The British Army in Battle and Its Image 1914-18: (Birmingham War Studies)

In this collection of essays of incomparable scholarship, Stephen Badsey explores in individual detail how the British Army fought in the First World War, how politics and strategy affected its battles and the decisions of senior commanders such as Douglas Haig, and how these issues were intimately intertwined with the mass media portrayal of the Army to itself and to the British people. Informative, provocative, and often entertaining, based on more than a quarter-century of research, these essays on the British Army in the First World War range through topics from a trench raid to modern television comedy. As a contribution to progressive military history, The British Army in Battle and Its Image 1914-1918 proves that the way the British Army fought and its portrayal through the media cannot be separated. It is one of a growing number of studies which show that, far from being in opposition to each other, cultural history and the history of battle must be combined for the First World War to be properly understood. For more information visit Stephen Badsey's website www.stephenbadsey.com .

Table of Contents:
1. The Future of the Western Front in Public History 2. The British Official Film 3. The Trench Raid at Cherisy 4. British Cavalry 5. The Press Propaganda and Passchendaele 6. Douglas Haig and the Press 7. The Two Western Fronts Debate 8. Could the Battle of the Somme Have Been Won? 9. British Politics, Strategy and Propaganda 10. British High Command and the Battle of the Somme

About the Author :
Dr Stephen Badsey MA (Cantab.) FRHistS is Reader in Conflict Studies at the University of Wolverhampton. For many years he has been internationally recognised as one of the foremost historians of the First World War, particularly through his appearances on television and knowledge of the media in war.

Review :
Notice of publication, November 2009. Badsey is unrivalled as a narrator who combines a high level of scholarship with immediacy of narrative ... Almost every essay in this collection contains an element of this combination of discursive ability and analytical skill. In collecting them together, the Birmingham War Studies Series has done all those interested in the British army during the First World War a service by providing ready access to an interesting selection of work from an important scholar. mention in The Western Front Association Stand To! No. 88