Diaries, diary notes and memoranda, 1939-1945

References on this page: LIDDELL HART: 11/1939-1945

LIDDELL HART: 11/1939-1945 Diaries, diary notes and memoranda, 1939-1945

LIDDELL HART: 11/1939/1

1939

Pocket appointments diary kept by LIDDELL HART

LIDDELL HART: 11/1939/2

1939 Jan 2

Note by LIDDELL HART on anti-aircraft reorganisation

LIDDELL HART: 11/1939/3

1939 Jan 4

Note by LIDDELL HART on the danger of various military leaders, including the Chief of the Imperial General Staff, John Standish Surtees Predergast Vereker, 6th Viscount Gort, taking winter holidays at a time of national crisis

LIDDELL HART: 11/1939/4

1939 Jan 6

Note by LIDDELL HART on the meaning of freedom

LIDDELL HART: 11/1939/5

1939 Jan 12

Note by LIDDELL HART on discussion with George Lowther Steer, special correspondent in Africa for The Daily Telegraph, and a letter from Steer to Philip [?] 3 May 1939, on the situation in North Africa

LIDDELL HART: 11/1939/6

1939 Jan 30-1939 Feb 2

Typescript extracts from diary kept by LIDDELL HART on various meetings and talks on the international situation and the defence of the UK

LIDDELL HART: 11/1939/7

[1939 Jan]

Note by LIDDELL HART on a test of belief in freedom

LIDDELL HART: 11/1939/8

1939 Jan

Statistics by LIDDELL HART on UK anti-aircraft strength

LIDDELL HART: 11/1939/9

1939 Feb 2

Notes by LIDDELL HART on discussion with Lt Gen Frederick Alfred Pile, Commander, 1 Anti-Aircraft Div, Territorial Army, on anti-aircraft equipment

LIDDELL HART: 11/1939/10

1939 Feb 9

Notes by LIDDELL HART on a meeting of the Rt Hon Winston (Leonard Spencer) Churchill's focus group, with a seating plan

LIDDELL HART: 11/1939/11

1939 Feb 16

Notes by LIDDELL HART on discussion with Lt Gen Frederick Alfred Pile, Commander, 1 Anti-Aircraft Div, Territorial Army, on anti-aircraft defence expansion

LIDDELL HART: 11/1939/12

1939 Feb 22

Notes on a discussion with Capt Lancyz, an Hungarian military correspondent, on the Central European situation, and in particular, on anti-German sentiment in Hungary, on Hungary looking to the UK and Italy to counterbalance Germany, and on the alleged superiority of Czech soldiers over Polish troops

LIDDELL HART: 11/1939/13

1939 Feb 28

Notes by LIDDELL HART on discussion with Lt Gen Frederick Alfred Pile, Commander, 1 Anti-Aircraft Div, Territorial Army, on the deployment of 4.5 inch guns to defend London from air attack

LIDDELL HART: 11/1939/14

1939 Feb 28

Note by LIDDELL HART on discussion with Gp Capt L L Maclean and Austin Hopkinson, MP about profiteering by contractors, and the lack of secrecy about the development of British aeroplanes

LIDDELL HART: 11/1939/15-17

1939 Feb-Mar

Notes by LIDDELL HART comparing the peacetime and wartime production and consumption of petrol and food by the UK, Germany and other countries

LIDDELL HART: 11/1939/18

1939 Mar 3

Notes by LIDDELL HART on attending the dinner of the Compatriots Club and his view on the role of the army, army reform, conscription and the European situation

LIDDELL HART: 11/1939/19

1939 Mar 7

Typescript extracts from the diary kept by LIDDELL HART. Tuesday Club dinner, and Germany's economic situation, meeting with Ivan Mikhailovich Maisky, Soviet Ambassador to the UK, and talk of Anglo-Soviet relations

LIDDELL HART: 11/1939/20

1939 Mar 12

Comment from Maj Gen Smedley-Butler, USA, on the value of democracy

LIDDELL HART: 11/1939/21

1939 Mar 13

Notes by LIDDELL HART on discussion with Maj Gen Michael George Henry Barker, Director of Recruiting and Organisation, War Office, concerning the cost of reducing the length of service in India

