36 / 44
34
battle of loos
A MISSED OPPORTUNITY
However, on reflection, Loos was
something of a missed opportunity.
The reserve divisions who could have
possibly exploited the gains of 9th
and 15th Divisions were too far from
the battle area.
Overcrowding in the rear of the British line made any
movement difficult, and the roads leading to the front line
were heavily congested.
61
But most significantly, failure
to deploy reserves was down to tensions between the
Commander in Chief of the BEF, Sir John French, and his
subordinate, Haig, over who should control them during the
battle. Whether their speedy release to Haig would have
made any difference to the outcome after 25 September is
a moot point, but French’s delay played a contributory
role in his removal and replacement by Haig.
62
61 G. Corrigan, Loos 1915: The Unwanted Battle (Stroud, 2006), 144.
62 T. Royle, The Flowers of the Forest (Edinburgh, 2007) 90;
G. Corrigan, Loos 1915: The Unwanted Battle (Stroud, 2006), 146.