Item CLIVE, GS 2/2 - Detailed personal diary, 1915-1916

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, notably discussions between the French and British governments and commanders concerning policy relating to the transfer of troops from the Western Front for the Dardanelles campaign; discussions between Clive and Reginald Balliol Brett, 2nd Viscount Esher concerning opinion within the British Cabinet on the progress of the war; the military and political position of Gen Sir Henry Hughes Wilson, following the appointment of Gen Sir William (Robert) Robertson as Chief of General Staff in Jan; Clive's promotion to Lt Col, Jul 1915; negotiations and preparations concerning numbers and employment of BEF (British Expeditionary Force) troops for the Allied autumn offensive; the transport of Allied troops to Salonika, Macedonia, and discussions as to the advisability of sending more men from the Western Front; events in Gallipoli, especially the visit of FM Horatio Herbert Kitchener, 1st Earl Kitchener of Khartoum and Broome, to decide on whether or not to evacuate the position; progress of the operations in Salonika, with emphasis on the position of French Gen Maurice Sarrail, Commander of the French 'Army of the Orient', and his demands for more troops; the creation of an Allied War Council, and Robertson's opinions on its usefulness; reports of disagreements in the War Cabinet as to the relative importance of the Eastern and Western fronts; the appointment of French Gen Joseph Jaques Cesaire Joffre as Commander in Chief of all the French armies, Dec 1915; a description of the first Allied War Conference at Calais in Dec 1915; the appointment of Robertson as Chief of the Imperial General Staff, Dec 1915, and his request of Clive that he be his liaison officer; the appointment of Gen Sir Douglas Haig as Commander in Chief of the BEF (British Expeditionary Force) in France, in place of FM Sir John Denton Pinkstone French, Dec 1915; the beginning of continuous liaison between the Mission and the War Office in London, Dec; a proposal by Jules Henri Poincare, French President, and Aristide Briand, French Prime Minister, to form an Allied War Council, and the reactions of Kitchener and Robertson to it; discussions with Joffre and the Allied Conference at Chantilly, both concerning plans for the summer offensive of 1916; descriptions of the progress of the Battle of Verdun, Feb 1916; the preparation of intelligence documents, including numbers of available troops, equipment supplies, and maps; a detailed list of French liaison officers with whom Clive works, as well as brief notes on Russian, Belgian, Serbian, Japanese and Italian liaison officers. 1 vol.