BATTLE ON THE AISNE 1914 The BEF and the Birth of the Western Front

Recoiling from Paris after being checked on the Marne in 1914, Germany’s armies fell back on the River Aisne. Here, on the heights above the river, they were attacked by the British Expeditionary Force, already weary from a 200 mile march and three major battles. The result was carnage, with 650 officers and over 12,000 men lost, and gave a bitter early lesson ( sadly not learned) in the futility of hurling unprotected infantry against well-entrenched defences. Jerry Murland, an expert on the battles of 1914, gives a full and unvarnished account of the action.