1st Battalion The East Lancashire Regiment

This is the story of a regular battalion from mobilization to the end of the Battle of the Aisne in September 1914. When war broke out 1st E Lancs, a regular battalion, was stationed in Colchester, part of 11th Brigade, 4th Division. The battalion arrived in France on 22nd August 1914 and we are given the list of officers who embarked with the battalion. This account of the battalion's experiences in just three weeks includes the Battle of Le Cateau, the retreat to the Marne, the Battle of the Marne and the Aisne crossing. Among the officers killed was the CO, Lt Col Le Marchant It concludes on 10th October when the Battalion entrained for Flanders and we are given the nominal roll of officers who went with it. There is an interesing table showing daily distances marched during the retreat to the Marne (thirty miles on 27th August, the day after Le Cateau) and in the week following the end of the retreat and the advance across the Aisne (22 miles on 12th September). This is a graphic account of those first weeks of the war.