Liaison 1914 : A Narrative of the Great Retreat

By Edward Spears

Book Overview

Many historians, not least Winston Churchill, agree that The Great War was decided during the first month of fighting. Fortunately a young highly literate and talented British officer was superbly well placed to witness this historic period.

Thanks to his fluent French Edward Louis Spears was sent in mid August 1914 to liaise between Field Marshal Sir John French and the French High Command. In the weeks that followed, events moved at lightning speed and decisions were made without consulting or informing their counterparts. It fell to Spears to update the British of their ally's moves. Without modern communication this often involved Spears traveling on clogged roads between head quarters.

As the sole British representative at, first, HQ Fifth French Army and then Tenth Army, the influence of this 28 year old author was immense and Spears on many occasions proved unworried about speaking his mind.

Clearly his efforts were appreciated; he was made a Chevalier de la Legion d'honeur and awarded the Military Cross (he was wounded four times).

Churchill, who became a life long friend, wrote the Foreword to the original edition of this truly extraordinary account which anyone who wishes to understand the events of 1914 must read.

AUTHOR DETAILS

Edward Louis Spears was born in Paris on 7 April 1886. His supreme ability to speak fluent, accent- less French owes much to his upbringing.

He joined the British Army in 1903 and was commissioned into 8th Royal Irish Hussars. His career was anything but conventional. His liaison assignment, described in this book, made him the first British Officer at the Front.

He continued in a liaison role throughout the War and his range of high level French contacts proved invaluable if not universally popular.

His subsequent career involved business interests at home and overseas. He was twice a Member of Parliament. Like his friend Winston Churchill he was strongly anti-appeasement.

In 1940, Churchill appointed him his Personal Representative to the French Prime Minister and later to de Gaulle's Free French.

He was knighted in 1942 and created a baronet in 1953. He died in 1974

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1473827469
• ISBN13: 9781473827462
• Release Date: August 1970
• Publisher: Pen & Sword Books Limited
• Length: 624 Pages
• Weight: 2.55 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.3" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

A Must Read on Opening of the War

An easy, short review to write. Simply the best personal account of the opening campaign of the war. The author, who also had a key liaison position in the French-British fiasco in May-June 1940, pulls no punches in this account of the near fiasco of August-September 1914. I have read that Spears is considered one of only two men (the other being Churchill) to have written essential, classic first person accounts of both World Wars, this book being one of them and the other being his book on the French-British reaction (or lack thereof) to the German blitzkrieg of 1940. Besides the descriptions of the military actions, this book also presents exceptional profiles of many of the key figures in both the French and British forces. Spears was, as a liaison between the two armies, in a unique position to oberve the men on both sides. He writes, naturally, from the British viepoint and is not always kind to his French allies. He is particularly scathing on General Lanrezac, who he considered to have been an honorable man driven to venality and deceit through panic and loss of nerve. I have the original British edition of this book. It was published with a set of elaborate fold-out maps. I haven't seen this reprint, so I don't know what maps are provided here. The maps are very useful, since much of the book contains the author's observations of small actions, and the maps are specifically keyed to these descriptions. But with or without the maps, this book is esential reading on the opening campaign of the war and I am glad to see it is available in a recent edition.