Bloody Red Tabs: General Officer Casualties of the Great War 1914-1918

Published by Pen and Sword, 1995, hardcover, illustrated, 225 pages, condition: as new.

British generals were often scorned by ordinary soldiers in World War I; the authors attempt to set the record straight with brief biographies of 200 generals killed, wounded or captured.

The author sets out to break the myths created in the aftermath of World War 1 to blame someone for the horrendous losses of the British Army of the Chateaux Generals and the Donkeys (generals) that led the brave troops to slaughter. This myth was especially driven by politicians of the time and was taken at face value by not only civilians, but also the officers and troops that served under these same generals.

The author chronicles the service of the 78 generals that were killed during the conflict, and also the 146 generals that were wounded, gassed or became prisoners=of-war during the conflict. These general officers mostly had the same service records from before the war, fighting in the Empires' colonial conflicts and the vast majority having served during the Second Boer War in South Africa. Many were wounded during their service before the war and most also had received gallantry awards, including 10 Victoria Cross recipients. These men, and against express orders after the Battle of Loos, still chose to go to the front-line trenches for whatever reasons and paid the ultimate price. Against these casualties are also put that only three officers of admiral rank from the Royal Navy were killed in action during the whole war.

The biographies feels mostly the same as these men had similiar pre-war careers with the odd exceptions here and there, especially 25-year-old Brigadier General Roland Bradford VC MC. This makes the book seem a bit repetitive, but one has to keep in mind that they were all individuals. A good book that should be on all World War 1 reading shelves to give better perspective of the conflict.