David Kenyon

David Kenyon, the author, argues the case that British Cavalry on the Western Front was of use during the war and in fact contributed to the Allie's success; however, admittedly not in a decisive way. The prevailing opinion among historians is that cavalry had no place on the Western Front, were a drain on resources and generally confused matters in battle and at the front.
David Kenyon, himself an avid horseman, believes otherwise. He uses a great deal of source documents as well as histories to prove his case. When an author has so much documentation (footnotes, etc.), it is hard not to give the person acknowledgement; without writing an oposing view you cannot realy argue against them.

I have read a great deal on the subject of the First World War and nowhere have I ever come across anyone who had anything good to say about cavalry efforts on the Western Front! This book is a first for me. So.....the only comments I will make about the book is the style in which it was written. There is a great deal of detail and analysis in the work. There is so much detail here that at times I found myself skimming parts. This is something I normally do not do.

Kenyon definately did his homework. He calls out the names of well known military historians to counter their work and opinions on the issue of cavalry. If you are looking for an in-depth study of British cavalry on the Western Front this is for you. If you are looking for an overview, get the book and just read the last chapter entitled "Conclusions". It will give you the overview you may be looking for. I still gave the book 4 star because I did find it interesting and I did get a different view of the cavalry in the Great War.… (mehr)