ORCID
- Louis Halewood: 0000-0002-0695-3908
Abstract
Revisionist historians of the Western Front have demonstrated that Britain had no alternative but to wage a war of attrition to defeat Germany. However, the effort to assess this process has been neglected in the historiography. This article explores British attempts to gauge the success of their strategy of wearing down German manpower. Efforts in London proved unable to supply a convincing answer. Using General Headquarters’ dubious estimates from the front, Field Marshal Sir Douglas Haig argued that his strategy was working. Prime Minister David Lloyd George’s inability to confound these estimates shaped his decision to permit the Passchendaele offensive.
Publication Date
2017-04-16
Publication Title
Intelligence and National Security
Volume
32
Issue
3
ISSN
0268-4527
Embargo Period
2023-03-01
First Page
333
Last Page
350
Recommended Citation
Halewood, L. (2017) '‘A matter of opinion’: British attempts to assess the attrition of German manpower, 1915–1917', Intelligence and National Security, 32(3), pp. 333-350. Available at: 10.1080/02684527.2016.1270994