LIDDELL HART: 11/1939/22

1939 Mar 15

Note by LIDDELL HART on the occupation of Prague by the German army

LIDDELL HART: 11/1939/23

1939 Mar 16

Notes by LIDDELL HART entitled 'Fallacies of Strategic Authorities' concerning a debate on defence in the House of Lords

LIDDELL HART: 11/1939/24

1939 Mar 16-22

Typescript extracts from a diary kept by LIDDELL HART on reactions to the international situation

LIDDELL HART: 11/1939/25

1939 Mar 16-1939 Sep 30

Reflections by LIDDELL HART on the European crisis

LIDDELL HART: 11/1939/26

1939 Mar 17

Notes by LIDDELL HART on the current strategic situation

LIDDELL HART: 11/1939/27

1939 Mar 17

Memorandum by LIDDELL HART comparing offensive and defensive strategies in war

LIDDELL HART: 11/1939/28

1939 Mar 27

Notes by LIDDELL HART on slavery and on press gangs

LIDDELL HART: 11/1939/29-34

1939

Notes by LIDDELL HART on the guarantee of Poland's security 31 Mar 1939, with extracts from The Times, The Observer, and other newspapers on the guarantee

LIDDELL HART: 11/1939/35

1939 Apr 2

Reflection by LIDDELL HART on the Polish Guarantee, 31 Mar 1939

LIDDELL HART: 11/1939/36

1939 Apr 3

Notes by LIDDELL HART on discussion with Lt Gen Frederick Alfred Pile, Commander, 1 Anti-Aircraft Div, Territorial Army, on air defence in general, and the decision to site anti-aircraft guns within London, instead of part of a perimeter defence

LIDDELL HART: 11/1939/37

1939 Apr 4

Note by LIDDELL HART on discussion with Vice Adm Cecil Vivian Usborne (former Director of Naval Intelligence) on Hungarian policy towards Germany, and on British air and naval strategy

LIDDELL HART: 11/1939/38

1939 Apr 5

Note by LIDDELL HART on the concern voiced by the Prime Minister, the Rt Hon Nevile Chamberlain, on the lack of preparedness in the air defence of London

LIDDELL HART: 11/1939/39

1939 Apr 7

Reflection by LIDDELL HART entitled, 'Truth and Light' implying that openness and honesty reduces misunderstanding

LIDDELL HART: 11/1939/40

1939 Apr 11

Note by LIDDELL HART on the Territorial Army and air defence

LIDDELL HART: 11/1939/41

1939 Apr 13

Note by LIDDELL HART on discussion with Brig Hanbury Pawle, Commander, 161 Infantry Brigade, Territorial Army, 1938, about the expansion of the Territorial Army

LIDDELL HART: 11/1939/42

1939 Apr 15

Note by LIDDELL HART on discussion with Maj Gen Claude Francis Liardet, Commander, The London Div, Territorial Army, 1938, concerning the expansion of the Territorial Army

LIDDELL HART: 11/1939/43

1939 Apr 19

Reflection by LIDDELL HART on grand strategy

LIDDELL HART: 11/1939/44

1939 Apr 20

Reflection by LIDDELL HART on the deficiencies of a policy of offensive war

LIDDELL HART: 11/1939/45

1939 Apr 21

Comments from John Rutherford Gordon, Director, Beaverbrook Newspapers Limited, on the creation of the Ministry of Supply, and the reaction of the Prime Minister, the Rt Hon Neville Chamberlain, to the General Staff's opposition to the Polish Guarantee, 31 March 1939

LIDDELL HART: 11/1939/46

1939 Apr 23

Note by LIDDELL HART on his career in World War One

LIDDELL HART: 11/1939/47

1939 Apr 25

Note by LIDDELL HART entitled, 'When are the compulsionists going to draw the line?' criticising conscription

LIDDELL HART: 11/1939/48

1939 Apr 25

Notes by LIDDELL HART on discussion with Lt Cdr Charles Fletcher, MP, on Gibraltar's anti-aircraft defences

LIDDELL HART: 11/1939/49

1939 May 3

Lunch with Mr William Hillman with comments on the British government by Joseph Patrick Kennedy, the US Ambassador

