THE BRITISH CAMPAIGN IN FRANCE AND FLANDERS 1916 BY ARTHUR CONAN DOYLE AUTHOR OF 'THE GREAT BOER WAR,' ETC. HODDER AND STOUGHTON LONDON NEW YORK TORONTO MCMXVIII SIR ARTHUR CONAN DOYLE'S HISTORY OF THE WAR Uniform with this Volume. THE BRITISH CAMPAIGN IN FRANCE AND FLANDERS 1914 THE BREAKING OF THE PEACE. THE OPENING OF THE WAR. THE BATTLE OF MONS. THE BATTLE OF LE CATEAU. THE BATTLE OF THE MARNE. THE BATTLE OF THE AISNE. THE LA BASSÉE-ARMENTIÈRES OPERATIONS. THE FIRST BATTLE OF YPRES. A RETROSPECT AND GENERAL SUMMARY. THE WINTER LULL OF 1914. THE BRITISH CAMPAIGN IN FRANCE AND FLANDERS 1915 THE OPENING MONTHS OF 1915. NEUVE CHAPELLE AND HILL 60. THE SECOND BATTLE OF YPRES. THE BATTLE OF RICHEBOURG-FESTUBERT. THE TRENCHES OF HOOGE. THE BATTLE OF LOOS. With Maps, Plans, and Diagrams, 6s. net each Volume. HODDER AND STOUGHTON LONDON, NEW YORK, AND TORONTO {v} PREFACE In two previous volumes of this work a narrative has been given of those events which occurred upon the British Western Front during 1914, the year of recoil, and 1915, the year of equilibrium. In this volume will be found the detailed story of 1916, the first of the years of attack and advance. Time is a great toner down of superlatives, and the episodes which seem world-shaking in our day may, when looked upon by the placid eyes of historical philosophers in days to come, fit more easily into the general scheme of human experience. None the less it can be said without fear of ultimate contradiction that nothing approaching to the Battle of the Somme, with which this volume is mainly concerned, has ever been known in military history, and that it is exceedingly improbable that it will ever be equalled in its length and in its severity. It may be said to have raged with short intermissions, caused by the breaking of the weather, from July 1 to November 14, and during this prolonged period the picked forces of three great nations were locked in close battle. The number of combatants from first to last was between {vi} two and three millions, and their united casualties came to the appalling total of at least three-quarters of a million. These are minimum figures, but they will give some idea of the unparalleled scale of the operations. With the increasing number and size of the units employed the scale of the narrative becomes larger. It is more difficult to focus the battalion, while the individual has almost dropped out of sight. Sins of omission are many, and the chronicler can but plead the great difficulty of his task and regret that his limited knowledge may occasionally cause disappointment.