Books with title History of the 51st

In compiling the ‘History of the 51st (Highland) Division’ I have been beset by various difficulties, which have contributed towards the long delay in its publication.In the first place, it has been written in circumstances in which military duties have afforded little leisure for continuous effort; secondly, the work has been carried out in many places, most of them highly unsuitable for research, such as the desert of Sinai, native villages and the deserts of Lower Egypt, Jerusalem, Bir Salem, and at sea.Not only had the difficulty of transporting from station to station the large mass of available material to be overcome, but also the conditions of life in huts and under canvas in an eastern climate are seldom conducive to clear and consecutive thinking.Further, the material available has been unequal. Up to the conclusion of the battle of Arras, no completed narratives of the operations carried out by the Division were compiled. To this point, therefore, the only resources were the bald and rather incomplete entries in the official war diaries and personal diaries, which threw little light on the operations in their broader aspects.From the third battle of Ypres onwards a detailed account of all engagements was published by Divisional Headquarters shortly after the conclusion of each operation. These have rendered the compiling of the ‘History’ from this point considerably less laborious, and have allowed it to be carried out in greater and more accurate detail.It has been necessary, owing to the increased and increasing cost of production, to keep the size of this book within certain bounds, and to reduce as far as possible the number of maps. On this account there has been no alternative but to restrict the detail in which actions are described. It is regretted that in consequence much material which officers and men of the Division and their relatives have submitted, often at my request, has been necessarily omitted.It was only thus that the book could be kept sufficiently reduced in size to prevent its price prohibiting the circulation desired.The ‘History’ is now presented with every consciousness on the part of the author that full justice has not been done to its great subject. Indeed, it is doubtful if full justice can be done to the part played by the British Army in the Great War until a generation not intimately involved in it has arisen and has come to regard the burdens sustained for over four years by the British soldier in the true perspective....F. W. B. Headquarters, 3rd (Lahore) Division, Bir Salem, Palestine.CONTENTSMOBILISATIONARRIVAL IN FRANCE—FESTUBERTTHE PERIOD OF APPRENTICESHIPTRAINING AND REORGANISATION—THE LABYRINTHTHE BATTLE OF THE SOMME—HIGH WOODARMENTIÈRES AND HEBUTERNETHE BATTLE OF THE ANCRE—BEAUMONT HAMELCOURCELETTETHE BATTLE OF ARRASTHE BATTLE OF ARRAS (Contd.)—ROEUX AND THE CHEMICAL WORKSTHE THIRD BATTLE OF YPRESPOELCAPPELLETHE BATTLE OF CAMBRAITHE GERMAN OFFENSIVETHE GERMAN OFFENSIVE (Contd.)—THE BATTLE OF THE LYSWITH THE FRENCH IN CHAMPAGNETHE CAPTURE OF GREENLAND HILLTHE OPERATIONS TOWARDS VALENCIENNESCONCLUSIONILLUSTRATIONS.LIEUTENANT-GENERAL SIR G. M. HARPER, K.C.B., D.S.O MAJOR-GENERAL R. BANNATINE-ALLASON, C.B. T/MAJOR-GENERAL G. T. C. CARTER-CAMPBELL, C.B., D.S.OATTACK NEAR FESTUBERT, 15TH JUNE 1915HIGH WOOD, JULY 1916BEAUMONT HAMEL, 13TH NOVEMBER 1916CAPTURE OF VIMY RIDGE, 9TH APRIL 1917THE CHEMICAL WORKS, ROEUXTHIRD BATTLE OF YPRES: ADVANCE TO THE STEENBEEK, 31ST JULY 1917POELCAPPELLE, 20TH SEPTEMBER 1917THE BATTLE OF CAMBRAI: POSITION AT 7 P.M., 21ST NOVEMBER 1917THE GERMAN OFFENSIVE: DISPOSITION OF 51ST (HIGHLAND) DIVISION, MORNING, 21ST MARCH 1918THE GERMAN OFFENSIVE: POSITIONS OF 51ST (HIGHLAND) DIVISION, 24-26TH MARCH 1918THE GERMAN OFFENSIVE. (THE BATTLE OF THE RIVER LAWE): DISPOSITIONS OF 51ST (HIGHLAND) DIVISION, DAWN, 12TH APRIL 1918THE COUNTER-ATTACK IN CHAMPAGNE: THE ADVANCE ON