LIDDELL HART: 11/1939/50

1939 May 5

Note by LIDDELL HART on discussion with Sir Christopher (Llewellyn) Bullock, Permanent Secretary, Air Ministry, 1931-36, on the shortage of carbide

LIDDELL HART: 11/1939/51

1939 May 5

Note by LIDDELL HART on discussion with various Spanish Republican generals, concerning the use of artillery in the Spanish Civil War

LIDDELL HART: 11/1939/52

1939 May 5-6

Note by LIDDELL HART on discussion with Lt Gen Frederick Alfred Pile, Commander, 1 Anti-Aircraft Div, Territorial Army, on air defence, army reforms, and comments on various army personalities including Lt Gen Sir John Greer Dill

LIDDELL HART: 11/1939/53

1939 May 8

Note by LIDDELL HART on the 'Military Training Bill', in which LIDDELL HART argues that the introduction of compulsory military training would be unnecessary or harmful

LIDDELL HART: 11/1939/54

1939 May 18

Summary of a lecture entitled 'The lesson of Spain' by Col Ritter von Xylander and delivered in Frankfurt

LIDDELL HART: 11/1939/55

1939 May 21

Reflection by LIDDELL HART on the relative importance of instinct and reason

LIDDELL HART: 11/1939/56

1939 May 31

Note by LIDDELL HART on discussion with AVM Richard Hallam Peck concerning the air programme and German plans

LIDDELL HART: 11/1939/57

1939 Jun 1

Reflections by LIDDELL HART on the disadvantages of close blockade naval tactics

LIDDELL HART: 11/1939/58

1939 Jun 1

Notes by LIDDELL HART on discussion with Lt Gen Frederick Alfred Pile, Commander, 1 Anti-Aircraft Div, Territorial Army, on army appointments

LIDDELL HART: 11/1939/59

[1939 Jun 7]

Notes by LIDDELL HART on discussion with Lt Gen Frederick Alfred Pile, Commander, 1 Anti-Aircraft Div, Territorial Army, on Territorial anti-aircraft forces, and discussions at the War Office on the editorship of a new paper on military training

LIDDELL HART: 11/1939/60

1939 Jun 12

Notes by LIDDELL HART on discussion with Lt Gen Frederick Alfred Pile, Commander, 1 Anti-Aircraft Div, Territorial Army, about the Territorial Army and Militia training

LIDDELL HART: 11/1939/61

1939 Jun 16

Note by LIDDELL HART on Italy's policy of neutrality

LIDDELL HART: 11/1939/62

1939 Jul 2

List by LIDDELL HART of the books he intended to read in the near future

LIDDELL HART: 11/1939/63

1939 Jul 11

Note by LIDDELL HART on discussion with Maj Gen Charles Noel Frank Broad, Maj Gen in charge of administration, Aldershot Command, on the Militia, the tank situation, and on army appointments

LIDDELL HART: 11/1939/64

1939 Jul 13

Notes by LIDDELL HART on discussion with the journalist Lt Col Thomas Alfred Lowe about LIDDELL HART's influence at the War Office

LIDDELL HART: 11/1939/65

1939 Jul 14

Note by LIDDELL HART on comments by William Richard Morris, 1st Viscount Nuffield, and Gen Sir Walter Mervyn St George Kirke, Inspector General of Home Forces, on the army and its role, especially the lack of preparedness for war, and the danger of Kirke's views on the efficacy of total war

LIDDELL HART: 11/1939/66

1939 Jul 19

Note by LIDDELL HART on discussion with Gen Sir Walter Mervyn St George Kirke, Inspector General of Home Forces, concering his lack of an adequate staff

LIDDELL HART: 11/1939/67

1939 Jul 19

Note by LIDDELL HART on discussion with Col Hans Kahle, Commander of 1 International Brigade in Spain, on tanks, air forces and counter attacks during the Spanish Civil War

LIDDELL HART: 11/1939/68

1939 Jul 23

Note by LIDDELL HART on the new Royal Engineers militia depot at Godstone

LIDDELL HART: 11/1939/69

1939 Jul 27

Note by LIDDELL HART on a discussion, probably with Lt Gen Frederick Alfred Pile, Commander, 1 Anti-Aircraft Div, Territorial Army, on air defence in London

