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Wilson, Sir Henry Hughes, 1864-1922, Knight, Field Marshal and politician
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HAIG, FM Douglas: copy diaries, 1914-1919

  • MF856-MF865
  • Collection
  • 1914-1919

Microfilmed copies of the manuscript diaries of FM Douglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig, 1914-1919, and letters to his wife Dorothy Vivian Haig, Aug 1914-Mar 1919. Included in the papers are passages relating to the formation and composition of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF), under the command of FM Sir John Denton Pinkstone French, July 1914; Haig's reaction, as General Officer Commanding 1 Army, British Expeditionary Forces in France and Flanders (BEF), to the British retreat following the First Battle of Ypres, Dec 1914; plans for the British offensive at Loos, Jul-Sep 1915; correspondence with FM Horatio Herbert Kitchener, 1st Earl Kitchener of Khartoum and Broome, relating to the French's command of the Artois-Loos Offensive, Sep 1915; correspondence with Gen Sir William (Robert) Robertson, Chief of General Staff, relating to the proposed increase of British fighting forces in France, Oct 1915; the dismissal of French and the succession of Haig as Commander-in-Chief, British Armies in France, Dec 1915; Haig's recommendations for Lt Gen Sir Henry Seymour Rawlinson as his successor as General Officer Commanding 1 Army, Dec 1915; correspondence with Rt Hon Richard Burdon Haldane, 1st Viscount Haldane of Cloan, relating to Haig's appointment to Commander-in-Chief, British Armies in France, Dec 1915; orders from Kitchener to Haig concerning proposed Allied offensives in France and liaison with French Gen Joseph Jacques Cesaire Joffre, Jan 1916; letter from Robertson, Chief of the Imperial General Staff, to Haig relating to possible British offensives in the Balkans, Iraq and Germany, Jan 1916; discussions with Gen Sir Herbert Charles Onslow Plumer, General Officer Commanding 2 Army, British Armies in France, relating to possible British offensives at Ypres, Jan 1916; the German offensive at Verdun and the resultant requests by the French General Staff for a British relief offensive from Ypres to Armentières, Feb 1916; alleged incompetence within 2 Canadian Div command, Apr 1916; discussions with Robertson, Maj Gen Sir Launcelot Edward Kiggell, Chief of General Staff to British Armies in France, and Brig Gen Richard Harte Keatinge Butler, Deputy Chief of General Staff to the British Armies in France, relating to the proposed offensive at the Somme (Jul-Nov 1916), May 1916; Haig's instructions to Rawlinson, General Officer Commanding 4 Army, British Armies in France, regarding the proposed limited infantry attack on the Somme, Jun 1916; Haig's reaction to British Cabinet criticism of British casualty figures during the Somme offensive, Jul 1916; analysis of German casualty figures during the Somme offensive, Nov 1916; Haig's reaction to replacement of Rt Hon Herbert Henry Asquith, Prime Minister of Great Britain and First Lord of the Treasury, with Rt Hon David Lloyd George, 1916; Haig's reaction to replacement of Joffre as Commander-in-Chief of the French Armies with French Gen Robert Georges Nivelle, 1916; Haig's promotion to FM, 1917; supplies and manpower required for proposed British and French combined Nivelle offensive, 1917; Haig's reaction to German withdrawal to defensive positions along the Hindenburg Line, 1917; Haig's reaction to Calais Conference proceedings, in which combined British and French command council is proposed, 1917; Haig and Robertson' s veto of Gen Sir Henry Hughes Wilson as proposed British Chief of Staff liaison to Nivelle's Headquarters; the re-organisation of the Allied command structure as a result of the Calais Agreement, 1917; the failed French offensive at Aisne, Apr 1917; plans for the Passchendaele Campaign (Jul-Nov 1917) and the choice of General Hubert (de la Poer) Gough's 5 Army as the main British assaulting force, 1917; Haig's fears of a French civil and military collapse, 1917; conference with Gen John Joseph Pershing, Commander-in-Chief American Expeditionary Forces in Europe, Jul 1917; severe criticism levelled at Haig concerning his command of the Passchendaele Campaign, Jul-Nov 1917; Haig's reaction to the establishment of the Inter-Allied War Supreme War Council at Versailles, France, and the posting of Wilson as its British representative, 1918; Robertson's replacement as Chief of the Imperial General Staff by Wilson, 1918; the shortage of British military reserves in France, 1918; the failure of the German 'spring offensives' at Arras, France, Lys, Belgium, and Aisne, France, Mar-May 1918; straining relations between Haig and FM Ferdinand Foch, Marshal of France and Generalissimo of the Allied Forces, France, 1918; the Battle of Amiens, Aug 1918; the terms of the armistice, Nov 1918; perceptions of the Paris Peace Conference and the resultant Treaty of Versailles, 1919.

