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Notes
1 Nick Lloyd was awarded his PhD from the University of Birmingham in 2005. His thesis was entitled ‘The British Expeditionary Force and the Battle of Loos’ and was the first archive‐based study of the battle since the British Official History in 1927. He is an active member of the University of Birmingham’s Centre for First World War Studies and is the founding editor of its e‐journal.
2 An early version of this article was given as a paper at the Centre for First World War Studies’ day school (5 March 2005) entitled ‘Britain’s Strategic Dilemma in the Summer of the 1915’. Thanks to Dr John Bourne and Professor Peter Simkins for reading the drafts and offering me their help and advice.
3 For British strategy in the Great War see Paul Guinn, British Strategy and Politics, 1914 to 1918 (Oxford: Clarendon 1965); John Gooch, The Plans of War. The General Staff and British Military Strategy c. 1900–1916 (London: Routledge & Kegan Paul 1974); David French, British Strategy and War Aims 1914–1916 (London: Allen & Unwin 1986) and British Economic and Strategic Planning 1905–1915 (London: George Allen & Unwin 1992); William Philpott, Anglo‐French Relations and Strategy on the Western Front, 1914–18 (London: Macmillan 1996)
4 Rhodri Williams, ‘Lord Kitchener and the Battle of Loos: French Politics and British Strategy in the Summer of 1915’, in Lawrence Freedman, Paul Hayes and Robert O’Neill (eds.), War, Strategy and International Politics. Essays in Honour of Sir Michael Howard (Oxford: Clarendon Press 1992) p.119.
5 Journal of Viscount Esher, 4 July 1915, cited in Williams, ‘Lord Kitchener and the Battle of Loos’ (note 4) pp.126–7.
6 Williams (note 4) p.120.
7 See P.J. Flood, France 1914–18. Public Opinion and the War Effort (London: Macmillan 1990) pp.107–17, 147–78.
8 Keith Neilson, Strategy and Supply. The Anglo‐Russian Alliance, 1914–17 (London: George Allen & Unwin 1984) p.viii and ‘Kitchener: A Reputation Refurbished?’, Canadian Journal of History 15/2 (1980) pp.207–27.
9 For Neilson’s brief (albeit similar) conclusions on the origins of Loos see Strategy and Supply (note 8) pp.92–7.
10 George Cassar, Kitchener. Architect of Victory (London: William Kimber 1977) p.252.
11 Ibid. pp.193–4.
12 See Esher Diary, 9 Oct. 1914, cited in David French, ‘The Meaning of Attrition, 1914–1916’, English Historical Review 13 (407) (April 1988) pp.387–8. See also George Arthur, Life of Lord Kitchener, 3 vols. (London: Macmillan 1920) Vol. III, p.244.
13 French, ‘The Meaning of Attrition, 1914–1916’ (note 12) p.389.
14 The National Archives of the UK (TNA): PRO 30/57/50, Lord Kitchener to Field‐Marshal Sir J. French, 2 Jan. 1915.
15 See Kitchener’s Memorandum, 28 May 1915, cited in Cassar, Kitchener (note 10) pp.372–3.
16 TNA: PRO WO 159/4/6, An Appreciation of the Military Situation in the Future, 26 June 1915.
17 TNA: PRO CAB 22/2, Minutes of Dardanelles Committee Meeting, 7 June 1915.
18 See Herbert H. Asquith, Memories and Reflections, 1852–1927, 2 vols. (London: Cassell 1928) Vol. II, p.107; Viscount Esher, Journals and Letters of Reginald Viscount Esher, Vol.3, 1910–1915 (London: Ivor Nicholson & Watson 1938) p.252; Maurice Hankey, The Supreme Command 1914– 1918, 2 vols. (London: George Allen & Unwin 1961) Vol. I, p.349.
19 See Philippe Bernard and Henri Dubieff, The Decline of the Third Republic, 1914–1938 (Cambridge: CUP 1985) pp.14, 29–32; John F.V. Keiger, Raymond Poincaré (Cambridge: CUP 1997) p.217.
20 Williams (note 4) p.118.
21 For Kitchener’s meeting with Joffre see Philip Magnus, Kitchener. Portrait of an Imperialist (London: John Murray 1958) p.348; Cassar, Kitchener (note 10) pp.380–1; Philpott, Anglo‐French Relations and Strategy (note 3) p.79; French, British Strategy (note 3) p.107.
22 Joseph C. Joffre, The Memoirs of Marshal Joffre, trans. T. Bentley Mott (London: Geoffrey Bles 1932) Vol.II, pp.380–1.
23 Imperial War Museum (IWM): French Papers, PP/MCR/C32, French Diary, Minutes of Meeting at Chantilly, 24 June 1915.
24 See Neilson, Strategy and Supply (note 8) Chapter 2.
25 Ibid. p.33.
26 Keith Neilson, ‘“Joy Rides?” British Intelligence and Propaganda in Russia, 1914–1917’, Historical Journal 24/4 (1981) p.900.
