Peter Simkins has established a reputation over the last forty years as
one of the most original and stimulating historians of the First World
War. He has made a major contribution to the debate about the
performance of the British Army on the Western Front. This collection of
his most perceptive and challenging essays, which concentrates on
British operations in France between 1916 and 1918, shows that this
reputation is richly deserved. He focuses on key aspects of the army's
performance in battle, from the first day of the Somme to the Hundred
Days, and gives a fascinating insight into the developing theory and
practice of the army as it struggled to find a way to break through the
German line. His rigorous analysis undermines some of the common
assumptions - and the myths - that still cling to the history of these
British battles.