The final months of 1914 were the bloodiest interval in a notoriously bloody war, a time of killing. They ended with the First Battle of Ypres, a fight in West Flanders, Belgium, whose significance has been overlooked for too long. Robert Cowley's account of this crucial period describes how the German armies in France pushed north to seize the Channel ports and throw Britain out of the war - and were only stopped by a brilliant improvisation by a handful of desperate British, French and Belgian troops. In a re-examination of events that seemed too long settled, Cowley combines a wide range of source material with sharp portraits of both military leaders and the men who led them. We follow Albert of Belgium, the world's last warrior king, French General Ferdinand Foch, a former professor of military science, and Hendrik Geeraert, an alcoholic bargeman who made what was literally Albert's last attempt. Many other memorable characters appear, including Sir John French and a young Adolf Hitler and Winston Churchill. The mighty clash of four armies in Flanders was a turning point that irrevocably changed the nature of modern warfare. In this account, based on 30 years of research and following on from Barbara Tuchman's The Guns of August, Cowley details the key decisions that determined the outcome of the First World War - which may have been decided on a single, extraordinary afternoon.
