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NEILLANDS**, ROBIN: : The Old Contemptibles - The British Expeditionary Force,1914

LONDON.JOHN MURRAY (PUBLISHERS)/HODDER HEADLINE,2004.

ISBN 0719556465.

UK,8vo HB+dw/dj,1st edn.[Complete number line 1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2.] FINE/FINE. No owner inscrptn and no price-clip to dw/dj. Bright,crisp,clean,monochrome+sepia montage'd photographic illustrated front of dw/dj with gilt lettered title,brown lettered remainder of title and black letters to author's name,thumbnail photographic detail from front to head of spine with gilt,pale blue and black lettering; rear panel of dw/dj with monochrome photographic detail from front lower photograph to top edge and brown, pale blue and black lettered critics' reviews for author's previous titles; with negligible shelf-wear,bumping,creasing to edges and corners – no nicks,tears or splits present.Top+fore-edges bright and clean without blemish; contents bright, tight,clean,solid and sound – no dog-ear reading creases to any pages’ corners – virtually pristine,appears unread,apart from my own collation.Publisher’s bright, crisp,clean,sharp-cornered,original,plain maroon cloth boards with bright,crisp, blocked gilt lettered spine/backstrip and immaculate/clean plain white endpapers.UK, 8vo HB+dw/dj,1st edn,vii-xiiipp+4-362pp [paginated] includes separate contents+ illustrations lists/tables, acknowledgements,maps list/table(7), author's introduction,14 chapters and Epilogue,16pp contemporary b/w photograpgs in 2 blocks of 8pp apiece,between pp106/7 and pp234/5 respectively,Notes,a bibliography and an index; plus [unpaginated] half-title+title pagesa dedication,7 b/w regional and battle maps,and a prose extract (with the BEF in France - personal extract Lt. Maurice Baring,25th October,1914.) Visually the exterior appearance is spectacular for a book of it's age, and even internally,the book is also in an exceptional condition/state of preservation and presentation. See also my book ID rja382711- IN THE COMBAT ZONE: SPECIAL FORCES SINCE 1945. also by this author. On 19 August 1914,the German Kaiser, Wilhelm II,wrote a letter to the First Army commander,General von Kluck: 'It is my Royal and Imperial Command that you concentrate your energies and the vaalour of my soldiers to exterminate the treacherous English and walk over General French's contemptible little army'. 'The Old Contemptibles' chronicles that little army,the British Regular Army of 1914: how it came to be in France at all,the long years of intrigue and preparation that preceded its departure,and what happened to it in four short months of total war. The story begins years before the war when the course of events and the creation of the German Empire obliged Great Britain to abandon a century of 'Splendid Iso;ation' and seek allies in Continental Europe, most notably the French.Then comes the Entente Cordiale of 1904,the long and secret negotiations between the French and British staffs and the amazing actions of that wily,Francophile officer,Brigadier-General Henry Wilson. The road to war culminates in August 1914,when the British Expeditionary Force arrives in France and begins those four months of hard campaigning that started at Mons and ended with the final destruction of the BEF at the Battle of First Ypres, leaving behind a memory that has never been erased.As one who saw them pass wrote later: 'I have seen the Iron Corps of France march through the square at Ypres; I have seen the Canadian Division marching to St Julian; I have seen the Australians marching to the attack at Pozieres; but I have no remembrance to equal in any way that of the old regiments of the BEF, marching to the battle of Mons.' Robin Neillands uses a wealth of first-hand accounts,and his great experience in bringing military history alive,to take the reader on a griping and horrific journey to the battlefields of First World War France. Please contact seller,for correct shipping/P+p quotes - particularly ALL overseas customers - BEFORE ordering through the order page! ** N.B. ALL buyers please note,stocks' actual shipping/P+p costs are adjusted and any difference is refunded,after order's receipt and before the order's despatch, especially if the item(s) are offered either P+p included/FREE. ** N.B. US customers please be aware: US Standard AIRMAIL postage from UK to USA can now cost more than the price of the book! If speed is not of the essence,then Economy rate is recommended - at approx. anything from a 1/3rd to 1/2 of the standard US AIR quote/rate - sometimes arriving sooner than the 42 days - but not always.

UK,8vo HB+dw/dj,1st edn.
Not SIGNED.

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