LIDDELL HART: 11/1939/70

1939 Jul 31

Notes by LIDDELL HART on discussion with Maj Gen Claude Francis Liardet, Commander, The London Div, Territorial Army, 1938, concerning the Territorial Army and Milita

LIDDELL HART: 11/1939/71

[1939 Aug 4]

Reflection by LIDDELL HART on the 'spread of irrationality' in Germany and England

LIDDELL HART: 11/1939/72

1939 Aug 20

Notes by LIDDELL HART on discussion with Lt Gen Frederick Alfred Pile, General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Anti-Aircraft Command, about air defence, the vagueness of army and air plans, and comments on various personalities including ACM Hugh Caswall Tremenheere Dowding

LIDDELL HART: 11/1939/73

1939 Aug 23

Notes by LIDDELL HART on Gen Sir William Edmund Ironside, German preparations for the invasion of Poland and Japanese terrirtorial claims over Hong Kong

LIDDELL HART: 11/1939/74

1939 Aug 25

Note by LIDDELL HART on discussion, probably with Lt Gen Frederick Alfred Pile, General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Anti-Aircraft Command, on Germany and Adolf Hitler, and on Territorial anti-aircraft forces

LIDDELL HART: 11/1939/75

1939 Aug 25-1939 Sep 9

Manuscript extracts from a diary kept by LIDDELL HART

LIDDELL HART: 11/1939/76

1939 Aug 27

Notes by LIDDELL HART on discussion with Col Roderick Macleod on British and French war plans

LIDDELL HART: 11/1939/77-79

1939 Aug 27

Memorandum by LIDDELL HART entitled 'Summary of the situation' in Europe

LIDDELL HART: 11/1939/80-83

1939 Aug 27

Memorandum by LIDDELL HART entitled 'The problem in the case of war over Poland'

LIDDELL HART: 11/1939/84

1939 Aug 27

Memorandum by LIDDELL HART entitled 'The prospect in a war over Poland'

LIDDELL HART: 11/1939/85-89

1939 Aug-Nov

Note by LIDDELL HART and copies of letters about memoranda in LH 11/1939/77-84, and related papers

LIDDELL HART: 11/1939/90

1939 Aug 28

Notes by LIDDELL HART on discussion with Brig John Alan Lyde Caunter, Commander of the 1 Army Tank Bd, about the shortage of trained officers in the tank forces, on incorrect use of armoured infantry movers, and on mine-laying and clearing equipment

LIDDELL HART: 11/1939/91

1939 Aug 29

Reflection by LIDDELL HART entitled 'The defence of freedom'

LIDDELL HART: 11/1939/92

1939 Aug 31

Notes by LIDDELL HART on discussion with Col Roderick Macleod (?), on German forces and British plans

LIDDELL HART: 11/1939/93

1939 Aug 31

Note by LIDDELL HART on the readiness for war of the RAF, including auxilliary squadrons

LIDDELL HART: 11/1939/94

1939 Aug

Note by LIDDELL HART on the preparations for war of the British Army

LIDDELL HART: 11/1939/95

1939 Aug

Notes by LIDDELL HART on the Territorial Army

LIDDELL HART: 11/1939/96

1939 Sep 2

Note by LIDDELL HART on the advanced air striking force

LIDDELL HART: 11/1939/97

1939 Sep 3

Note by LIDDELL HART on RAF strength at the beginning of the war

LIDDELL HART: 11/1939/98

1939 Sep 6

Note by LIDDELL HART on the problem of air raids

LIDDELL HART: 11/1939/99

1939 Sep 7

Memorandum by LIDDELL HART entitled 'The problem if Adolf Hitler should make a peace offer'

LIDDELL HART: 11/1939/100-103

1939 Sep 8-9

Memorandum by LIDDELL HART entitled 'The need for a new technique of war in treating the present problem', with an article on the same theme written for The Times but not published. LIDDELL HART argues that a cautious, approach to war is needed if the UK is to defeat Germany without being exhausted materially

LIDDELL HART: 11/1939/104

[1939 Sep]

