Clem Maginnis An Unappreciated Field of Endeavour: Logistics and the British Expeditionary Force on the Western Front 1914-1918.

[Crunchy]

An Unappreciated Field of Endeavour: Logistics and the British Expeditionary Force on the Western Front 1914-1918. Clem Maginnis, Helion and Company Limited, Solihull UK, 2018, 386pp

 

This is a remarkable book not only for the story it tells but also for the wealth of information it contains therein. As the title suggests, in the historiography of war the work of those providing the logistical support to the fighting troops hardly gets a mention. Nor in this reviewer's experience as an infantryman, do the fighting arms really appreciate the complexity of the task and the difficulties the logistician confronts. This book goes a very long way to rectifying these omissions with regard to the British efforts on the Western Front, and what a phenomenal story it is. Of the many books that have been written during the centenary of the Great War, this volume makes one of the most valuable contributions to our understanding of the British effort during that conflict.

 

Rather than being a general history of logistics on the Western Front An Unappreciated Field of Endeavour presents the story through selected examples drawn from different periods, issues and operations, and is in three parts, each comprising four chapters.  In Part 1 - Perceptions and Plans - Maginnis kicks off with a perspective of the logistical effort on the Western Front, which reads very much like a conclusion presented as an entree before digesting the main course. The remaining three chapters address pre-war mobilisation planning, the involvement of commercial firms in that exercise, and the use of the railways in the mobilisation of both the BEF and those forces deployed for home defence during the early months of the war. Part II - Finding a Way - covers logistic support in the differing operational environments of 1914, including the role of 'Wully' Robertson, deploying the Indian Expeditionary Force to France, integrating the Indians, with their unique entitlements, into the logistical system on the Western Front, and the complexities and difficulties of sustaining the 1916 Somme Offensive, including casualty evacuation. Part III - Innovation and Improvisation - is largely concerned with transportation starting with the integration of civilian consultants and their methods into the BEF's logistics system. This is followed by the contribution and influence of wheeled motor transport on operations, the transportation of tanks from the factory to the front line, and concluding with the new challenges of supporting the advance to victory during the last one hundred days.

 

Clearly this work was a labour of love for Maginnis, a former Royal Corps of Transport and Royal Logistic Corps officer, as evidenced by the enormous amount of research it has entailed through primary and secondary sources. Not only do the footnotes indicate the depth and breadth of that research, they contain a wealth of additional information and comment that complements the main text. The narrative is supported by useful maps and charts, together with tables placed within the relevant portion of the text and footnotes rather than at the end of the book, making it so much easier to relate the relevant information in the tables to the text.

 

What stands out in this well written study is the enormous effort, complexities and difficulties the British confronted and overcame in sustaining the BEF on the Western Front. Starting from a low base in 1914, the expansion of the logistic output, organisation and support in a few short years was staggering, as were the tonnages moved on a daily basis at peak periods of fighting and the overall quantities of stores, rations, petroleum and ammunition provided over the four years of war. A key component in moving them were the commercial railways in Britain and France, and the lines laid and operated by the Royal Engineers.  It was a truly stupendous undertaking that is worthy of high praise. At the core of organising supplies to the fighting troops were the staff officers involved with constant planning - that often maligned and disparaged group who deserve great respect for their achievements  - together with the men who ensured the supplies reached the fighting men at the front; not only ordnance and service corps personnel but also the engineers and civilians who both maintained the roads and operated the railways.

 

If there is one criticism that can levelled, it is the overuse of abbreviations; the glossary runs to five and a third pages, and even then some are not included. A good number of them are unnecessary - for example, HD (Home Defence), RWS (Ramp Wagon System), GF (Ground Forces), HT (Horse Transport) - and they defy the reader to remember all of them, requiring a constant referral to the glossary.  Other than that Maginnis is to be commended for bringing this story to the public in such a unique, detailed and interesting manner.

 

While An Unappreciated Field of Endeavour may not be everyone's cup of tea, it stands out above the recent pack as a major contribution to our understanding of the business of war, and the incredible achievements of British industry, commercial firms and the British Army's logisticians that has for far too long gone largely unrecognised. It will be immensely valuable to historians and those with a strong interest in the Great War, as well as being instructive to the general reader with a taste for the more dashing tales of battle and campaigns on just how much goes into sustaining the fighting troops and maintaining operations.

[Gareth Davies]

There is already a thread on the book here: