Letterss from the British Expeditionary Force

Edward Gleichen commanded the 15th Infantry Brigade during the tumultuous opening battles of the Great War. The division was mobilized by 10 August 1914, and fought in the opening battles at Mons, Le Cateau and the Marne. The 15th Infantry Brigade was a regular formation that comprised four battalions from Bedfordshire, Norfolk, Dorset and Cheshire.

Detailed accounts by battlefield commanders from 1914 are surprisingly rare. This long out of print account of the actions of the British Expeditionary Force, which was first published in 1917, was based on a diary of events written at the time by Brigadier General Edward Gleichen. It originally appeared under the title The Doings of the Fifteenth Infantry Brigade - August 1914 to March 1915.

This volume is much more than a brigade diary, providing the reader with a detailed and privileged insight into the problems of command during the confused actions in Flanders and France from the perspective of the men who helped to forge the legend of the Old Comtemptables.