Note by LIDDELL HART on photographic reconnaissance

LIDDELL HART: 11/1939/105

1939 Sep 10

Memorandum by LIDDELL HART entitled 'Those whom the gods wish to destroy they first make mad', on the folly of offensive strategy, as opposed to collective defence, and of the inability of the UK to wage effective offensive war at this stage

LIDDELL HART: 11/1939/106

1939 Sep 10

Memorandum by LIDDELL HART entitled 'Looking ahead', on the inability of the UK to wage effective tank warfare at this stage

LIDDELL HART: 11/1939/107

1939 Sep 10

Notes by LIDDELL HART on deficiencies of the army, and on changes in the War Office

LIDDELL HART: 11/1939/108

1939 Sep 10

Memorandum by LIDDELL HART entitled 'A personal conclusion' concerning the failure of attempts to prevent war

LIDDELL HART: 11/1939/109

1939 Sep 14

Memorandum by LIDDELL HART entitled 'A personal problem', on LIDDELL HART's conflict with the editorial position of The Times during the 1930s regarding the failure of the collective security policy

LIDDELL HART: 11/1939/110

1939 Sep 14-1939 Oct 2

Manuscript diary extracts kept by LIDDELL HART concerning Polish resistance to the Germans

LIDDELL HART: 11/1939/111

1939 Sep 23

Note on comments by Edward Frederick Lindley Wood, 3rd Viscount Halifax, to Julian Sorell Huxley and (Edward) Max Nicholson, in which Halifax talks about the difficulty of the Prime Minister, the Rt Hon (Arthur) Neville Chamberlain, in drafting an adequate summary of British war aims

LIDDELL HART: 11/1939/112

1939 Sep

Note by LIDDELL HART on the strength of Polish armoured forces

LIDDELL HART: 11/1939/113

1939 [Sep]

Note by LIDDELL HART on prospects in the war

LIDDELL HART: 11/1939/114-115

1939 Sep

Reflection by LIDDELL HART on the final report by the Rt Hon Sir Nevile Meyrick Henderson, British ambassador in Berlin, entitled, On the Circumstances Leading to the Termination of his Mission to Berlin (London, 1939). With and a copy of the report

LIDDELL HART: 11/1939/116

1939 Oct 3

Note by LIDDELL HART on an unspecified personal dilemma faced by LIDDELL HART

LIDDELL HART: 11/1939/117

1939 Oct 3

Notes by LIDDELL HART on discussion with Lt Gen Frederick Alfred Pile, General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Anti-Aircraft Command, on the demobilisation of anti-aircraft personnel

LIDDELL HART: 11/1939/118

1939 Oct 8

Reflections by LIDDELL HART on war aims and on the press

LIDDELL HART: 11/1939/119

1939 Oct 11

Memorandum by LIDDELL HART on British war aims for the former Prime Minister, the Rt Hon David Lloyd George

LIDDELL HART: 11/1939/120

1939 Oct 12

Note by LIDDELL HART on the danger of an influenza epidemic

LIDDELL HART: 11/1939/121

1939 Oct 21-1939 Nov 1

Transcript diary notes kept by LIDDELL HART concerning the outlook in the war, and fear of German attack with new arsenical gas

LIDDELL HART: 11/1939/122

1939 Oct 25

Notes of a talk with Lt Gen Frederick Alfred Pile, General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Anti-Aircraft Command, on the air defence of the fleet, and on confusion at the War Office

LIDDELL HART: 11/1939/123

1939 Oct 25

Note by LIDDELL HART on discussion with AVM Richard Hallam Peck concerning Allied and German airforces and the deficiencies of the Royal Navy

LIDDELL HART: 11/1939/124

1939 Oct 27

Note by LIDDELL HART on discussion with Col Roderick Macleod about the situation in France, the Rt Hon Leslie Hore-Belisha, Secretary of State for War, and arsenical gas

LIDDELL HART: 11/1939/125

1939 Oct-1940 Mar

Odd notes by LIDDELL HART on French mobilisation, German fighter aircraft, and superior rate of German aircraft production

LIDDELL HART: 11/1939/126

1939 Oct

Note by LIDDELL HART entitled 'A balance sheet, Allied and German armed forces compared'