In compiling the ‘History of the 51st (Highland) Division’ I have been beset by various difficulties, which have contributed towards the long delay in its publication.In the first place, it has been written in circumstances in which military duties have afforded little leisure for continuous effort; secondly, the work has been carried out in many places, most of them highly unsuitable for research, such as the desert of Sinai, native villages and the deserts of Lower Egypt, Jerusalem, Bir Salem, and at sea.Not only had the difficulty of transporting from station to station the large mass of available material to be overcome, but also the conditions of life in huts and under canvas in an eastern climate are seldom conducive to clear and consecutive thinking.Further, the material available has been unequal. Up to the conclusion of the battle of Arras, no completed narratives of the operations carried out by the Division were compiled. To this point, therefore, the only resources were the bald and rather incomplete entries in the official war diaries and personal diaries, which threw little light on the operations in their broader aspects.From the third battle of Ypres onwards a detailed account of all engagements was published by Divisional Headquarters shortly after the conclusion of each operation. These have rendered the compiling of the ‘History’ from this point considerably less laborious, and have allowed it to be carried out in greater and more accurate detail.It has been necessary, owing to the increased and increasing cost of production, to keep the size of this book within certain bounds, and to reduce as far as possible the number of maps. On this account there has been no alternative but to restrict the detail in which actions are described. It is regretted that in consequence much material which officers and men of the Division and their relatives have submitted, often at my request, has been necessarily omitted.It was only thus that the book could be kept sufficiently reduced in size to prevent its price prohibiting the circulation desired.The ‘History’ is now presented with every consciousness on the part of the author that full justice has not been done to its great subject. Indeed, it is doubtful if full justice can be done to the part played by the British Army in the Great War until a generation not intimately involved in it has arisen and has come to regard the burdens sustained for over four years by the British soldier in the true perspective....F. W. B. Headquarters, 3rd (Lahore) Division, Bir Salem, Palestine.CONTENTSMOBILISATIONARRIVAL IN FRANCE—FESTUBERTTHE PERIOD OF APPRENTICESHIPTRAINING AND REORGANISATION—THE LABYRINTHTHE BATTLE OF THE SOMME—HIGH WOODARMENTIÈRES AND HEBUTERNETHE BATTLE OF THE ANCRE—BEAUMONT HAMELCOURCELETTETHE BATTLE OF ARRASTHE BATTLE OF ARRAS (Contd.)—ROEUX AND THE CHEMICAL WORKSTHE THIRD BATTLE OF YPRESPOELCAPPELLETHE BATTLE OF CAMBRAITHE GERMAN OFFENSIVETHE GERMAN OFFENSIVE (Contd.)—THE BATTLE OF THE LYSWITH THE FRENCH IN CHAMPAGNETHE CAPTURE OF GREENLAND HILLTHE OPERATIONS TOWARDS VALENCIENNESCONCLUSIONILLUSTRATIONS.LIEUTENANT-GENERAL SIR G. M. HARPER, K.C.B., D.S.O MAJOR-GENERAL R. BANNATINE-ALLASON, C.B. T/MAJOR-GENERAL G. T. C. CARTER-CAMPBELL, C.B., D.S.OATTACK NEAR FESTUBERT, 15TH JUNE 1915HIGH WOOD, JULY 1916BEAUMONT HAMEL, 13TH NOVEMBER 1916CAPTURE OF VIMY RIDGE, 9TH APRIL 1917THE CHEMICAL WORKS, ROEUXTHIRD BATTLE OF YPRES: ADVANCE TO THE STEENBEEK, 31ST JULY 1917POELCAPPELLE, 20TH SEPTEMBER 1917THE BATTLE OF CAMBRAI: POSITION AT 7 P.M., 21ST NOVEMBER 1917THE GERMAN OFFENSIVE: DISPOSITION OF 51ST (HIGHLAND) DIVISION, MORNING, 21ST MARCH 1918THE GERMAN OFFENSIVE: POSITIONS OF 51ST (HIGHLAND) DIVISION, 24-26TH MARCH 1918THE GERMAN OFFENSIVE. (THE BATTLE OF THE RIVER LAWE): DISPOSITIONS OF 51ST (HIGHLAND) DIVISION, DAWN, 12TH APRIL 1918THE COUNTER-ATTACK IN CHAMPAGNE: THE ADVANCE ON

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If it were possible for the General who for three years commanded all the British Divisions in France, and was served with equal gallantry, devotion, and success by each, to admit a predilection for any of them, my affection would naturally turn to the Division that drew so many of its recruits from the same part of Scotland where my boyhood was spent and my own people lived. Those who read the pages of this book will find therein a tale of patient endeavour and glorious achievement of which I claim a good right to be as proud as any of my fellow-countrymen. The 51st Division does not need to boast of its prowess or its record. It can point to the story of its deeds, plainly and simply told, and leave the world to judge.

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Excerpt from The History of the 51st (Highland) Division: 1914-1918 Further, the material available has been unequal. Up to the conclusion of the battle of Arras, no completed narratives of the operations carried out by the Division were compiled. To this point, therefore, the only resources were the bald and rather incomplete entries in the official war' diaries and personal diaries, which threw little light on the operations in their broader aspects. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

The Highland Division was one of the pre-war Territorial divisions. Its HQ was in Perth with brigade HQs in Aberdeen, Inverness and Stirling. On mobilization the division moved down to its war station in Bedford where it remained, carrying out training till embarking for France in May 1915. During this period six of its battalions were sent to France, three in November 1914 and three in the following March, replaced by two Highland battalions and a brigade of four Lancashire battalions; it is not clear whether the latter were required to wear kilts. They were transferred to the 55th (West Lancashire) Division when that division reformed in France in January 1916 and were replaced, appropriately, by Scottish battalions. It was in May 1915, just as the division arrived in France, that it was designated 51st and the brigades 152nd, 153rd and 154th; by the end of the war the 51st (Highland) Division had become one of the best known divisions in the BEF. The division was quickly into action at Festubert (19- Festubert (19-wed German assault on the Lys at Estaires and Hazebrouck. By the time it was withdrawn from the line on 13 April the division had suffered 7,480 casualties during the previous four weeks. All these major battles are described in detail in this well-written history, with clear maps to support the narrative. But the author has not overlooked the periods in between in his account, the more routine aspects of trench warfare. It is strange that the last two VCs awarded - Sergeant Meikle in July 1918 and Lieut Bissett in October - receive no mention in the history. Total casualties numbered clos

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it.This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. To ensure a quality reading experience, this work has been proofread and republished using a format that seamlessly blends the original graphical elements with text in an easy-to-read typeface.We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it.This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. To ensure a quality reading experience, this work has been proofread and republished using a format that seamlessly blends the original graphical elements with text in an easy-to-read typeface.We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.