by Bob

Back in the forties I naively thought that the Official History was a single, comprehensive and objective volume of unimpeachable authority and even dared to hope that some day I might get to read it. That hope virtually vanished when I teamed of the true extent of that work. Even when, in the eighties, a WFA member started to republish it, I thought that I would be unlikely to be able to afford the complete set. I need not have worried, however, for the economics of publishing killed that worthy project after two volumes.

Then the American owner of the Battery Press approached Dr Bayliss, then Keeper of the Department of Printed Books at the IWM, for help in reprinting an African volume. The good doctor seized the opportunity of realising his ambition of making the complete Official History more widely available to students of the Great War and a deal was struck for the joint re-printing of the complete works By a stroke of great good fortune I was then editor of Stand To! and knew Dr Bayliss so we reached an agreement that I would receive review copies as the re-prints appeared. I must admit that I did not really expect the project to be fully completed, but it was and

so I became the grateful possessor of a substantially complete set. As a matter of fact the IWM did not have to spend any money on advertising as the numbers sold as a direct result of reviews in “Stand To!' sufficed to make publication financially viable. And --Yes, I did read every word of each volume that I reviewed, talk about literary indigestion!

So, of what does the OFFICIAL HISTORY OF THE GREAT WAR consist? Well, there are series covering Military Operations (25 text volumes); Naval Operations (5); The War in the Air (6); Overseas Trade (3); The Merchant Navy (3); Transportation on the Western Front (1); Medical Services (4 general, 1 statistics 7 specialist); Veterinary Services (1); Occupation (2); Orders of Battle of Divisions (6); Principal Events M. Many have appendices volumes and map cases. In addition there is a statistics volume, an exceedingly large number of unpublished volumes on Munitions and one on Blockade .

In the France and Belgium sub-series there are two each for 1914, 1915 and 1916, three for 1917 and five for 1918. Only one volume of the projected two volumes on East Africa was actually published, but there were three for Egypt and Palestine although Volume III is in two parts, Gallipoli gets two, Italy one, Macedonia (Salonika) two, Mesopotamia four and Togoland and the Cameroons one.

That noted historian of the British Army, Sir James (?) Fortescue was originally appointed General Editor of the Military Operations series but failing eyesight soon caused him to relinquish the post. At least that was the official version but there were dark mutterings that he was eased out because he was too critical of the conduct at least some of the generals. He was replaced by Brigadier General J.E. Edmonds who held the position until after the Second World War. He had a staff of historians with a military background, of whom Captain (later Professor) Cyril Falls is usually regarded as the best.

Edmonds compiled some volumes personally and oversaw the compilation of at least the remainder of the France and Belgium sub series. He did, however, exercise considerable editorial control over them and in one case he 'edited' a volume to such an extent that the original author refused to have his name associated with it. Indeed, many critics accuse the official history of fudging. For example Edmonds' account of the approach march of the reinforcing troops at Loos is at odds with eye witness observations.

Incidentally, the title pages include the sub title 'Based on Official Documents' so that one cannot expect 'blood and thunder' reading. However typed drafts were sent to certain officers for their comments and corrections. I suspect that that they were carefully selected as not being likely to rock the boat and you can bet your bottom dollar that no one in the ranks got a look in.

The first volume, (‘France and Belgium 1914 Volume One'), appeared in 1922, the last in 1948. They did not always appear in date order as after a while the number of historians was reduced on economy grounds. One historian whose name will be familiar to most is Major A.F.Becke who not only produced the maps and sketches included in the volumes but also compiled the six volumes of “ORDER OF BATTLE OF DIVISIONS”. These volumes are, of course, invaluable as the entry for each division includes a brief outline history of it and, as you know, histories of many divisions were never written.

The OFFICIAL HISTORY OF THE GREAT WAR, especially the France and Belgium sub series has its critics, not only on account of its inordinate length but also because of the strong suspicion of fudging. Nevertheless, it really must be the starting point for any serious study of that terrible conflict. I must say that I find the Prefaces by Edmonds and the 'Retrospect' chapters thoroughly informative and certainly worth reading carefully.

I understand that copies are on the open shelves of the Birmingham Central  Reference Library.

BOOK OF THE MONTH:

No 2 1914 by Lyn Macdonald. I must confess to recommending this book with tongue in cheek for I do not much care for the author's style nor for the method of stringing personal accounts together. Of course these accounts do show what it was like at the sharp end and are therefore a valuable historical source, even if one does have to be a little conscious of the fallibility of the human memory. However, don't let my own bias deter you from reading this book for if you like that particular format, I am sure that you will enjoy it Bob

 

 

 

 

Great Austrian Skoda gun which fired a 12-inch shell

The Bulletin of the Birmingham Branch of the WFA

Compiled by Bob Butcher

November 2006 2006