To Do the Work of Men: An Operational History of the 21st Division in the Great War by Clayton, Derek

To Do the Work of Men: An Operational History of the 21st Division in the Great War

The 21st Division was formed in September 1914 as part of Kitchener's Third Army (K3), comprising units...
¥13,894 JPY
¥13,894 JPY
SKU: 9781804512333
Product Type: Books
Please hurry! Only 0 left in stock
Author: Derek Clayton
Format: Paperback
Language: English
Subtotal: ¥13,894
10 customers are viewing this product
To Do the Work of Men: An Operational History of the 21st Division in the Great War by Clayton, Derek

To Do the Work of Men: An Operational History of the 21st Division in the Great War

¥13,894

To Do the Work of Men: An Operational History of the 21st Division in the Great War

¥13,894
Author: Derek Clayton
Format: Paperback
Language: English
The 21st Division was formed in September 1914 as part of Kitchener's Third Army (K3), comprising units mostly from Yorkshire, Northumberland, Durham and Lincolnshire. It was destined to spend its entire period of active service on the Western Front, taking part in almost all the major engagements. Only two weeks after having arrived in France, and with no battlefield experience, they were thrown into action on the second day of the Battle of Loos. Badly misused by high command, it was not surprising that they underperformed.

The division, from May 1916 under the command of Major-General David "Soarer" Campbell, managed to recover from this disastrous baptism of fire to achieve creditable success on three occasions during the Battle of the Somme, including the attack north of Fricourt on the first day. It was during this campaign that the original 63 Bde was exchanged for 110 Bde, the latter's four battalions of the Leicestershire Regiment performing admirably at the Battle of Bazentin on 14 July. The division then re-entered the fray with the newly-introduced tanks in September as the BEF captured the villages of Flers and Gueudecourt. In 1917, they experienced mixed fortunes both at Arras, coming up against the formidable Hindenburg Line defenses, and during the latter stages of Third Ypres as they defended Polygon Wood against German counter attacks before struggling forward through the October mud to assault the village of Reutel.

Between March and June of 1918, the division faced all three major German Spring Offensives: they put up a stout defense of the village of Epéhy on 21 March before conducting a lengthy fighting retreat that reduced its battalions to barely 200 men each. In April, they halted the German advance near Ypres during the Battle of the Lys and then, having been sent to a quiet French sector to rest and reorganize, on 28 May they found themselves in the path of the Blücher offensive and were sent reeling as the Germans stormed across the Chemin des Dames Ridge.

The division survived - barely - and recovered to play its part in the Hundred Days victories. It was involved in a dozen or so attacks through the summer and autumn, recapturing much of the ground ceded during the March retreat before extending their advance across the Selle and Sambre rivers. They fought their last engagement four days before the armistice when they captured the village of Limont-Fontaine.

The 21st had a busy and costly war, losing more men killed, wounded or missing than any other New Army division. It is no wonder that Sir Arthur Conan Doyle described the 21st Division as "that hard-bitten old scrapper".

Author: Derek Clayton
Publisher: Helion & Company
Published: 03/31/2023
Pages: 384
Binding Type: Paperback
ISBN: 9781804512333

Returns Policy

You may return most new, unopened items within 30 days of delivery for a full refund. We'll also pay the return shipping costs if the return is a result of our error (you received an incorrect or defective item, etc.).

You should expect to receive your refund within four weeks of giving your package to the return shipper, however, in many cases you will receive a refund more quickly. This time period includes the transit time for us to receive your return from the shipper (5 to 10 business days), the time it takes us to process your return once we receive it (3 to 5 business days), and the time it takes your bank to process our refund request (5 to 10 business days).

If you need to return an item, simply login to your account, view the order using the "Complete Orders" link under the My Account menu and click the Return Item(s) button. We'll notify you via e-mail of your refund once we've received and processed the returned item.

Shipping

We can ship to virtually any address in the world. Note that there are restrictions on some products, and some products cannot be shipped to international destinations.

When you place an order, we will estimate shipping and delivery dates for you based on the availability of your items and the shipping options you choose. Depending on the shipping provider you choose, shipping date estimates may appear on the shipping quotes page.

Please also note that the shipping rates for many items we sell are weight-based. The weight of any such item can be found on its detail page. To reflect the policies of the shipping companies we use, all weights will be rounded up to the next full pound.

Related Products

Recently Viewed Products