"On 25th September 1915, and for a few days afterward, the small town of Loos, between Lens and La Bass?e in Northern France, became the centre of one of the most intense and bloody battles of the First World War ... Philip Warner's narrative is vividly brought to life through the words of survivors from all parts of the line: the infantry, the gunners, the officers, and including extracts from the letters and diaries of Sir John French ... Through their accounts and diaries of the time, they reveal one of the most horrific tales of war yet told as well as the heroism and determination that in the end tipped the scales to victory"--Page 4 of cover.

Patrick MacGill enlisted with the London Irish Rifles in 1915 and The Great Push is the resultant work, written during the Battle of Loos. This story recounts the fear, resilience, humour, and fatalism of those who fought at the raw edge of one of the most terrifying wars ever to have been waged.

The landmark exposé of incompetent leadership on the Western Front - why the British troops were lions led by donkeys On 26 September 1915, twelve British battalions – a strength of almost 10,000 men – were ordered to attack German positions in France. In the three-and-a-half hours of the battle, they sustained 8,246 casualties. The Germans suffered no casualties at all. Why did the British Army fail so spectacularly? What can be said of the leadership of generals? And most importantly, could it have all been prevented? In The Donkeys, eminent military historian Alan Clark scrutinises the major battles of that fateful year and casts a steady and revealing light on those in High Command - French, Rawlinson, Watson and Haig among them - whose orders resulted in the virtual destruction of the old professional British Army. Clark paints a vivid and convincing picture of how brave soldiers, the lions, were essentially sent to their deaths by incompetent and indifferent officers – the donkeys. ‘An eloquent and painful book... Clark leaves the impression that vanity and stupidity were the main ingredients of the massacres of 1915. He writes searingly and unforgettably’ Evening Standard