Battle Story: Loos 1915

The Battle of Loos saw a change in Allied strategy, which up until then had been a series of small-scale assaults that achieved little or no ground gained. Loos was to be different, Kitchener's Army was deployed in strength for the first time and an ambitious plan aimed to take ground over a 20-mile front. However, the battlefield was not the Allies' ideal site and the battle plans did not account for the lack of ammunition and artillery. To overcome some of these shortcomings, the British deployed poison gas for the first time as they attacked, hoping to confuse and overwhelm the German positions. The day of teh attack supposedly saw the famous Footballer of Loos, a soldier, Frank Edwards, setting out into No Man's Land kicking a football to rally his men. This myth has remained an iconic image of the First World War to this day. As the fog of war descended the first day's gains were lost over subsequent days' fighting and in the end the 'Big Push' saw little achieved with Allied losses of about 50,000 men. Through quotes and maps the text explores the unfolding action of the battle and puts the reader on the frontline. if you truly want to understand what happened and why - read Battle Story.

Auteur

PETER DOYLE specialises in the understanding of military terrain, with special reference to the two world wars. A member of the British Commission of Military History, and co-secretary of the Parliamentary All Party War Graves and Battlefield Heritage Group, he is the author of nine works of military history.