The Guards 1915-17

The Guards 1915–17: An Elite Division at War is the first history of this illustrious division during these years to have been written since 1924. Making extensive use of the original unit war diaries and key memoirs, it provides a readable narrative and analysis of its battlefield experiences at Loos, Flers-Courcelette, Morval and Pilckem Ridge.

These two years are rich in interest. The Guards Division had more than its fair share of ‘larger than life’ characters to consider such as the division’s first GOC, Earl Cavan, the enigmatic ‘Crawley’ de Crespigny, or the remarkable ‘Tally-Ho VC’, John Campbell, who rallied his men so dramatically in the heat of battle with his hunting horn. There were acts of the most incredible bravery, inevitable failures in the ‘fog of war’ and the singular embarrassment of the fraternisation debacle of December 1915.

The Guards Division had a unique culture and camaraderie built around the social exclusivity of its officer class and the heritage of its component regiments and much was expected of it. Yet the very nature of the First World War meant that the division’s performance levels often depended on matters beyond its control, and it too had to adapt to the learning process being followed across the British Army during these years. Maintaining the Guards Division’s reputation as an elite force was always going to be a challenge in such circumstances.

This book will appeal to military history enthusiasts, to those with a particular interest in the First World War or with a connection to the Guards as a whole.

‘This book stands among the best of the literature on British Army divisions and expands our understanding of how the British Army functioned during the First World War. I learned much from it.’ - Dr Spencer Jones