Field Marshal Sir Henry Wilson An Irish Soldier [Hardcover]

Henry Wilson was the only British field marshal ever to die in action, killed on his own doorstep in 1922 by two IRA men (one of whom had a wooden leg). Wilson was a flamboyant, maverick Irishman, at the centre of affairs during the First World War years and after, recording everything in his wildly indiscreet diary. Using a wide range of official and private sources, this is the first modern biography of this controversial and misunderstood figure.

1. The Irish Context
2. The Making of a Staff Officer
3. South Africa
4. Work in the War Office
5. The Staff College
6. Preparing for War
7. Politics, the Irish Question, and War
8. With the BEF
9. IV Corps
10. Coalition Warfare
11. Winning the War
12. Defending the Empire
13. Losing Ireland and Saving Ulster
14. Death and Reputation
Bibliography
Index

Jeffery's biography is a superb book. It contributes not only to our knowledge of Wilson, but also to our understanding of the intricacies of the pre-war British army and decision-making in the First World War. For anyone interested in these matters, Jeffery's book is essential reading. --Keith Neilson,The International History Review

Keith Jeffery is Professor of British History at Queen's University, Belfast, having previously been Professor of Modern History at the University of Ulster. He has been Parnell Fellow in Irish Studies at Magdalene College, Cambridge, and a Visiting Scholar at the Australian National University and the Australian Defence Force Academy.