Item CLIVE, GS 2/1 - Detailed personal diary, 1914-1915

Personal diary, giving an extremely detailed account of day-to-day activities whilst Head of British Missions at the French General Headquarters, especially liaison between the British and French Higher Commands with regard to operations on the Western Front, and including details of Clive's arrival in France in August 1914; negotiations and preparations concerning numbers and employment of troops for various operations, such as the original French offensive by the 3 northern armies into Lorraine and the Ardennes, the Battle of the Marne, the first Battle of the Aisne, the first and second Battles of Ypres, the first Battle of Artois, the Battle of Neuve Chapelle, and the Allied Spring Offensive of 1915, as well as commentary on the progress of each offensive; the preparation of intelligence documents including German and French orders of battle and available manpower, troop positions, narratives of events during battles, and maps; descriptions of Clive's visits to front line trenches, notably those of French 4 Army; the appointment of French Gen Ferdinand Foch as Commander of French 10 and 2 Armies; the military situation in Belgium and negotiations surrounding a proposal to send British 7 Div to prevent the fall of Antwerp, 1914; the appointment of Gen Sir William (Robert) Robertson as Chief of General Staff, and Lt Gen Sir Henry Hughes Wilson as Chief Liasion Officer with the Commander in Chief, and private opinions on the changes, Jan 1915; personal discussions with Gen Sir Douglas Haig; the mobilisation of the Italian army in May 1915; the disappointment of Clive's desire to return to command his regiment, due to the wishes of French Gen Joseph Jacques Cesaire Joffre and FM Sir John Denton Pinkstone French, Jun 1915; personal descriptions of the organisational arrangement of the French General Headquarters as opposed to the British, the characters of many of the French and British commanders, and the many wrangles between them concerning military tactics and command. 1 vol.