In the early days of the First World War, Lord Kitchener made his famous appeal for volunteers to join the New Army. Men flocked to recruiting offices to enlist, and on some days tens of thousands of potential soldiers responded to his call. Men had to be at least eighteen years old to join up, and nineteen to serve overseas, but in the flurry of activity many younger boys came to enlist: some were only thirteen or fourteen. Many were turned away, but a lot were illegally signed up, and at least 250,000 under-age boys found themselves fighting for King and Country in the First World War. In this groundbreaking new book, John Oakes delves into the complex history of Britain's youngest Great War recruits. Focusing on a school cricket team, all eleven of whom volunteered, he reveals why boys joined up, what their experiences were and how they survived to endure a lifetime of memories. For those who didn't, an unknown grave awaited. In some cases, their mothers never knew what had become of their children.

While small in numbers, the Belgian Army played a vital role in World War 2 that is often overlooked. Germany's invasion of neutral Belgium, which led Britain to declare war in August 1914, should have been swift and fierce yet the unexpected heroic defence, against great odds, of Belgian fortresses, frustrated the German Schlieffen Plan for a thrust to Paris and a lightning victory. The plucky Belgian resistance proved successful in buying time for French and British troops to mobilize and report to the front, where the Belgians would then go on to fight, stubbornly defending the northern end of the Allied trench line for the rest of the war. In this work, discover the story of this determined Army, from their organization and commanders, to their uniforms and equipment. The only main combatant army of World War I not previously covered by Osprey, this volume will be an important addition to any enthusiast's collection, accompanied by detailed artwork and archive photographs.

This edited diary is Colonel Bill Spackman's extraordinary personal record of his experiences as the Medical Officer of an Indian Infantry battalion during the Mesopotamian Campaign 1914 - 1916. In particular he describes the harrowing events of the five month siege of Kut and, after the surrender of the 10,000 strong garrison in April 1916, the hardships of the 1,000 mile forced march to Anatolia in Turkey. As a doctor he witnessed at first hand suffering the and deaths of many POWs, both British and Indian. The book goes on the record life in Turkish captivity which was relatively relaxed and fortunately, in sharp contrast to their earlier experiences.