The Guns Of August

When the English enter into the war, they exhibit many of the same problems as the other nations, namely squabbling among themselves. The English reluctance to commit, however, is obvious, as the military and civilian leaders argue over how many troops to send, where to send them, or whether to send any at all. As Secretary of War, Field Marshal Lord Kitchener wants to delay sending the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) to the mainland, but not out of any recalcitrance. He doesn’t see the force as large enough to change the outcome, and he sees the war lasting much longer than anyone else believes; he thinks England will need a much larger, much better trained force. Old minds prevail, however, and the planning that has already been in process moves forward.

The leaders continue to squabble—now Kitchener agrees with moving the BEF, but he wants to change where they set up. Kitchener sees the German envelopment, but no one believes him—or rather, like Germany and France, they are already committed to old plans and won’t accept any reason to change. The BEF begins debarkation at Southampton and Portsmouth, sending 80,000 men and 30,000 horses across the channel. Within a few days,

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