LIDDELL HART: 11/1939/127

1939 Oct

Note by LIDDELL HART on the British Government's basic dilemma over Poland, namely the difficulty of an effective military response to the German invasion of Poland. On the need to consider sanctions instead

LIDDELL HART: 11/1939/128-130

1939 Nov 7-14

Memorandum by LIDDELL HART entitled 'The prospect in this war'. With a postscript, and list of recipients

LIDDELL HART: 11/1939/131

1939 Nov 12-13

Diary notes kept by LIDDELL HART taking a critical view of some of the accepted opinions about the nature of the war

LIDDELL HART: 11/1939/132

1939 Nov

Memorandum by LIDDELL HART entitled 'Why I am not writing on the war', identifying censorship as the reason for this reluctance

LIDDELL HART: 11/1939/133

1939 Dec 4

Note by LIDDELL HART listing the people he hoped to meet in the near future

LIDDELL HART: 11/1939/134

1939 Dec 5

Note by LIDDELL HART on discussion with Col Roderick Macleod concerning the situation in the West, and the visit to France of the Secretary of State for War, the Rt Hon Leslie Hore-Belisha

LIDDELL HART: 11/1939/135

1939 Dec 8

Note by LIDDELL HART on discussion with AVM Richard Hallam Peck about French defences and German offensive plans

LIDDELL HART: 11/1939/136

1939 Dec 11

Notes by LIDDELL HART on discussion with Col Roderick Macleod, AVM Richard Hallam Peck and Lt Gen Frederick Alfred Pile, General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Anti-Aircraft Command, concerning the higher direction of the war, army and air force, air defence, and the situation in France

LIDDELL HART: 11/1939/137

1939 Dec 21

Memorandum by LIDDELL HART entitled 'The true object in war' on the failure of the democracies to understand the nature of modern warfare

LIDDELL HART: 11/1939/138

1939 Dec 31

Note by LIDDELL HART of the opinion of historian Dr Esme Cecil Wingfield-Stratford on the policies of the Prime Minister, the Rt Hon (Arthur) Neville Chamberlain

LIDDELL HART: 11/1939/139

1939 Dec-1940 Mar

Comments on the war from various newspapers, collected by LIDDELL HART

LIDDELL HART: 11/1939/140

[1939]

Note by LIDDELL HART on the advantages of a defensive policy with a quotation from the boxer, Jem Mace

LIDDELL HART: 11/1939/141

[1939]

Note by LIDDELL HART on his study of war from his early experience writing post-war training manuals

LIDDELL HART: 11/1939/142

[1939]

Note by LIDDELL HART on disarmament

LIDDELL HART: 11/1939/143

1939

Note by LIDDELL HART entitled 'Illusion and facts of 1939', criticising the view that the German army had so far been successful in the war due to its superior numbers of men and tanks, instead of as a result of more effective deployment of air power and Panzer tactics

LIDDELL HART: 11/1939/144

[1939]

Note by LIDDELL HART criticising conscription, and its impact on ideas of freedom

LIDDELL HART: 11/1939/145-149

1939-1940

Note by LIDDELL HART of predictions and prophecies about the war by a number of leading politicians and commanders, including the Prime Minister, the Rt Hon (Arthur) Neville Chamberlain, the historian, Maj Gen John Frederick Charles Fuller and FM Sir William Edmund Ironside, Chief of the Imperial General Staff

LIDDELL HART: 11/1939/150

1939-1940

Notes by LIDDELL HART on foreign intervention in the Spanish Civil War

LIDDELL HART: 11/1939/151

[1939]

Note by LIDDELL HART on the desire to serve one's country as a soldier. With cuttings, including a letter to The Times, 27 Dec 1939, on the Ministry of Information

LIDDELL HART: 11/1940/1

1940

Appointments diary kept by LIDDELL HART. With typescript copy

LIDDELL HART: 11/1940/2

1940 Jan 10

Note by LIDDELL HART on the reason for the return from Egypt of Maj Gen Percy Cleghorn Stanley Hobart, 7 Armoured Div, Egypt, 1938-1939, namely the criticism of Hobart's ideas by Lt Gen Archibald Percival Wavell, General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Southern Command

