The Doings of the Fifteenth Infantry Brigade: August 1914 to March 1915 — Edition Insights

From Mobilization to the Battle of Mons

The opening chapters cover the brigade's movement to the front and the first major engagement at Mons. Gleichen's diary entries reveal the uncertainty of command: rumors of destinations like Calais or Bruges are dashed when the brigade is ordered only to Abbeville. The march to billets near Neuilly is marked by confusion—a battalion commander is found asleep at the Mairie, having been told the brigade would not arrive until the following day. Such episodes highlight the friction between planning and reality.

At Mons, the narrative shifts to the chaos of battle. Gleichen records the loss of Lt.-Col. Boger of the Cheshires, taken prisoner on 24 August, and the arrival of Major Vandeleur as a replacement, whom he calls 'a first-rate sensible fellow.' The tone remains matter-of-fact, even when describing the brigade's subsequent retreat. The reader is given a commander's-eye view of the early war, where decisions are made with incomplete information and the pace of events often outstrips the ability to record them.

The Retreat and the Advance to the Marne

The retreat from Mons to Le Cateau and beyond is covered in a series of short, tense entries. Gleichen does not dwell on the broader strategic picture; instead, he focuses on the immediate challenges of moving troops, finding supplies, and maintaining communication. The diary format lends itself to a fragmented narrative, where days blur together and the cumulative exhaustion of the men is implied rather than stated.

When the tide turns and the brigade advances toward the Marne, the tone becomes more hopeful. Gleichen notes the crossing of the Aisne and the subsequent move westward, but his attention remains on the practicalities of entraining and detraining, the condition of the roads, and the availability of billets. The reader is reminded that this is a personal record, not a staff college analysis. The author's voice is consistent: he is a professional soldier recording what he saw and did, without embellishment or hindsight.

Givenchy, Festubert, and the First Battle of Ypres

By the time the brigade reaches Givenchy and Festubert, the war has settled into a pattern of trench holding and local attacks. Gleichen's entries become more routine, noting the rotation of battalions, the repair of trenches, and the occasional shelling. The diary's 'scrappy' nature is most apparent here: entries are brief, often no more than a few lines, and the reader must infer the intensity of the fighting from the laconic prose.

The First Battle of Ypres is covered in a longer section, but Gleichen maintains his characteristic restraint. He records the brigade's move to Ypres and the fighting around Beukenhorst, but offers no grand conclusions. The sketch maps included in the original text—such as those of Boussu-Wasmes and the footbridge over the canal—suggest a commander's need to visualize the ground. For the reader, these details ground the narrative in a specific landscape, even when the broader course of the battle remains unclear.

Trench Life Opposite Messines and the End of Command

The final chapters describe trench life opposite Messines, where the brigade settled into a routine of patrols, sniping, and maintenance. Gleichen's observations are those of a commander responsible for the health and morale of his men: he notes the shortage of socks, the quality of rations, and the state of the trenches. The diary's private origins are evident in the candid remarks about fellow officers and the occasional frustration with higher command.

The narrative ends abruptly with Gleichen giving up command in March 1915. There is no summing up, no reflection on the significance of the past eight months. The reader is left with the impression of a story cut short, as the diary itself was likely set aside when the author moved on. This unfinished quality is true to the work's origins: it is a record of a specific period, not a comprehensive history. The final pages remind us that the brigade's war continued long after Gleichen's departure.

Gleichen's account is best read as a primary source that captures the texture of command in the early months of the Great War. The diary format preserves the immediacy of events, but also their incompleteness: the reader must accept gaps in the narrative and resist the temptation to fill them with later knowledge. For those interested in the daily realities of brigade command—the logistics, the personnel changes, the small frustrations and victories—this work offers a rare, unvarnished perspective. Approach it not as a history, but as a window into one man's experience of a war that was still in its first, fluid phase.

That rainy afternoon, Gleichen’s mud-slicked diaries made the past feel touchable—then my mind wandered sideways to another December, another brigade, and I pulled down Kinston, Whitehall and Goldsboro (North Carolina) expedition, December, 1862 — Edition Insights. Different war, same grey quiet between battles. One book simply led to the next, like turning a page.