Command on the Western Front: The Military Career of Sir Henry Rawlinson 1914-1918

by Robin Prior, Trevor Wilson

This is a history of World War I, seen through the eyes of Sir Henry Rawlinson, a middle-ranking commander who frequently acted under General Haig. By examining Rawlinson's role in the War, the authors are able to follow the actual events of the battlefield and show how they related to the strategies of the High Command. Rawlinson kept a diary in which he recorded his views on tactics and the day-to-day events of the conflict. The authors use the content of the diary as the basis of detailed discussions on night attacks, poison gas, the introduction of the tank, hurricane bombardment and creeping barrages.

Command on the Western Front is not a biography, nor is it psychohistory. Rather, it uses Rawlinson as a lens through which to study the tactics of the time - tactics that usually proved woefully inadequate in dealing with the defensive positions that characterized industrial warfare.

Genres: History, Military History

432 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 1991

About the author

Robin Prior was born in rural South Australia and has been a farmer, shopkeeper, librarian and an academic. He was educated at Kapunda High School and at the University of Adelaide where he obtained a degree in 1972, an honours degree in 1974 and a PhD in 1979 (all in Arts/History).

Reviews

[Eric · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sort of a specialized interest, which is exactly why I picked it up to read. It's a biography of a command staff officer in the British forces in WWI. As the author noted in his intro "Accounts of the military conduct in the First World War concentrate largely on two aspects. One is the high command. The other is the combat soldier. This book looks elsewhere." Sir Henry started out as a Division Commander, moved up to a Corps Commander, and ended up as BEF 4th Army Commander, under Gen'l Sir Douglas Haig. He was the commander at many of the greatest battles on the western front, such as the Battle of the Somme, Amiens, and the final 100 days of the collapse of the Kaiser's army before the armistice on Nov 11, 1918. It traces his, somewhat spotty, learning curve in integrating the new tech weapons, tactics, and strategies of the first modern war in Europe, and draws what I consider to be some very relevant conclusions. He wasn't any sort of military genius, but a very practical command officer that was faster than anyone else at figuring out the big picture of how to integrate the new technologies into a weapons system that couldn't be beat. Strategy & tactics changed dramatically between 1916 and 1918, and he pretty much lead the way. This was a well researched and well thought out book, but the writing style is a bit of a tough slog, like trying to advance through a muddy field lugging 70 lbs of equipment.

[Phillip Sawyer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent look at the struggles of the British Army in WW1 and how the commanders tried to adjust and adapt to the extraordinary conditions on the Western Front. Fine history!

[Trawets · Rating 4 out of 5]

Robin Prior and Trevor Wilson have studied the career of General Sir Henry Rawlinson during the Great War. Unusually this gives us insight into the conflict that is different from the the strategists like Haig and Kitchener and a world away from the "poor bloody infantry"
Prior and Wilson say they expected to find a soldier initially at a loss how to fight a modern war in 1914 but who through time acquired knowledge and expertise which allowed him to be a major participant in the victory in 1918. However what we find is a commander who very quickly realised the overwhelming importance of artillery and need to be content with small gains in what he referred to as "bite and hold". However for some reason Rawlinson too often did not stick to principles and allowed himself to be persuaded by Haig to make do with inadequate artillery resources and to attempt overly-ambitious objectives.
Rawlinson's victories in 1918 came about due to a wealth of artillery support, increased technology, and his realisation that he had acquired a talented team of subordinates who he at last listened to, this allied to Haig coming to terms with the scarcity of troops proved to be a winning formula.
This book gave me a different perspective on WW1, and was a good read.