
The Guards Came Through
An Illustrated History of the Guards in the Great War
Simon Doughty(Author)
Third Millennium Publishing
Published on 9. June 2016
Book
Hardback
160 pages
978-1-908990-57-0 (ISBN)
Description
An illustrated account of the Household Cavalry and Foot Guards in The Great War.
The story of the Guards in the First World War epitomises the shattering historical significance of the conflict. These elite regiments fought in every major engagement on the Western Front - Mons, Loos, the Aisne, the Somme, Passchendaele - and sustained incalculable losses. Whole divisions were wiped out, and new regiments created. Cavalrymen spent the war behind machine-guns while their horses remained tethered and terrified.
Simon Doughty's account is the first truly comprehensive record of the regiments' contribution to the war, describing every action in which they participated and tracing the complex history of their formation and dissolution. Rare extracts from regimental publications and arresting photography - much of which is published here for the first time - bring us close to the stories of famous figures such as Kipling, Julian Grenfell and Harold Macmillan, but also introduce us to the unknown private soldiers, all of whom were awarded the special rank of Guardsman by a grateful King George V after the War.
As eminent historian Sir Michael Howard's introduction makes clear, the experience of the Guards is a peculiarly poignant tale within the wider narrative of the War. Amid the series of centenary commemorations, it is a story that needs to be told.
The story of the Guards in the First World War epitomises the shattering historical significance of the conflict. These elite regiments fought in every major engagement on the Western Front - Mons, Loos, the Aisne, the Somme, Passchendaele - and sustained incalculable losses. Whole divisions were wiped out, and new regiments created. Cavalrymen spent the war behind machine-guns while their horses remained tethered and terrified.
Simon Doughty's account is the first truly comprehensive record of the regiments' contribution to the war, describing every action in which they participated and tracing the complex history of their formation and dissolution. Rare extracts from regimental publications and arresting photography - much of which is published here for the first time - bring us close to the stories of famous figures such as Kipling, Julian Grenfell and Harold Macmillan, but also introduce us to the unknown private soldiers, all of whom were awarded the special rank of Guardsman by a grateful King George V after the War.
As eminent historian Sir Michael Howard's introduction makes clear, the experience of the Guards is a peculiarly poignant tale within the wider narrative of the War. Amid the series of centenary commemorations, it is a story that needs to be told.
More details
Edition
Main
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Product notice
Trade binding
Illustrations
200 colour and mono images.
Dimensions
Height: 252 mm
Width: 196 mm
Thickness: 16 mm
Weight
800 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-908990-57-0 (9781908990570)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
Colonel Simon Doughty was commissioned into the Life Guards in 1976 and retired from the Army in 2009, having travelled widely and served in England, Northern Ireland, Cyprus, Germany and Holland. A graduate of War Studies at Kings College, London, Simon is the Editor of The Guards Magazine and a member of the British Commission for Military History, the Society of Army Historical Research and the Army Records Society.