THE LITTLE FIELD MARSHAL: A LIFE OF SIR JOHN FRENCH

Author: Professor Richard Holmes

Publisher: Jonathan Cape

Year published: 1981

Pagination: xii + 427pp, illustrations maps, index

Condition: dw creased ow vg

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French was a Cavalry Commander in the Boer War but history has judged him as one of the 'donkeys' of the First World War. The generals were held responsible for more deaths in the first two hours of the battle of Loos than all the casualties on both sides in the D-Day landings of WWII. Even after the war he continued to cause controversy as Viceroy of Ireland at the height of the troubles. He was instrumental in introducing the controversial 'Black and Tans' to Ireland, in retaliation for which the IRA attempted to assasinate him.