Commanders of the first World War

The war consisted of a number of commanders and yet none of them were commanders of the first rank. The first world war was the only war ever fought in which commanders lacked voice control over their armies. Communications broke down almost immediately after the troops left the trenches. Chief of the German General staff, 1906-1914, Von Molke modified the original schlieffen plan for the invasion of France. Instead of keeping the right wing of …

…took command of the British Expeditionary Forces sent to Europe in August 1914. Ironically, his sister, Charlotte Despard, was one of Britain's leading anti-war campaigners. . French resigned in December, 1915 and Sir Douglas Haig replaced as leader of the BEF. French, as commander of the British home forces, was responsible for dealing with the Easter Rising in 1916. Rewarded with the post of Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (1918-1921), French was granted £50,000 by the British government when he retired.