27 Knox was a ‘physically imposing Ulsterman who spoke Russian fluently’ and possessed an extensive knowledge of the Russian armed forces. Neilson (note 8) p.30. His regular reports contained a wealth of operational detail, alongside his personal opinion on the progress of the war. Knox prided himself on knowing more operational details than his Russian counterparts. After being asked ‘for a detailed ORBAT [order of battle] of the Russian Army’, Knox explained the difficulties of obtaining such information, but provided what he could. ‘I doubt if any Russian out of Baranovichi [Russian HQ] could give you a more accurate list’, Knox joked, before adding that ‘Probably Hindenburg’s Staff could.’ TNA: PRO WO 106/1058, Knox’s Dispatch U, 26 May 1915.
28 TNA: PRO WO 106/1063, Knox’s Dispatch Z, 18 June 1915.
29 Ibid.
30 TNA: PRO WO 106/1064, Knox’s Dispatch A1, 4 July 1915.
31 Michael Hughes, ‘? Revolution Was in the Air”: British Officials in Russia during the First World War’, Journal of Contemporary History 31/1 (Jan. 1996) p.81.
32 TNA: PRO WO 106/1058, Knox’s Dispatch U, 26 May 1915.
33 TNA: PRO WO 106/1063, Knox’s Dispatch Z, 18 June 1915.
34 TNA: PRO WO 106/1062, Knox’s Dispatch Y, 8 June 1915.
35 See Edward R. Goldstein, ‘Vickers Ltd and the Tsarist Regime’, Slavonic and East European Review 58/4 (1980) pp.561–9.
36 TNA: PRO FO 371/2447, Sir George Buchanan to Sir Edward Grey, 9 March 1915 (received 10 March).
37 Alfred F.W. Knox, With the Russian Army 1914–1917 (1921; New York: Arno Press 1971) p.273.
38 TNA: PRO 30/57/67, Lt.‐Gen. Sir John Hanbury‐Williams to Kitchener, 16 June 1915.
39 TNA: PRO WO 106/1058, Knox’s Dispatch U, 26 May 1915.
40 TNA: PRO WO 106/1060, Knox’s Dispatch W, 12 June 1915.
41 TNA: PRO WO 106/1063, Knox’s Dispatch Z, 18 June 1915.
42 TNA: PRO WO 106/1064, Knox’s Dispatch A1, 4 July 1915.
43 TNA: PRO WO 106/1066, Knox’s Dispatch C2, 24 July 1915.
44 TNA: PRO WO 106/998, Dispatch LXXV, 15 Aug. 1915.
45 TNA: PRO 30/57/30, Note on the Military Policy of India, 19 July 1905, p.4.
46 TNA: PRO WO 106/1063, Knox’s Dispatch Z, 18 June 1915.
47 TNA: PRO FO 371/2452, Buchanan to Grey, 14 June 1915. For continuing discontent with England see WO 371/2454, Buchanan to Grey, 12 Aug. 1915 (received 30 Aug.), especially Memorandum by Vice‐Consul Lockhart Regarding the Changes in Public Opinion in Moscow as Affected by the First Year of the War.
48 TNA: PRO 30/57/67, Hanbury‐Williams to Kitchener, 5 June 1915.
49 TNA: PRO WO 106/1060, Knox’s Dispatch W, 12 June 1915.
50 Buchanan to Grey, 24 July 1915, cited in Viscount Edward Grey, Twenty Five Years, 1892–1916, 2 vols. (London: Hodder 1925) Vol .II, p.211.
51 Knox, With the Russian Army, 1914–1917 (note 37) p.309.
52 TNA: PRO WO 106/997, Dispatch LXXIII, 4 Aug. 1915.
53 Ibid.
54 Ibid.
55 TNA: PRO WO 106/998, Dispatch LXXV, 15 Aug. 1915.
56 TNA: PRO 30/57/67, Hanbury‐Williams to Kitchener, 11 Aug. 1915.
57 TNA: PRO FO 800/75, Buchanan to Grey, 3 Aug. 1915.
58 Ibid.
59 Peter Towle, ‘The Russo‐Japanese War and the Defence of India’, Military Affairs 4/3 (Oct. 1980) p.112.
60 TNA: PRO WO 106/997, Dispatch LXXIII, 4 Aug. 1915.
61 TNA: PRO FO 371/2456, Buchanan to Grey, 17 Aug. 1915 (received 30 Aug.), includes Report on Interview by Sir G. Buchanan to Russian Press Representatives.
