Tom Donovan Editions

Sir Basil Liddell Hart, arguably the foremost military theorist and historian of the 20th Century, served as a young officer in France with the 9th (Service) Bn. KOYLI during 1915-1916. His experience of action was limited and is somewhat shrouded in mystery. That he was lightly wounded – and at the same time gassed – in Mametz Wood around 16-18 July 1916 is not disputed, and he was necessarily evacuated from the front. But what psychological effects his Western Front experience had on his outlook have been debated by scholars striving to understand his reticence about his actual experience of combat. Alex Danchev, his biographer, has suggested that “the liver had been searched – painfully – and found wanting” – a dreadful blow to an ambitious young man who dreamt of becoming a great commander.

His views on the conduct of the war changed over time, but his initial impressions of the Battle of the Somme, recorded in the immediate aftermath of his own experiences there, represent some of the earliest serious military commentaries by the budding historian. They are now published for the first time in a limited edition of 300 numbered copies with an introduction and various informative notes by Professor Brian Bond. Liddell Hart was Brian’s mentor when he was himself a young scholar in the 1960s.

Impressions… includes Liddell Hart’s eulogistic account of the preparations for the Somme offensive including the effectiveness of air reconnaissance, notes on equipment carried by the troops etc. This is followed by his own experiences of battle including the capture of Fricourt, 1st-3rd July 1916 and operations in Mametz Wood during succeeding weeks. Liddell Hart is somewhat evasive concerning these experiences but, according to Danchev, “of his various accounts, the fullest near-contemporary one” is to be found in Impressions...

In contrast to his later fervently held critical views on British generalship Impressions... was full of admiration. Perhaps surprisingly then, an attempt to publish was frustrated by the War Office who refused permission in January 1917. Publication being effectively “suppressed” by the authorities at the time, Tom Donovan Editions offers Liddell Hart’s Impressions… for the first time in print.