LIDDELL HART: 11/1940/3

1940 Jan 15

Note by LIDDELL HART on discussion with Ivan Mikhailovich Maisky on Anglo-Soviet relations, and Finland

LIDDELL HART: 11/1940/4

1940 Jan 17

Note by LIDDELL HART on discussion with AVM Richard Hallam Peck, 16 Jan, concerning public relations in wartime, the views of the Air Staff on the Rt Hon Leslie Hore-Belisha, Secretary of State for War, FM Sir William Edmund Ironside, Chief of the Imperial General Staff, Gen John Standish Surtees Prendergast Vereker, 6th Viscount Gort, and Lt Gen Hugh Royds Stokes Massy, Deputy Chief of the Imperial General Staff

LIDDELL HART: 11/1940/5

1940 Jan 17

Note by LIDDELL HART on discussion with Maj Gen Percy Cleghorn Stanley Hobart, 7 Armoured Div, Egypt, 1938-1939, on Hobart's difficulties in Egypt, with comments on Lt Gen Ronald Forbes Adam, Commander, 3 Army Corps

LIDDELL HART: 11/1940/6

1940 Feb 4-20

Diary notes kept by LIDDELL HART on various press opinions, and political speeches on the course of the war

LIDDELL HART: 11/1940/7

1940 Feb 4-1940 Apr 12

Diary notes by LIDDELL HART, principally relating to the Press

LIDDELL HART: 11/1940/8

1940 Feb 14

Reflections by LIDDELL HART on possibility of an offensive campaign, and of victory

LIDDELL HART: 11/1940/9

1940 Feb 23

Note by LIDDELL HART on the question of trustworthiness, and the introduction of conscription by Gen John Standish Surtees Prendergast Vereker, 6th Viscount Gort, Commander-in-Chief, British Field Force, 1939-40

LIDDELL HART: 11/1940/10

1940 Feb 27

Memorandum by LIDDELL HART entitled 'The best guarantee against aggression-disarmament plan for abolishing offensive weapons'

LIDDELL HART: 11/1940/11

1940 Mar 5

Memorandum by LIDDELL HART entitled 'The unseen checks on aggression' on the conflicting interests of Germany, the Soviet Union and Italy

LIDDELL HART: 11/1940/12

1940 Mar 5-14

Extracts from newspaper reports on the Finnish peace

LIDDELL HART: 11/1940/13

1940 Mar 6-7

Notes by LIDDELL HART from talks with AVM Richard Hallam Peck and Lt Gen Frederick Alfred Pile, General Officer Commanding-in-Chief Anti-Aircraft Command,on air matters, and various personalities including ACM Hugh Caswall Tremenheere Dowding

LIDDELL HART: 11/1940/14

1940 Mar 6

Notes by LIDDELL HART on discussion with Col Roderick Macleod and Lt Gen Frederick Alfred Pile, General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Anti-Aircraft Command, about Allied strategy and defence problems, and on various personalities including the Rt Hon Leslie Hore-Belisha and Gen Sir John Standish Surtees Prendergast Vereker, 6th Viscount Gort

LIDDELL HART: 11/1940/15

1940 Mar 6-8

Various notes:

LIDDELL HART: 11/1940/15a

Note by LIDDELL HART on discussion with Eric Cecil Heygate Salmon and Gen Sir William Edmund Ironside, Chief of the Imperial General Staff, criticising the Rt Hon Leslie Hore-Belisha, former Secretary of State for War

LIDDELL HART: 11/1940/15b

Note by LIDDELL HART on discussion with the former Prime Minister, the Rt Hon David Lloyd George, about a German peace offer

LIDDELL HART: 11/1940/15c

Note by LIDDELL HART on discussion with Lt Gen Sir John Brown about the removal from his position as Secretary of State for War, of the Rt Hon Leslie Hore-Belisha, and on Gen Sir William Edmund Ironside, Chief of the Imperial General Staff

LIDDELL HART: 11/1940/15d

Note by LIDDELL HART of a meeting with William Maxwell Aitken, 1st Baron Beaverbrook of Beaverbrook New Brunswick, and Cherkley, Surrey, on LIDDELL HART's press articles

