The Western Front: The Generals in the First World War

The Western Front, that cauldron of war, a bubbling, fermenting experiment in killing that changed the world. The Western Front would become synonymous with stalemate and mass slaughter, with indecisive, attritional struggles, amid a tortured landscape of barbed wire and mud.

All the commanders of the First World War, whether leading the British, French or German, struggled in this maelstrom. Yet, for years the 'Generals' have been characterised as ‘donkeys’ or ‘butchers’: unfeeling military aristocrats fighting the wrong kind of war, unable to adapt or change to the new realities unfolding on the battlefield.

In this episode, Professor of Modern Warfare in the Defence Studies Department, Nick Lloyd, counters this prevailing narrative, to provide a much more complex and nuanced understanding of these men, trying to cope with a war that had shattered their lives as much as any other.

Discussing his book, The Western Front: A History of the First World War, he shares how the truth about the Generals’ performance was a much messier picture than we might imagine, of trial and error, success and failure, with each promising development followed by an equally effective counter-measure from the enemy. He explores how their efforts to overcome the challenge of trench warfare led to innovation, new technology and ultimately the dawn of modern warfare. And how these men were human beings with families – some of whom would be terribly damaged by the battles they themselves directed.

In so doing he asks us to follow these men on their command journey, consider their successes and failures and ask ourselves if we would fare any better in their place.

Find out more about Professor Lloyd’s book: https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/308121/the-western-front-by-lloyd-nick/9780241347195

Watch his book launch on the War Studies YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aPhJnEXDTU8