62 TNA: PRO FO 800/75, Buchanan to Grey, 3 Aug. 1915.
63 TNA: PRO WO 106/1060, Knox’s Dispatch W, 12 June 1915.
64 TNA: PRO WO 106/1063, Knox’s Dispatch Z, 18 June 1915.
65 TNA: PRO FO 371/2452, Buchanan to Grey, 24 June 1915.
66 TNA: PRO WO 106/997, Dispatch LXXIII, 4 Aug. 1915.
67 TNA: PRO WO 106/1064, Knox’s Dispatch A1, 4 July 1915.
68 Robin Bruce Lockhart, Memoirs of a British Agent (1932; London: Pan Macmillan 2002) p.126.
69 TNA: PRO 30/57/67, Hanbury‐Williams to Kitchener, 9 July 1915.
70 TNA: PRO WO 106/997, Dispatch LXXIII, 4 Aug. 1915.
71 TNA: PRO WO 159/11, Brig.‐Gen. Hon. H. Yarde‐Buller (British Mission with GQG des Armées Françaises) to Kitchener, 24 July 1915.
72 Buchanan to Grey, 19 Aug. 1915 (received 20 Aug.), cited in Grey, Twenty Five Years, Vol.II (note 50) p.211.
73 TNA: PRO FO 371/2454, Buchanan to Grey, 22 Aug. 1915.
74 TNA: PRO FO 800/75, Buchanan to Grey, 23 Aug. 1915.
75 TNA: PRO FO 371/2454, Buchanan to Grey, 15 Aug. 1915 (received 16 Aug.).
76 TNA: PRO 30/57/67, Grand Duke Nicholas Nicholaevich to Kitchener, 19 July 1915.
77 TNA: PRO WO 106/998, Dispatch LXXIV, 7 Aug. 1915.
78 TNA: PRO WO 159/4, General Staff Note on the General Military Situation, 3 Aug. 1915.
79 Bodleian Library, Oxford: Asquith Papers, 117, Memorandum by Sir George Buchanan, 7 Aug. 1915.
80 Cassar, Kitchener (note 10) p.387.
81 Winston S. Churchill, Memorandum, [mid] July 1915, cited in M. Gilbert (ed.), Winston S. Churchill. Volume III Companion, Part 2, Documents, May 1915 – December 1916 (London: Heinemann 1972), p.1090.
82 Bodleian Library, Oxford: Asquith Papers, MS. ENG. LETT. C. 542/2, Asquith to Mrs Sylvia Henley, 15 Aug. 1915.
83 Cecil F. Aspinall‐Oglander, History of the Great War: Military Operations Gallipoli, Vol.2, May 1915 to the Evacuation (London: William Heinemann 1932) p.389.
84 Ibid. p.368.
85 For Millerand see Marjorie M. Farrar, Principled Pragmatist. The Political Career of Alexandre Millerand (Oxford: Berg 1991) and ‘Politics versus Patriotism: Alexandre Millerand as French Minister of War’, French Historical Studies 11/4 (Autumn 1980) pp.577–609.
86 See Richard Holmes, The Little Field Marshal. Sir John French (London: Jonathan Cape 1981) and George Cassar, The Tragedy of Sir John French (London: Associated Univ. Presses 1985). For French’s attitude to the proposed offensive see IWM: French Papers, PP/MCR/C32, French Diary, 24 July 1915; TNA: PRO WO 158/13, French to Joffre, 29 July 1915.
87 IWM: French Papers, 7/4 (2), Kitchener to French, 20 Aug. 1915.
88 TNA: PRO CAB 22/2, Minutes of Dardanelles Committee Meeting, 20 Aug. 1915.
89 Williams (note 4) p.129.
90 TNA: PRO CAB 22/2, Minutes of Dardanelles Committee Meeting, 20 Aug. 1915. Secretary’s emphasis.
91 This was probably the telegram dated 11 Aug.. Hanbury‐Williams had stressed that ‘delayed action in taking the offensive there tended to increase the difficulties here’. TNA: PRO 30/57/67, Hanbury‐Williams to Kitchener, 11 Aug. 1915.
92 TNA: PRO FO 371/2450, Kitchener to Hanbury‐Williams, 20 Aug. 1915.
93 TNA: PRO 30/57/30, Notes on the Military Policy of India, 19 July 1905, p.4. For further details on the background to this note see Beryl J. Williams, ‘The Strategic Background to the Anglo‐Russian Entente of Aug. 1907’, Historical Journal 9/3 (1966) pp.360–73.
94 Winston S. Churchill, The World Crisis, 1915 (London: Thornton Butterworth 1923) pp.410–1.
95 Haig Diary, 19 Aug. 1915, cited in Douglas Haig, War Diaries & Letters 1914–1918, Gary Sheffield and John Bourne (eds.) (London: Weidenfeld 2005) p.137. My italics. Haig commanded First Army at this period.
96 TNA: PRO FO 371/2454, Memorandum of the Steps Taken by the British Govenment in Procuring Supplies, 11 Aug. 1915.
97 TNA: PRO FO 371/2454, Kitchener to Grey, 11 Aug. 1915.
98 See Norman Stone, The Eastern Front 1914–1917 (London: Hodder 1975) pp.180–91.
99 IWM: French Papers, 75/46/3, Kitchener to French, undated but from summer 1915. According to Sir John this telegram was sent on 18 Dec. 1914. See Sir John French, 1914 (London: Constable 1919) p.355.