The British Expeditionary Force 1914
There have been a number of programmes on the television over the past few months describing how we went to war in 1914 - but what did we do when war was declared?
a long one and would need many men and strategically called the German plan. British soldiers were all volunteers until 1 9 1 6, when conscription was first introduced.
  British policy for defence was to have a large Navy to defend her shores and the empire and a small Army for any disputes within the Empire or threat to it.
In 1894, France and Russia concluded a treaty based on the threat from Germany, which committed Germany to a war on two fronts. The German Chief of Staff made a plan to defeat France in six weeks and then turn on Russia. It was called the Shlieffen Plan, after its author. It called for defence on the Russian border to await the Russian onslaught, which he predicted would come 60 days from the declaration of war, and to attack on the Western Front.
The Navy was huge and was easily the largest in the world and, as the diplomatic effo s since the assassination of the Archduke Ferdinand in Sarajevo deteriorated, Winston Churchill as First Lord of the Admiralty declared that the Royal Navy would not disperse after the Naval Review of July. It would remain together and ready for the conflict when war was declared on the 4th August. The Grand Fleet, as it was to be called, sailed straight to Scapa Flow in the Orkney Isles under the leadership of Admiral Sir John Jellicoe. Ourarmywasverysmallincomparisonwith Germany, France and Russia. It comprised of less than a qua er of a million men and half of those were abroad guarding the empire. The German Army was two million strong with millions of rese ists to back this up.
This attack entailed a huge hammer blow with the bulk of his forces marching through Belgium while allowing his left side to hold in defence and even move backwards, allowing the right side to come round west of Paris and then turn left and catch the main bulk of the French armies in the rear. Kitchener predicted this manoeuvre and realised that it would take great e ort to hold this plan in check. If the Germans were held, then it would need a great deal of men to push them back.
General Smith-Dorrien, who led the Second Corp, found that although he had stopped the Germans in their tracks, the Belgium army to his left and the First Corp on his right under Sir Douglas Haig had slipped away, leaving him exposed.
"A contemptible little army" was how the German Kaiser described the British Expeditionary Army (BEF) and the name stuck! Those of the original BEF that survived the war were known as Old Contemptibles and they were proud of the name. Fortunately for Britain, there had been many good reforms of the Army since the Boar War, a dozen years previously. Richard Haldane, the Army minister from 1905 to 1912, had introduced the Territorials, pa -time soldiers who would be trained as normal soldiers but have civilian occupations and be called up in time of war or emergency.
From all over the country, more than one million young men heard the call and enlisted. These volunteers would form the largest Army Britain had ever seen, being called Kitchener's New Army. From across the world, the Empire would be sending its young men to fight in Europe and some became the best fighting units of any Army fighting on the western front.
In reality, Haig had lost his nerve and left Smith-Dorrien in the lurch. The Second Corp had no alternative but to pull back and start the long march south to Le Gateau. It was a race with the Germans and the men were exhausted by the constant march.   make matters worse, they were issued with new boots when they arrived in France and many of them suffered from damaged and blistered feet. Smith-Dorrien coaxed his men on when all they wanted to do was stop and fight.
The Entente Cordiale was not a treaty between Britain and France but more of an understanding. Sir John French, the man in charge of the BEF when it left for France, was told in no unce ain terms to remain independent of the French Army. He took with him to France just five divisions, four infantry divisions in two Corp and one Calvary division. The Territorial units would
Sir John French was not a good choice as leader of the BEF. He did not speak French and distrusted his allies with a 'Colonel Blimp' attitude to all foreigners. He immediately moved the Army between those of France and Belgium, to sta  a 'right hook' o ence. He marched into Belgium and headed straight into the hammer blow of the German right hook. The battle which followed caught Sir John French completely by surprise. The Battle of Mons showed the BEF exactly where it stood in the order of things.
The main French thrust came in the east of the country towards Alsace and Lorraine, provinces they had lost to the Germans in 1870. The French army was huge but suffered from narrow minded theories. Attack was their only policy and it cost them dearly. Their soldiers were still d ressed in nineteenth century uniforms with red trousers and blue jackets, and officers still wore white gloves and carried swords. They advanced in huge waves and were mowed down remorselessly. On August 22nd, 26,000 French soldiers died. All this while the main German attack was approaching in the west and the BEF pulled back to recuperate and build up its strength. Fortunately for the French, the two main
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The soldiers of the BEF were tough, well disciplined and hardy. Most came from the slums of Industrial Britain, with hard upbringings and lack of good diets. The average soldier was five inches sho er than his officers and many joined up to get regular food and a bed to sleep in. He was well trained in firing his rifle and could put up a very effective barrage of fire which even the hordes of Germans found difficult to cope with.
In the meantime, Sir John's superior, Secretary of War Herbert Kitchener, began his recruiting campaign for 1 00,000 soldiers. He believed that this war was to be
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