Behind the Front: British Soldiers and French Civilians, 1914–1918 (Studies in the Social and Cultural History of Modern Warfare, Series Number 40)

"Until now scholars have looked for the source of the indomitable Tommy morale on the Western Front in innate British bloody-mindedness and irony, not to mention material concerns such as leave, food, rum, brothels, regimental pride, and male bonding. However, re-examining previously used sources alongside never-before consulted archives, Craig Gibson shifts the focus away from battle and the trenches to times behind the front, where the British intermingled with a vast population of allied civilians, whom Lord Kitchener had instructed the troops to 'avoid'. Besides providing a comprehensive examination of soldiers' encounters with local French and Belgian inhabitants which were not only unavoidable but also challenging, symbiotic and uplifting in equal measure, Gibson contends that such relationships were crucial to how the war was fought on the Western Front and, ultimately, to British victory in 1918. What emerges is a novel interpretation of the British and Dominion soldier at war"-- Provided by publisher Cover 1 Half title 3 Series title 4 Title 5 Copyright 6 Dedication 7 Contents 9 Illustrations 11 Maps 13 Tables 14 Acknowledgments 15 Abbreviations 20 Prologue 29 Introduction 32 Part I Mobile warfare, 1914 55 1 The first campaign 57 Part II Trench warfare, 1914–1918 91 2 Land 93 3 Administration 118 4 Billet 137 5 Communication 175 6 Friction 185 7 Farms 216 8 Damages 250 9 Money 271 10 Discipline 301 11 Sex 337 Part III Mobile warfare, 1918 375 12 The last campaign 377 Conclusion 404 Epilogue 413 Appendix 1 Field Marshal Lord Kitchener's message to the BEF 417 Appendix 2 Order as to Procedure to be Adopted on entering a French or Belgian Town or Village which has been occupied by the Enemy 418 Appendix 3 Arthur Murray Jarvis 420 Appendix 4 A Partial Record of Damage Claims Lodged against the BEF, Sorted by Nationality, Number and Amount (in francs), 1914–1918 421 Sources consulted 438 Manuscript sources 438 Australia 438 Australian War Memorial, Canberra, ACT 438 Private records 438 Belgium 438 Archives Générales du Royaume, Brussels 438 Archives du Ministère des Affaires Étrangères, Brussels 438 Rijksarchief, Brugge 439 Stadsarchief, Ieper2 439 Canada 439 Archives and Special Collections, Queen Elizabeth II Library, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John's 439 City of Toronto Archives, Toronto 439 Directorate of History and Heritage, Ottawa 439 Library and Archives Canada, Ottawa 439 Records of the Department of Militia and Defence, RG 9 439 Provincial Archives of Newfoundland and Labrador, St John's 440 Diaries, letters and unpublished memoirs 440 France 440 Archives de l'armée de terre, Château de Vincennes, Paris 440 Archives départementales de la Seine-Maritime, Rouen 440 Archives départementales de la Somme, Amiens 440 Archives départementales du Nord, Lille 440 Archives départementales du Pas-de-Calais, Arras 440 Archives du Ministère des Affaires Étrangères, Quai d'Orsay, Paris 440 Archives Municipales, Ville d'Amiens, Département de la Somme 441 Archives Nationales, Paris 441 United Kingdom 441 British Library, London 441 Brotherton Library, University of Leeds 441 Department of Documents, Imperial War Museum, London6 441 Diaries, letters and unpublished memoirs 441 Other manuscript sources 441 Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives, King's College London 442 Diaries, letters and papers of: 442 Liddle Collection, Special Collections, University of Leeds Library 442 Diaries, letters and papers of: 442 London Metropolitan Archives 444 Norfolk Record Office, Norwich 444 The National Archives, Kew, Surrey 444 Foreign Office 444 Foreign Office and Foreign and Commonwealth Office 444 Registrar General 444 War Office 444 Wiltshire and Swindon Archives, Chippenham 445 Published primary sources 445 Newspapers, periodicals 446 Official histories, unit histories, statistical records and guide books 446 Published secondary sources 449 Published letters, memoirs, reminiscences and novels from experience 449 Theses 453 Monographs 453 Articles and selected chapters 465 Unpublished papers 470 Index 471 Introduction Part I. Mobile Warfare, 1914: 1. The first campaign Part II. Trench Warfare, 1914-17: 2. Land 3. Administration 4. Billet 5. Communication 6. Friction 7. Farms 8. Damages 9. Money 10. Discipline 11. Sex Part III. Mobile Warfare, 1918: 12. The final campaign Conclusion Epilogue Appendices Bibliography. The dominant impression of the British soldier's experience on the Western Front is of life in a trench. However, Craig Gibson reveals how the relationship of troops with local inhabitants is key to an understanding of fighting on the Western Front and the eventual success of British arms in 1918. Uncovers the vital relationships between British troops and local inhabitants in France and Belgium during the First World War