Haig, Douglas, 1914-1919, 1st Earl Haig, Field Marshal

KEOWN-BOYD, Sir Alexander (1884-1954)

  • KEOWN-BOYD
  • Collection
  • 1919-1922

Papers of Sir Alexander Keown-Boyd comprising correspondence, 1920-1922, from FM Edmund Allenby, 1st Viscount Allenby of Megiddo and of Felixstowe, then High Commissioner for Egypt, to Keown-Boyd, Oriental Secretary, discussing proposals to change staff at the Foreign Office, September 1921; the assassination of Henry Wilson by Irish Republicans, June 1922; and comparison of Anglo-Irish and Anglo-Egyptian relations. Also invitation, details of arrangements and dinner seating plan for the admission to the Freedom of the City of London of FM Edmund Allenby, 1st Viscount Allenby of Megiddo and of Felixstowe, 7 Oct 1919.

Keown-Boyd, Sir Alexander, 1884-1954, Knight

KIGGELL, Lt Gen Sir Launcelot Edward (1862-1954)

  • KIGGELL
  • Collection
  • 1909-1919

Letters dated 1909-1914 from FM Earl Haig, Chief of General Staff in India and Commander-in-Chief at Aldershot, including potential candidates for appointments and Indian Army policy including reorganisation and recruitment; letters dated 1914-1918 from Haig, General Officer Commanding 1 Corps and Commander-in-Chief, British Armies, France, referring to operations including Dardanelles, Verdun; letters dated 1914-1918 from FM Sir Henry Wilson, British military representative at SupremeWar Council, Versailles, including French war effort; correspondence dated 1915-1921 with FM Sir William Robertson, General HQ British Armies in the Field including shortage of supplies and troops; Kiggell's demi-official correspondence when Chief of General Staff, 1916-1919, with various commanders on subjects including administration, planned operations, supply of guns and ammunition to Belgium, France and Russia and staff appointments; recollections dated 1919 of Chantilly conference, Nov 1916, to consider planned operations in 1917.

Kiggell, Sir Launcelot Edward, 1862-1954, Knight, Lieutenant General

MAURICE, Maj Gen Sir Frederick Barton (1871-1951)

  • MAURICE, FB
  • Collection
  • [1806]-1812

Papers of Major General Sir Frederick Barton Maurice, relating to his letter to the press concerning the government's statements about the strength of the British Army, May 1918, dated 1917-1971, principally comprising Maurice's diary, Jan-May 1918; printed and typescript texts by Maurice, 1918-1919, 1922, notably including 'The story of the crisis of May 1918', dated 1918; correspondence with family and colleagues, 1918-1922, 1925, 1934, 1936; newspaper cuttings, 1918, 1936, 1939; copies of Parliamentary and War Cabinet papers, 1918; correspondence relating to The Maurice Case (Leo Cooper, London, 1972) by Nancy Maurice (Nancy Spears, wife of Maj Gen Sir Edward (Louis) Spears, 1st Bt), 1967-1971. Papers collected by Maurice during the writing of The life of General Lord Rawlinson of Trent (Cassell and Co, London, 1928) and Haldane (Faber and Faber, London, 1937, 1939), comprising letters received by Rt Hon Richard Burdon Haldane, 1st Viscount Haldane, 1894, 1898, 1902, 1915-1916, 1919, 1928; letters received by Henry Seymour Rawlinson, 1st Baron Rawlinson of Trent, 1888, 1914-1916, 1918, 1921, notably including letters from Maj Gen Henry Hughes Wilson and Gen Sir Alexander John Godley concerning the Battle of the Aisne, Sep 1914 and operations at Gallipoli, 1915.

Other papers relating to his life and career, 1888-1951, dated 1888-1971, principally comprising letters to his wife describing his service in South Africa, 1899-1900, and as General Staff Officer, 3 Div, France, 1914-1915, and Director of Military Operations, Imperial General Staff, 1915; correspondence, 1915-1919, relating to his service as Director of Military Operations, 1915-1918, notably including letters from Maj Gen Archibald Armar Montgomery-Massingberd, Maj Gen John Humphrey Davidson, Lt Gen Sir George (Norton) Cory, Lt Gen Sir William Raine Marshall, Maj Gen Sir Arthur Lynden Lynden-Bell concerning operations on the Western Front, 1916-1917, and in the Balkans, 1916-1917, Mesopotamia, 1917-1918, and Palestine, 1917; correspondence with Gen Sir Charles Harington Harington, [1923], 1925, 1932, 1934; printed and typescript articles, lectures and other writings, 1913-1943, notably including text of 'On the uses of the study of war', his inaugural lecture as Professor of Military Studies, London University, 1927, text of Maurice's Lee Knowles lecture 'Public opinion in war', and articles on arms limitation, 1921, 1926, the Graeco-Turkish War, 1922, the Corfu Incident, [1923], and the possibility of war between the USA and Japan, 1925; newspaper cuttings, 1912-1919, 1924-1927, 1938, 1945, 1951, principally comprising reviews of his books. Family papers, [1806-1812], principally comprising papers relating to Maurice's grandfather, Frederick Denison Maurice, [1833-1869], 1927; papers relating to his wife's family, [1806-1812], 1874-1879, 1896, 1909-[1915], 1921, notably including personal letters written by her great-grandfather, Spencer Perceval, [1806-1812], and an account of a day during the Paris Commune, written in [1871] by [Norman Spencer].

