Chapter 1

THE OUTBREAK OF WAR....................................... 1

Unfair disparagement of the War Office during the war -- Difficulties under which it suffered owing to pre-war misconduct of the Government -- The army prepared, the Government and the country unprepared -- My visit to German districts on the Belgian and Luxemburg frontiers in June 1914 -- The German railway preparations -- The plan of the Great General Staff indicated by these -- The Aldershot Command at exercise -- I am summoned to London by General H. Wilson -- Informed of contemplated appointment to be D.M.O. -- The unsatisfactory organization of the Military Operations Directorate -- An illustration of this from pre-war days -- G.H.Q. rather a nuisance till they proceeded to France -- The scare about a hostile maritime descent -- Conference at the Admiralty -- The depletion of my Directorate to build up G.H.Q. -- Inconvenience of this in the case of the section dealing with special Intelligence services -- An example of the trouble that arose at the very start -- This points to a misunderstanding of the relative importance of the War Office and of G.H.Q. -- Sir J. French's responsibility for this, Sir C. Douglas not really responsible -- Colonel Dallas enumerates the great numerical resources of Germany -- Lord Kitchener's immediate recognition of the realities of the situation -- Sir J. French's suggestion that Lord Kitchener should be commander-in-chief of the Expeditionary Force indicated misconception of the position of affairs.