This is the final volume in a trilogy which examines the invaluable contribution of auxiliary volunteer forces to the defence of Great Britain before and during the First World War. Bill Mitchinson explores the tumultuous relationship between the territorials and the War Office, the prioritizing of Kitchener’s New Army’s mobilization training over the Territorial Forces’ and the early experiences of units sent to France and elsewhere in 1914 and 1915. Although providing crucial support to the regular divisions during the battles of 1915, the Regular Army’s traditional bias against the auxiliary quickly became apparent in the way Territorial Force units were used. The development of their capability and how their fighting power was forged and subsequently sustained are analysed in the context of their use in 1915, during the Battle of the Somme, the Gallipoli Campaign and the later experience in the desert. The Territorial Force at War, 1914-16 is the first attempt to offer a comprehensive assessment of the importance, the training, the preparedness and the fighting power of the Territorial Force until it reached its apogee in 1916.

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