Maurice, Sir Frederick Barton, 1871-1951, Knight, Major General

ROBERTSON, FM Sir William (1860-1933)

  • ROBERTSON, WR
  • Collection
  • 1898-1930

Pre-war papers and correspondence, 1898-1914, including lectures, texts and notes written whilst Commandant of the Staff College, Camberley, Surrey. Papers relating to his service as Quartermaster General to the BEF (British Expeditionary Force), Western Front, 1914-1915, including correspondence with Maj Gen Sir Stanley Brenton von Donop, Master General of the Ordnance, and Maj Gen Sir John Steven Cowans, Quartermaster General to the Forces, relating to supplies of equipment, provisions and munitions. Papers and correspondence, 1915, as Chief of General Staff, BEF (British Expeditionary Force), Western Front, principally comprising reports and memoranda prepared for the War Office and the War Council by General Headquarters Staff, 1915; memoranda relating to general military strategy, 1915, notably in the Balkans, Dardanelles, Gallipoli and Egypt; papers in French concerning the Allied Conference at Chantilly, 1915. Papers relating to service as Chief of the Imperial General Staff during World War One, 1915- 1918, principally comprising Army Council and War Cabinet papers relating to manpower, 1915-1918; papers of FM Horatio Herbert Kitchener, 1st Earl Kitchener of Khartoum and Broome, Secretary of State for War, given to Robertson following Kitchener's death in Jun 1916; personal telegrams, 1916- 1917, mainly comprising unofficial messages to and from various army commanders and military attachés in Salonika, Russia, Egypt, Mesopotamia, Italy, Romania, Palestine and the Western Front; memoranda and papers on military operations in the Middle East, 1915-1917, and general strategy, 1917-1918, prepared by Robertson for the War Cabinet; documents relating to the creation of the Allied Supreme War Council, and its various powers and functions, 1917-1918. Papers created as Commander in Chief, Eastern Command and Home Forces, 1918-1919, consisting of inspection reports of various depots and units in the UK, and general correspondence. Papers created as General Officer Commanding in Chief, BAOR (British Army of the Rhine), 1919-1920, including printed memoranda by French Marshal Ferdinand Foch, Allied Supreme Commander on the Western and Italian Fronts, on the conditions required to ensure peace in Europe, 1918-1919; papers relating to the organisation and functions of the British Zone of Occupation in Germany, 1919; correspondence with Gen Sir Henry Hughes Wilson, Chief of the Imperial General Staff, the Rt Hon Winston (Leonard Spencer) Churchill, Secretary of State for War, and Maj Gen Sir Charles 'Tim' Harington Harington, Deputy Chief of the Imperial General Staff, 1919; inspection reports of BAOR (British Army of the Rhine) units, 1919. Private correspondence, mainly relating to Robertson's work during World War One, including correspondence with Lt Col Arthur John Bigge, 1st Baron Stamfordham, Private Secretary to HM King George V, 1914-1918; Maj Gen Charles Edward Callwell, Director of Military Operations at the War Office, 1915; Gen Sir Archibald (James) Murray, Chief of the Imperial General Staff and General Officer Commanding in Chief, Egyptian Expeditionary Force, 1915-1916; the Rt Hon David Lloyd George, Secretary of State for War, 1916, and Prime Minister, 1916-1918; FM Sir Douglas Haig, Commander in Chief, British Armies in France, 1915-1918; Maj Gen Frederick (Barton) Maurice, Director of Military Operations at the War Office, 1917-1918; and the Rt Hon Winston (Leonard Spencer) Churchill, Secretary of State for War, 1919-1920. Also including correspondence, memoranda and notes concerning the events leading up to the resignation of Robertson as Chief of the Imperial General Staff in Feb 1918, dated Jan-Feb 1918. Semi-official papers and private correspondence, 1915-1918, collected by Brig Gen Cecil Courtenay Lucas, Robertson's Aide de Camp, mainly comprising correspondence between Robertson and Gen Sir Archibald (James) Murray, Gen Sir Beauchamp Duff, Gen Sir Charles Carmichael Monro, and Gen Sir Edward Henry Hynman Allenby, relating to military operations in India, Mesopotamia, Egypt and Palestine, 1916-1918; Lt Col Sir Maurice Pascal Alers Hankey, Secretary to the War Cabinet and the Committee of Imperial Defence, 1916-1917; Lt Gen the Rt Hon Jan Christian Smuts, South African Representative on the British War Cabinet, 1917; Gen Sir (Francis) Reginald Wingate, Governor General of the Sudan, 1916, and High Commissioner of Egypt, 1917; and Lt Col Charles A'Court Repington, Military Correspondent of The Times, 1916-1917. General correspondence with various on military matters, 1916-1918, including Reginald Baliol Brett, 2nd Viscount Esher, Lt Gen George Francis Milne, French Gen Robert Georges Nivelle, Italian Gen Luigi Cadorna, Lt Gen Sir Frederick Stanley Maude, and Gen Sir Herbert Charles Onslow Plumer.

