldiers and civilians who experienced WW1. Now that the last survivors of this war have passed on it makes her books all the more precious. It is the very personal and human aspect of events that makes her books compelling reading. These are not new books on the market but if you are interested in WW1--they are (IMHO) essential reading.

[Russ Spence · Rating 4 out of 5]

first in an excellent series of books, full of recollections from veterans who are no longer with us - this covers from August to December 1914, by which time the British army that started the war no longer existed, after a series of retreats, battles and advances that eventually ran out in late 1914, leading to the trench warfare we all know -

[Oliver · Rating 5 out of 5]

A harrowing and heartbreaking book about the British Expeditionary Force's unending string of battles from August 1914 at Mons through the horror of First Ypres in November 1914. Much of the story told through personal diary entries or letters by soldiers and civilians. I had no idea how close the allies came to losing the war at Ypres simply through attrition. I recommend highly this book.

[Linda Kenny · Rating 5 out of 5]

I started this book as a complement to a MOOC course on WWI I just finished. Although it focuses solely on the tragic start of WWI for the British expeditionary forces, the writing of McDonald was enthralling. I had trouble putting the book down. The voices of soldiers and civilians added to the story. I recommend for any student of WWI.

[Lee]

This book helped touch off the WWI obsession on my part. It's a good, accessible introduction to the first few months of the war (one caveat: it covers the British end of things, so isn't a full picture). Love it.

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book. But then WWI is my "favorite" war!