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First World War Generals tend to have dubious reputations and in group photographs of the High Command on the Western Front, one figure stands out as an archetypal Colonel Blimp - smart to a fault, white hair, white moustache, pot-belly. This was Sir Herbert Plumer.
But his appearance belies the fact that he was one of the best-performing and best-regarded officers on the Allied side. He was famously thoughtful of his men and sparing of their lives. Though he never got on with Haig (Plumer had, as an examiner, given Haig low marks at Staff College) and although Haig considered removing him, Plumer proved indispensable during the great German offensive of March 1918.
Plumer's crowning glories were the attack on Messines Ridge in 1917 and his successful implementation of the Obite and holdO strategy that contributed so much to final victory.
Lord Plumer of Messines, as he became, destroyed all his papers, but the distinguished Historian Geoffrey Powell has meticulously researched this biography, and has written a lucid account of this undeservedly neglected hero which throws fresh light on generalship on the Western Front.
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2 reviews
An interesting look at a forgotten hero
12 Sep 2009
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
I became interested in Plumer in a roundabout way after researching the use of mines during the Great War. Having read Pillars of Fire: The Battle of Messines Ridge June 1917, I decided to see who this Plumer guy was and why
he succeeded (apart from the near-simultaneous use of nearly a million pounds of explosives!) where so many of the better known generals had (repeatedly) failed
Plumer should be a household name as architect and executor of arguably the Great War's most successful major offensive, but his career and competent--though not flashy--generalship was overshadowed by the by the horrific mistakes of his peers. This book does a fine job detailing his life and career, although the sheer breadth of the latter and the author's style leaves the piece a tad plodding at times. The chief fault of this book is that the praise is lavish--almost fawning at times. I have no reason to believe that Plumer was not a fine commander who was respected (perhaps begrudgingly) by his peers and beloved by his subordinates, but the lack of negatives in his life--apart from his concerns over his slow career progression before the Great War and his estangement from his son-- makes him seem almost superhuman.
Was he that good and just a victim of the system and the "old boys" network of the Royal Army or were there other factors that really prevented him from being in Haig's shoes? I suspect that the man really wasn't much of a self promoter and was more concerned than anything with being the best leader he could and doing right by his men. The author doesn't delve into those nuances, however, and I think that hurts the piece. I also suspect that lack of detail is due in part to the revelation that Plumer destroyed all of his personal papers before his death, preventing a real look into Plumer's inner workings.
At any rate, this book belongs on your shelf if you are at all interested in Great War generalship. The man's career is fascinating and his results are tangible. Also check out "Pillars of Fire" for a more indepth look at the Messines offensive.
he succeeded (apart from the near-simultaneous use of nearly a million pounds of explosives!) where so many of the better known generals had (repeatedly) failed
Plumer should be a household name as architect and executor of arguably the Great War's most successful major offensive, but his career and competent--though not flashy--generalship was overshadowed by the by the horrific mistakes of his peers. This book does a fine job detailing his life and career, although the sheer breadth of the latter and the author's style leaves the piece a tad plodding at times. The chief fault of this book is that the praise is lavish--almost fawning at times. I have no reason to believe that Plumer was not a fine commander who was respected (perhaps begrudgingly) by his peers and beloved by his subordinates, but the lack of negatives in his life--apart from his concerns over his slow career progression before the Great War and his estangement from his son-- makes him seem almost superhuman.
Was he that good and just a victim of the system and the "old boys" network of the Royal Army or were there other factors that really prevented him from being in Haig's shoes? I suspect that the man really wasn't much of a self promoter and was more concerned than anything with being the best leader he could and doing right by his men. The author doesn't delve into those nuances, however, and I think that hurts the piece. I also suspect that lack of detail is due in part to the revelation that Plumer destroyed all of his personal papers before his death, preventing a real look into Plumer's inner workings.
At any rate, this book belongs on your shelf if you are at all interested in Great War generalship. The man's career is fascinating and his results are tangible. Also check out "Pillars of Fire" for a more indepth look at the Messines offensive.
0 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Stupid little book on a jolly old fool, Plumer the Bumbler
15 July 2005
Format:Paperback
This is a superficial hagiography on the supposedly best British general of the Great War, Herbert Plumer, who is unanimously judged by his contemporaries as a jolly good fellow with little brains, and least of all generalship in battle. A meticulous, plodding and hidebound general who has never visited the front during his command of the Second Army, an old fool who lived 17 miles behind the front in Cassel, and one who has absolutely no idea of staff work (all were left to his sidekick, Harrington, MGGS), but adept in self promotion (like that odd queer Montgomery), are we led to believe that he's the best of the lot? Or just your average Colonel Blimp?
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