An outstanding first hand account and history of the first battles of the Great War The Great War had long been planned by Imperial Germany and its army stood ready to advance through Belgium and France with a force of overwhelming superiority. Both the Belgian and French nations rushed to arms, but were overwhelmed. The small British regular army in the form of the B. E. F was mobilised and thrown into the battle line in a matter of days. It met the advancing German masses at Mons and, much to the astonishment of the enemy, who allegedly referred to the B. E. F as that 'contemptible little army, ' gave a superb account of itself. However, no army of its size could hold against the numbers that opposed it and it was inevitable that it would be overrun. So began one of the most outstanding achievements in the history of the British Army, the dogged retreat from Mons. The man of the hour was undoubtedly Smith-Dorrien, commander of II Corps, who, when it was clear that retreat was no longer possible, saved the army from annihilation when he ordered his men to stand and fight around Le Cateau. The allies halted before Paris, turned and began a counter offensive across the Marne and Aisne that rolled the German invaders back to Ypres. Arthur Corbett-Smith was an officer of the Royal Horse Artillery and was present throughout the events described here. His first-hand experiences, anecdotes and history of the campaign are a highly readable narrative which delivers the facts of the events of Summer and Autumn, 1914. This Leonaur Original two-in-one volume, coincides with the centenary of the outbreak of the First World War in 1914 and has never before been available in this form. Leonaur editions are newly typeset and are not facsimiles; each title is available in softcover and hardback with dustjacket; our hardbacks are cloth bound and feature gold foil lettering on their spines and fabric head and tail bands.