Featured battle : Cambrai

Part of First World War

Date : 20 November 1917 - 05 December 1917

The first major Tank battle in history. Although the recently invented tanks had been used in the Ypres area in small numbers earlier, Cambrai was the first coordinated major attack using them. Three brigades of tanks numbering 378 vehicles, supported by 19 divisions of infantry and 5 divisions of cavalry in reserve attacked the Hindenburg towards the town of Cambrai without an initial artillery bombardment. The surprise was almost total, and great gains were made very quickly. These were not sufficiently followed up, however, due to lack of further reinforcements and problematic communication. German reinforcements did arrive though and as the offensive began to run out of steam they counter-attacked. The British lost much of their initial gain, and were left with an uncomfortable salient, but this should not detract from the great success of the Tank Corps and this signal for future armoured warfare.

A Scots Grey at Waterloo

Gareth Glover
The sub-title on the cover is ‘The Remarkable Story of Sergeant William Clarke’ and that is just what this book is – a truly remarkable story. Clarke has written of his life from being a farm hand until, with the rank of Troop Sergeant Major, he left the regiment in 1825. The language is typical flowery early 19th prose. In the initial chapters much is in the Scots vernacular. Glover warns that the reader may find this challenging. But thanks in large part to Glover’s translations and annotations, which on occasions correct Clarke on matters of fact, I found the style of writing gave authenticity to the text. The whole book is a good read but some sections deserve special mention. The Gypsy King’s tale of his life as a soldier in the Seven Years war is illuminating. The account of the retreat from Quatre Bras is, in its detail, a clear indication of how well it was commanded and executed. What might have been a rout was anything but. Naturally the charge of the Union Brigade figures large and again shows us how every individual in a battle sees only his fight and never the whole battle. The final highlight, full of raw emotion, is Clarke’s description of the killing field as he was one of the regiment’s burial party on the 19th June. For example he reports seeing, among the heap of amputated limbs as he passed the field hospital, a leg which had belonged to a Highlander because it still wore the long socks which accompany the wearing of the kilt.
At times the book reads like a novel, other times a journal and at other times like the report of a war correspondent; at no time is it dull. The discovery, recognition and publication of an important manuscript are to be applauded.
We highly recommend it.

Frontline Books. Pen & Sword Books Ltd., 2017