Robertson, Sir William Robert, 1860-1933, 1st Baronet, Field Marshal

SPEARS, Maj Gen Sir Edward Louis (1886-1974)

  • SPEARS
  • Collection
  • 1851-[1974]

Papers, mainly on World War One compiled by Sir Edward Louis Spears, 1851-[1974]; notably including official World War One correspondence and telegrams, to GHQ, 1 Army, Gen Douglas Haig, Lt Gen Sir Henry Wilson and other officers, on infantry composition, munitions and artillery, lists of officers, colonial troops, morale, observation and intelligence gathering, the lessons of specific campaigns, the employment of tanks, casualties, prisoners of war (POWs), training, public opinion, operational orders for the French 6 Army by Gen Emile Fayolle, and more generally relations between the French and British armies, meetings, views and opinions by and concerning French C-in-C Henri-Philippe Petain, French Northern Army Commander, Ferdinand Foch, and Robert Nivelle, French C-in-C, 1916-1917, an interview with Georges Clemenceau, French Prime Minister from Nov 1917, US, Japanese, Greek and other correspondence and communications over Siberia, Japan, Finland, Bulgaria, and demands for independence by Eastern European peoples, US participation in the War and opinions on President Woodrow Wilson, Italian military offensives, precis of interviews with corps and army commanders, manuscript diary (1915), on the Russian civil war, post-war commerce, letters to Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill, 1914-1920 on topics including the international political and military situation, notably in Russia and eastern Europe, and the progress of the Paris peace conference, 1919 prior to the signing of the Treaty of Versailles (Spears Section 1); unpublished material collected by Spears for his publications on the War, including a report of events for 122 Bd, Royal Field Artillery (1916), detailed memoranda and correspondence concerning operations notably comprising copy letters between FM Sir Douglas Haig, Gen Nivelle, and others including to the Chief of the Imperial General Staff, and on reinforcements, the German postions, the Calais Agreement of February 1917, 1 and 3 Army operations, Franch Army mutinies in 1917, extracts from a diary covering the Battle of Arras, Apr 1917, the politics of liaison, interviews with French and British officers, including French C-in-C Henri-Philippe Petain and Lt Gen Sir Launcelot Edward Kiggell reflecting on strategic and other concerns, 1916-1938 (Spears Section 2); printed material by other authors on World War One used by Spears in his published studies, [1917-1964] (Spears Section 3); draft notes and chapters for Spears' published works on World War One, [1919-1974] (Spears Section 4); original source material and notes by Spears on the 1870 Siege of Paris, mainly rough notes and draft chapters on the Siege, original and copy letters from participants describing events and an exercise book containing lecture notes redating the Franco-Prussian War, [1851-1974] (Spears Section 5); newspaper reviews of Spears' books and critics' letters, 1930-1969 (Spears Section 6); material relating to a war memorial at Mons, 1936-1968 (Spears Section 7); personal papers, mainly articles on the life of Spears [1918-1974] (Spears Section 8), maps, principally of Arras, Bullecourt and Mons, during 1917 [1917]-1959 (Spears Section 9); photographic material, post cards and watercolour sketches, including of trenches, damaged buildings, troops and officers, and a visit to the Balkans in 1920, 1914-[1920] (Spears Section 10); photocopies of some items of Second World War material transferred to Churchill College, Cambridge, mainly on the fall of France, General de Gaulle, and French resistance, [1940-1943].

Spears, Sir Edward Louis, 1886-1974, 1st Baronet, Major General