The real reasons why WWI was prolonged

Retired British Army officer Allan Mallinson deserves high marks for passion and clarity

Winston Churchill: usually regarded as a villain of World War I Pic: Getty

History Too Important for the Generals: Losing & Winning the First World War; By Allan Mallinson; Bantam Press, €20

‘Lions led by donkeys” has become a classic phrase to describe the experience of British soldiers in World War I. Alan Clark used it as the basis for his controversial 1961 book The Donkeys, claiming that those exact words had been used in a conversation between two senior German generals. When challenged to provide ...