Letter to Robertson from Gen Sir Douglas Haig, Commander in Chief, British Armies in France, on a discussion with French Gen Edouard de Castelnau, Chief of Staff to the French Armies on the Western Front, on the likelihood of a German attack on the Western Front at Verdun, and Haig's refusal to relieve French 10 Army due to possible German attacks on the British front. 3pp.
Letter to Robertson from Gen Sir Douglas Haig, Commander in Chief, British Armies in France, on a proposed visit by HM King George V to the Western Front; French reconsideration of artillery use following a check at Barleux Village on the Somme. 2pp.
Letter to Robertson from Gen Sir Douglas Haig, Commander in Chief, British Armies in France, recounting a meeting between himself and Gen Sir Herbert Charles Onslow Plumer, General Officer Commanding, 2 Army, British Armies in France, concerning the inadequacy of the defences in the St Eloi sector, Belgium; the appointment of temporary Lt Gen Sir George (Henry) Fowke as Adjutant General, British Armies in France; the request of French Gen Edouard de Castelnau, French Army Chief of Staff, that the British relieve French 10 Army in readiness for a German attack on Verdun, France. 4pp.
Letter to Robertson from Gen Sir Douglas Haig, Commander in Chief, British Armies in France, regarding assistance from Robertson during a proposed attack by V Adm Sir Reginald Hugh Spencer Bacon, Commander Dover Patrols, on the Tirpitz Battery. 1p.
Letter to Robertson from Gen Sir Douglas Haig, Commander in Chief, British Armies in France, on his dissatisfaction with the defences of 2 Army, especially around St Eloi, Belgium, and the possibility that Gen Sir Herbert Charles Onslow Plumer, will have to be removed from his position as General Officer Commanding. 3pp.
Letter to Robertson from Gen Sir Douglas Haig, Commander in Chief, British Armies in France, concerning a visit to the Western Front by [?Keith Arthur] Murdoch; arrangements for a visit by Robertson. 2pp.
Letter to Robertson from Gen Sir Douglas Haig, Commander in Chief, British Armies in France, concerning the date of the Allied Summer offensive, and agreeing that postponement would increase the strength of the British Armies in France. 2pp.
Letter to Robertson from Gen Sir Douglas Haig, Commander in Chief, British Armies in France, on a meeting with [Emile] Combes [French Ministre d'Etat] concerning the position of French Gen Joseph Jacques Césaire Joffre, Commander in Chief, French Armies on the Western Front, the stability of the French government, and the confidence of the French people in Haig; the morale of the French commanders and troops at Verdun. 4pp.
Letter to Robertson from Gen Sir Douglas Haig, Commander in Chief, British Armies in France, on the visit of FM John Denton Pinkstone French, 1st Viscount French of Ypres and High Lake, Commander in Chief, Home Forces, to the Western Front, expressing the hope that British use of artillery will not be compared unfavourably with the French. 1p.
Letter from Robertson to Gen Sir Douglas Haig, Commander in Chief, British Armies in France, giving an unofficial report on the dates Haig can expect to receive further divisions from Britain and Egypt. 3pp.
Letter to Robertson from Gen Sir Douglas Haig, Commander in Chief, British Armies in France, requesting that Maj Gen Alexander (Stanhope) Cobbe, General Officer Commanding, 7 Indian Div, Mesopotamian Expeditionary Force, be transferred from Mesopotamia to the Western Front. 2pp.
Letter from General Sir Douglas Haig to Robertson, 1 Sep 1916, about operations on the Western Front
Letter to Robertson from Gen Sir Douglas Haig, Commander in Chief, British Armies in France, on a letter from French Gen Joseph Jacques Césaire Joffre, Commander in Chief, French Armies on the Western Front, concerning the performance of British troops during the continuing Battles of the Somme, and the date of the British attack in Sep (Battle of Flers-Courcelette); enclosing a memorandum outlining figures relating to the strength of the British Army on the Western Front (not included), which the French claimed Robertson had given them; a brief description of a German attack on the British front from High Wood to Dolville. 4pp.
