This book is sub-titled "The Second Scottish Rifles at the Battle of Neuve Chapelle 1915", but is not so much an account of the fighting at that battle as an in-depth analysis of the officers and men of the battalion, and the environmental and social background that enabled them to do extraordinary things. I can unreservedly recommend it to anyone who would seek to understand how the regular army thought and acted in the early months of the war.

John Baynes was at time of writing the second in command of the 1st Battalion, the Cameronians (Scottish Rifles). His father was a pre-war regular, wounded with the 2nd Battalion at Festubert in 1915, who returned to command the Battalion in 1933. This enabled John to gain access to many who served and knew the Battalion well before and at Neuve Chapelle, and gave him insight into the all-important relationship between officers and men.

The 2nd Scottish Rifles and 2nd Middlesex, both of 23rd Brigade, 8th Division, suffered very heavy casualties within the first hour of their attack at Neuve Chapelle. It was their first offensive action following several months of dangerous but tedious trench warfare. The 'morale' being analysed is perhaps less about the sheer bravery with which men faced devastating machine-gun fire and the immediate loss of pals, but that which allowed the survivors to press on, reorganise and eventually rebuild a fine battalion.

The analysis of the organisation and etiquette of the regular army; the squalid conditions from which many of the rankers came; the qualities that made good officers and NCOs, and the effects of religion and discipline make for very interesting reading. John's findings can surely be applied to most of the regiments of line infantry of 1914-1915.

I would place this under 'essential'.

Long out of print, but readily available in region of £15-20. Try www.abebooks.co.uk - Find used, rare and out-of-print books worldwide.