The Swordbearers. Studies in Supreme Command in the First World War.

Published by Eyre and Spottiswoode, London, 1963, hardcover, index, 387 pages, illustrated, condition: as new.

Correlli Barnett made his reputation with these brilliant studies of the key commanders whose decisions determined the course of the First World War. With great insight and penetrating judgement, he investigates: Colonel General von Moltke masterminded the German's initial attack on France in 1914; Admiral Sir John Jellicoe, who commanded the Royal Navy's Grand Fleet; General Petain, the French leader who halted the German advances at Verdun in 1916; and General Erich Ludendorff who led the last great German offensives in the summer of 1918. In this moving and fascinating account, Correlli Barnett describes how these men struggled with events greater than themselves, and shows their moments of clarity and prophecy, of optimistic self-delusion, of uncertainty and despair. The period of their command together spans the war years, and gives a continuous history of the war on the western front.

"
Along with The Guns of August, this book influenced my perception of World War I more than any other. It should be stated that this is a study of supreme command during that war, and not a view from the trenches. If you want to understand how such a calamity could have occurred, however, and the thinking of those who steered it, this is the place to start. Barnett unleashes a devastating military and psychological study of these 4 leaders, and lays bare their misguided intentions and inability to grasp the true situation. No other book I know of lays it out this well. One of the best books on the subject in extant."