Letter from General Sir Charles Monro to Robertson, 28 Dec 1916, on the Indian Army
Letter to Robertson from Gen Sir Charles Carmichael Monro, Commander in Chief in India, giving his observations and impressions upon aspects of the Indian Army, notably the lack of experienced senior officers, the need to reorganise and speed up the system of command by creating an Indian Army Council, an investigation into the systems of rationing and recruitment, and the poor state of the hospitals; outlining the needs of the Indian Army, especially for rifles and artillery. 5pp.
Letter from General Sir Charles Monro to Robertson, 15 Jun 1917, on subjects including Waziristan
Letter to Robertson from Gen Sir Charles Carmichael Monro, Commander in Chief in India, notably on operations in Waziristan, India; the introduction of various measures in India, including compulsory service for all British subjects there, the gazetting of Indians, the creation of a Munitions Board, and the creation of a mixed Board of Government officials and soldiers to cope with the question of recruitment; concern over the cost in men and money of the Inland Water Transport Directorate, and Monro's desire to increase railway development; the desperate need in India for competent General Officers, and experienced officers to command battalions; attempts to meet the needs of Lt Gen Sir Frederick Stanley Maude, General Officer Commanding in Chief, Mesopotamian Expeditionary Force. 8pp.
Letter to Robertson from Gen Sir Beauchamp Duff, Commander in Chief in India, mainly on operations in Mesopotamia, including his pleasure at the War Office taking over control of those operations from the Indian Government; his desire to travel to Mesopotamia and see the ground for himself, which is thwarted by the need for him to remain in India; the desperate need for more river steamers for transportation in Mesopotamia; his belief that the next Allied attempt to relieve Kut el Amara will be successful, and the possibility of events being shaped by the forthcoming floods in Mesopotamia; the abilities of Maj Gen Charles (Vere Ferrers) Townshend, General Officer Commanding, 6 Indian Div, Mesopotamian Expeditionary Force; his anxiety concerning the stability of the North-West Frontier of India. 6pp.
Letter to Robertson from Gen Sir Beauchamp Duff, Commander in Chief in India, notably expressing his wish that all military operations in India were under the control of the War Office; reporting a lessening of the danger on the North-West Frontier of India; recommending that Lt Gen Sir Percy Henry Noel Lake, General Officer Commanding in Chief, Mesopotamian Expeditionary Force, not be provided with an extra division for operations in Mesopotamia, and reflecting on the possible consequences of the surrender of Kut el Amara; commenting on the unfavourable reaction in England to mistakes made in Mesopotamia, especially regarding medical arrangements in Jan. 4pp.
Letter to Robertson from Gen Sir Beauchamp Duff, Commander in Chief, India, on the Vincent Commission report upon medical arrangements in Mesopotamia, and Duff's complaints concerning its methods of collecting information; the refusal of the Rt Hon Herbert Henry Asquith, Prime Minister, to allow the Mesopotamian papers to be made public for reasons of military security; the proposed takeover of the control of military operations in India and the surrounding countries by the War Office; military requirements in the event of two divisions of troops being sent to India for the protection of the North-West Frontier; Duff's anxieties regarding supply lines to the troops and levies on the North West Frontier, and the need to increase the number of troops there in case of a Turkish attack through Afghanistan. 6pp.
Letter to Robertson from Gen Sir Beauchamp Duff, Commander in Chief in India, on Duff's planned return to England to give evidence before the Mesopotamia Commission; his replacement as Commander in Chief by temporary Gen Sir Charles Carmichael Monro, and the problems faced by the command in India since 1914. 5pp.
Letter to Robertson from Gen Sir Beauchamp Duff, Commander in Chief in India, notably on his preparations for internal unrest in India and a possible attack by Afghanistan on the North-West Frontier; a commission of inquiry into medical arrangements in Mesopotamia, and the reasons for their lack earlier in the year. 6pp.
Letter to Robertson from temporary Gen Sir Archibald (James) Murray, General Officer Commanding in Chief, Mediterranean Expeditionary Force, on the transfer of troops from Egypt to Mesopotamia; intelligence received from Syria of Turkish troops amassing near Beersheba, Palestine; relations between himself and temporary Gen Sir John Grenfell Maxwell, General Officer Commanding, Egypt. 2pp.