{"title":"Don Farr","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"none-that-go-return-book-don-farr-9781906033835","title":"None That Go Return","description":null,"brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49630256136465,"sku":"GOR008378234","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1906033838.jpg?v=1751630547"},{"product_id":"mons-1914-1918-book-don-farr-9781906033286","title":"Mons 1914-1918","description":null,"brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49660373827857,"sku":"GOR007471304","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":50180112646417,"sku":"GOR003558767","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1906033285.jpg?v=1751250783"},{"product_id":"the-silent-general-horne-of-the-first-army-book-don-farr-9781906033477","title":"The The Silent General - Horne of the First Army","description":"Whether or not Henry Sinclair Horne was the 'silent' General he might certainly, if he were still alive, lay claim to being the 'forgotten' General of the Western Front. His self-effacement in a profession not renowned for shrinking violets undoubtedly made its contribution to his relative anonymity - he wrote no memoirs nor kept anything more than sketchy diaries - but it is still surprising that such an important contributor to the defeat of the German army in the Great War has not until now received the attentions of a biographer. After a customary slow start in the late Victorian army, Henry Horne first made an impact during the Boer War, fortuitously as it was to turn out, under the eyes of a Colonel Douglas Haig. By the outbreak of the Great War, Henry Horne was a Brigadier General. Two years later he was a full General in command of the BEF's First Army. His was one of the most rapid elevations to top rank recorded in the war. In the two years he spent as an army commander he commanded the brilliant capture of Vimy Ridge, the desperate defensive Battle of the Lys, the successful assault on the Drocourt-Queant Switch, the outstanding crossing of the Canal du Nord and the liberation of Douai, Cambrai, Lens, Valenciennes and Mons. Napoleon always sought to ensure that his generals were lucky. In that respect Henry Horne would have suited him. He was lucky in having a long-standing close professional relationship with the Commander-in-Chief, FM Haig; in having under his command at First Army the elite Canadian Corps and some distinguished British divisions; and in having as his Chief of Staff one of the outstanding staff officers of the war. But there was more to Henry Horne than just luck. This belated biography assesses Henry Horne's relationship with Haig and the Canadian Corps. It also evaluates his contribution to the technical advances of the artillery during the war and describes the battles which he conducted. It attempts to accord to Henry Horne the recognition and credit that he deserves but which has for so long been withheld.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ GARDNERS","offer_id":49732652073233,"sku":"NGR9781906033477","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":51550398284049,"sku":"GOR007410047","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1906033471.jpg?v=1751451526"},{"product_id":"mons-1914-1918-book-don-farr-9781907677083","title":"Mons 1914-1918","description":"It was close to the small southern Belgian town of Mons that the shooting war began or the British Expeditionary Force in August 1914. It was close to the same town that it ended for them over fifteen hundred days later. Neither the BEF nor the German Army planned or foresaw that first confrontation at Mons. It came about through blind chance and a series of miscalculations, born of ignorance on both sides, of precisely where and how strong their adversaries were. Although the Battle of Mons showed the BEF to be more than a match for the Germans, it was forced into the long Retreat from Mons as the growing German preponderance became apparent. Mons only briefly played host to the BEF in August 1914. Nevertheless the town acquired a special place in the hearts and minds of the BEF and the British people, enhanced for many by the enduring stories of the Angel of Mons. Although the Western Front became mired in static trench warfare many miles from Mons, there was always a resolve on the part of the BEF that one day they would fight their way back there and liberate the town. This was finally achieved on the last night of the war, only hours before the Armistice ended it. The year 2008 sees the 90th anniversary of the liberation of Mons. To mark this milestone the book describes the arrival of the BEF in Mons in 1914, the Battle of Mons itself, the Retreat from Mons, the Battle of Le Cateau, and the background to the Angel of Mons stories. It also describes events on the Western Front through to the German spring offensives of 1918. During more than four years of German occupation the people of Mons suffered privation, near starvation, deportations and executions. These are described, drawing heavily on unpublished local sources. The Allied 100 Days Campaign is then outlined culminating in the liberation of the town. The last chapter brings the story of Mons and of the main wartime players up to date. Finally two appendices describe the military and political developments which brought the BEF to Mons on that fateful weekend in August 1914.