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Liaison 1914 - Net Assessment - Book Review

Liaison 1914 by Edward Spears. Sterling Publishing Co., Inc. (http://www.sterlingpublcom/search/SearchBookDisplay.asp?BookKey=6692 9) 387 Park Avenue South, New York, New York 10016, 2001, 624 pages, $21.95.

This book is the work of (then) Lt Edward Spears (later general) and is basically a memoir of his experiences as the British liaison officer with the French Fifth Army in August and September 1914. The Fifth Army was on the far left flank and faced the brunt of German invading forces that were executing the Schlieffen Plan. Spears's eyewitness narrative gives a detailed discussion of this dramatic time at the beginning of the Great War and is filled with penetrating observations, analyses of leadership and operations, as well as numerous humorous and tedious anecdotes. For those readers interested in airpower, there are also a few illuminating discussions of the early days of aviation.

Spears's lengthy memoir begins with a description of a resigned and stoical attitude that was pervasive in France at the outbreak of the war. The general absence of enthusiasm for the war is now a view that modem-day, scholarly historians such as Jean Jacques Becker have adopted over six decades after the conflict. Spears argues that prewar army training did not prepare the French to fight the Germans.

One of the lessons that today's military professionals can draw from Spears's memoir is to note the difficulties involved with coalition warfare. There were very poor relations between the British commander, Field Marshal Sir John French, and the Fifth Army commander, Gen Charles Lanrezac. When they met on 16 August, the British commander, through a translator, asked the French commander if he thought the Germans were going to cross the Meuse River at Guy. Lanrezac responded impatiently, "Tell the Marshal... that in my opinion, the Germans have merely gone to the Meuse to fish" (p. 75). The relationship between Lanrezac and French continued to deteriorate until the eve of the Battle of the Maine. Throughout the month of August, the French Fifth Army continued to retreat, leaving the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) dangerously exposed. By the time of the Battle of the Maine, the British thoroughly distrusted the French, and it took an intervention by the secretary of war, Lord Herbert Kitchener, to get the B EF to fight in the Battle of the Maine. All of this is chronicled in Spears's memoirs. Spears does not discuss this part of the battle with overtly pro-British bias or strong animus against the French, and, in fact, he shows strong sympathies for the French Fifth Army. In the end, we can see that the failures of coalition warfare led to the initial successes of the Schlieffen Plan.

In this detailed work, there are several glimpses of airpower. Of French airpower, Spears says, "The French had very few aeroplanes at this time, some of these were not particularly reliable and the aviators were being worked to death" (p. 72). It was difficult to deploy aircraft because French infantrymen tended to shoot at everything that flew. Nonetheless, Spears does show that Allied air reconnaissance played a crucial role. Gen Joseph Joffre was able to develop a counteroffensive attack against Gen Alexander von Kluck at the pivotal Battle of the Maine, partially because of air reconnaissance. Not only is the author able to demonstrate the impact of airpower at the strategic level, he shows its importance at the tactical and operational levels as well. He also shows how the Germans used aircraft for effective artillery Spotting (p. 144).

Another valuable contribution made by Spears in Liaison 1914 is his illuminating and detailed discussion of staff work. He discusses the very difficult conditions under which British and French staffers worked, especially doing staff work while retreating. The atmosphere was depressing and exhausting-"Many officers collapsed completely" (p. 234). He does point out that General Lanrezac, a highly unsuccessful army commander, was a professor at the French staff college before the war.

There are several criticisms that can be made of Spears's Liaison 1914. Scene-setting introductions written by a professional historian would be helpful to readers. In places, Spears departs from his narrative of the events of August-September and discusses aspects of the Great War that happen much later in the conflict. At times, the reader is dropped in medias res with no introduction of key players or context. In places, the author disrupts the narrative flow with humor or tedious anecdotes that distract from and obfuscate some of the points he is trying to make.

In the end, this book is a valuable primary source for the professional historian of the Great War. Not only is the text of the memoir valuable, but the 80-plus-page appendix is filled with printed orders and orders of battle. Throughout the text there are numerous clear and helpful maps that geographically orient the reader. Numerous analytical lessons can be drawn from this text, and contemporary military professionals can profit from reading it. Thus, this work remains a classic--a valuable resource for military professionals and scholars alike.