BY
ARTHUR CONAN DOYLE
AUTHOR OF
'THE GREAT BOER WAR,' ETC.
SECOND EDITION
HODDER AND STOUGHTON
LONDON NEW YORK TORONTO
MCMXVII
UNIFORM WITH THIS VOLUME.
BY THE SAME AUTHOR
THE BRITISH CAMPAIGN
IN FRANCE AND FLANDERS
1914
LONDON: HODDER AND STOUGHTON
PREFACE
In the previous volume of this work, which dealtwith the doings of the British Army in France andFlanders during the year 1914, I ventured to claimthat a great deal of it was not only accurate but thatit was very precisely correct in its detail. This claimhas been made good, for although many militarycritics and many distinguished soldiers have read itthere has been no instance up to date of any seriouscorrection. Emboldened by this I am now puttingforward an account of the doings of 1915, which willbe equally detailed and, as I hope, equally accurate.In the late autumn a third volume will carry thestory up to the end of 1916, covering the series ofbattles upon the Somme.
The three years of war may be roughly dividedinto the year of defence, the year of equilibrium, andthe year of attack. This volume concerns itself withthe second, which in its very nature must be lessdramatic than the first or third. None the less itcontains some of the most moving scenes of the greatworld tragedy, and especially the second Battle ofYpres and the great Battle of Loos, two desperate{vi}conflicts the details of which have not, so far as Iknow, been given up to now to the public.
Now, as before, I must plead guilty to manyfaults of omission, which often involve some injustice,since an author is naturally tempted to enlarge uponwhat he knows at the expense of that about which heis less well informed. These faults may be remediedwith time, but in the meantime I can only claimindulgence for the obvious difficulty of my task. Withthe fullest possible information at his disposal, I do notenvy the task of the chronicler who has to strike ajust balance amid the claims of some fifty divisions.
ARTHUR CONAN DOYLE.
WINDLESHAM, CROWBOROUGH,
April 1917.
CONTENTS
THE OPENING MONTHS OF 1915
Conflict of the 1st Brigade at Cuinchy, and of the 3rd Brigade atGivenchy—Heavy losses of the Guards—Michael O'Leary,V.C.—Relief of French Divisions by the Twenty-seventh andTwenty-eighth British—Pressure on the Fifth Corps—Force subdividedinto two armies—Disaster to 16th Lancers—The dearth of munitions
NEUVE CHAPELLE AND HILL 60
The opening of the spring campaign—Surprise of Neuve Chapelle—Thenew artillery—Gallant advance and terrible losses—The Indiansin Neuve Chapelle—A sterile victory—The night action ofSt. Eloi—Hill 60—The monstrous mine—The veteran 13th Brigade—Abloody battle—London Territorials on the Hill—A contest ofendurance—The first signs of poison
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