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ GARDNERS","offer_id":49736562376977,"sku":"NGR9781907677083","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":51437713359121,"sku":"GOR008439732","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ LIKE_NEW \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":52413834101009,"sku":"GOR014519537","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1907677089.jpg?v=1751419982"},{"product_id":"a-battle-too-far-book-don-farr-9781912174928","title":"A Battle Too Far","description":"Sandwiched between the better-known Battles of the Somme and Passchendaele, the Battle of Arras has scarcely received the attention it deserves. It was an important battle on several levels. It was conceived and fought in support of the French effort to win the war with one gigantic offensive initially targeting the Chemin des Dames. Preparations for it were sidetracked by the replacement of French Commander-in-Chief Joffre by General Robert Nivelle and the unsuccessful attempt by Prime Minister Lloyd George to subordinate Field Marshal Haig and the BEF to the new French C-in-C. Preparations were further slowed down by inter-allied disagreements over the sharing of railway facilities, BEF takeover of French-manned sectors of the Front and the appalling weather of the worst winter of the war. They were further thrown into confusion by the German decision to withdraw to the newly constructed Hindenburg Line, thereby not only conserving manpower but also forcing the Allies to maintain contact by advancing uncertainly over ground laid waste and booby-trapped. When the British finally attacked on 9 April 1917, that day proved to be the most successful of the war to that date for the BEF. The First Army's Canadian Corps all but completed the capture of the allegedly impregnable Vimy Ridge and the Third Army advanced further in one day than had ever previously been achieved. It would not last. The attack lost momentum and the Germans quickly began to recover from their early shocks. It proved more difficult than had been expected to capture and cling on to Monchy-le-Preux; the Fifth Army, launching its operation to capture Bullecourt village to assist Third Army's main thrust, found itself embroiled in a bitter struggle that would extend over the following five weeks. Over the course of the same period the First and Third Armies renewed their assaults on several occasions with the gains, if any, counted only in yards. The French launched their massive assault on 16 April. Although it achieved some success it soon became obvious that it was not going to deliver on the extravagant promises made for it by General Nivelle. It was this disappointment of expectations rather than anything else that led to the serious outbreaks of indiscipline in the French Army, amounting in many cases to mutiny. The implications for the BEF were significant. Nivelle had promised Haig that, if his offensive had not succeeded in 48 hours, he would call it off and throw his support behind Haig's planned offensive in Flanders to clear the Belgian coast. Nivelle now showed no inclination to fulfill this promise, seemingly content to revert to the familiar Western Front attritional battles. Fully aware of his ally's disciplinary crisis, Haig felt the need to support the French by prolonging the Battle of Arras well past the date when it would achieve anything of value. This led to the assaults described above and casualty lists that on a per day basis were the worst recorded in any battle fought by the British in World War One. With Haig's attention being increasingly distracted by his growing focus on Flanders, the Battle of Arras drifted to a close, a catalogue of unfulfilled promise and failure. There were several reasons for the final disappointing outcome. The tanks proved almost entirely ineffective, not surprisingly considering they consisted of obsolescent models with inadequate protection from German artillery, which had learnt of their vulnerability. The artillery had still not overcome the problem of getting forward over self-churned up ground in time to offer adequate support to follow-up infantry assaults. They were not helped by the damage being wrought on the RFC by the all-conquering German fighter squadrons, especially during 'Bloody April'. The cavalry once again demonstrated that it was largely unsuited for use on a modern battlefield. The author has examined in some detail the political, military and inter-allied aspects of the lead up to the Battle. He has then looked closely at the BEF and French plans and operations within the framework of the Battle of Arras and the Second Battle of the Aisne (Chemin des Dames). He evaluates the performances of the involved Allied armies and their leaders. Finally he looks at their careers and lives following the events of April-May 1917.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"- \/ - \/ -","offer_id":50822596493585,"sku":"","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":50822596886801,"sku":"GOR012205558","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ LIKE_NEW \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":51875374301457,"sku":"GOR013429355","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1912174928.jpg?v=1751630858"}],"url":"https:\/\/www.worldofbooks.com\/en-ie\/collections\/author-books-by-don-farr.oembed","provider":"World of Books ","version":"1.0","type":"link"}