Who knew What and When? The French Army Mutinies and the British Decision to Launch the Third Battle of Ypres

Abstract

Abstract In 1914 Britain went to war to prevent Germany establishing her hegemony over Western and Central Europe. The Asquith government believed that they could do this if the Navy controlled the oceans and if Britain gave economic and financial assistance to her continental allies. But the success of ‘the British way in warfare’ was dependent upon the willingness of France and Russia to fight the armies of the Central Powers to a standstill without significant British military assistance. By the autumn of 1915 it was apparent that neither ally was willing or able to do so alone. Between August 1915 and April 1916 the Asquith coalition reluctantly accepted the need for a major British continental commitment. British participation in the battle of the Somme was the first instalment of the price Britain had to pay to hold the Entente alliance together and prevent one or more of her allies from accepting German blandishments for a separate peace.