LIDDELL HART: 11/1940/15e

Comment by Gen Sir William Edmund Ironside, Chief of the Imperial General Staff, on FM Sir George Francis Milne, 1st Baron Milne of Salonika and Rubislaw, County Aberdeen and FM Sir Archibald Armar Montgomery-Massingberd, Colonel Commandant, Royal Malta Artillery

LIDDELL HART: 11/1940/16

1940 Mar 14

Memorandum by LIDDELL HART entitled 'Russian demands on Finland'

LIDDELL HART: 11/1940/17

1940 Mar 20

Notes by LIDDELL HART on the Finnish campaign

LIDDELL HART: 11/1940/18-19

1940 Mar 29-1940 Apr 24

Diary notes kept by LIDDELL HART under the general heading, 'The fight against aggression'

LIDDELL HART: 11/1940/20

1940 Mar-Jun

Some pronouncements and prophecies by 'Strategicus' (Herbert Charles O'Neill) in The Spectator

LIDDELL HART: 11/1940/21

1940 Apr 2

Extracts from several newspapers published during World War One, including The Times and The Daily Mail, on the subject of an alleged decline of patriotism during World War One, and criticism of the speech in 1915 by the Rev Edward Lyttelton, headmaster of Eton College, in which Lyttelton called for the British to show compassion towards the Germans

LIDDELL HART: 11/1940/22

1940 Apr 2-6

Extracts from various journals and newspapers which LIDDELL HART believed demonstrated irrationality in their recommendations for the prosecution of the war

LIDDELL HART: 11/1940/23

1940 Apr 11

Notes by LIDDELL HART on a definition of strategy

LIDDELL HART: 11/1940/24

1940 Apr 12-23

Diary notes kept by LIDDELL HART on LIDDELL HART's consultation with the former Prime Minister, the Rt Hon David Lloyd George, concerning the crisis in Norway

LIDDELL HART: 11/1940/25

1940 Apr 14, 1946

Note by LIDDELL HART listing commanders LIDDELL HART believed possessed the quality of 'audacity', and a retrospective note on this topic, Jul 1946

LIDDELL HART: 11/1940/26

1940 Apr 20

Extracts compiled by LIDDELL HART taken from press reports, speeches and the BBC, concerning the Norwegian campaign

LIDDELL HART: 11/1940/27

1940 May

Notes by LIDDELL HART on the production of bombers and anti-aircraft guns, Italy and the British position in the Middle East

LIDDELL HART: 11/1940/28

1940 May 3

Diary notes kept by LIDDELL HART on the war in Scandinavia

LIDDELL HART: 11/1940/29

1940 May 4

LIDDELL HART's reply to the accusation of FM Sir Archibald Armar Montgomery-Massingberd that LIDDELL HART was responsible for the inadequate state of the BEF

LIDDELL HART: 11/1940/30

1940 May 5

Diary note kept by LIDDELL HART on Allied bombing policy

LIDDELL HART: 11/1940/31

1940 May 6

Notes by LIDDELL HART on the Norwegian campaign, France, and the threat of the invasion of the UK

LIDDELL HART: 11/1940/32-33

1940 May 6-9

Two memoranda on the Scandinavian situation sent to the former Prime Minister, the Rt Hon David Lloyd George

LIDDELL HART: 11/1940/34

1940 May 7

Notes by LIDDELL HART on AVM Richard Hallam Peck, air strength, the danger to warships from air attack, invasion fears, personalities including ACM Sir Hugh Caswall Tremenheere Dowding, mine-laying, the Norwegian campaign, and Staff organisation

LIDDELL HART: 11/1940/35

1940 May 8

Notes by LIDDELL HART on Scandinavia, the Mediterranean and comments on personalities including FM Sir William Edmund Ironside, Chief of the Imperial General Staff

LIDDELL HART: 11/1940/36

1940 May 8

Diary note kept by LIDDELL HART on discussion of war policy with the former Prime Minister, the Rt Hon David Lloyd George

LIDDELL HART: 11/1940/37

1940 May 8-13

Diary note kept by LIDDELL HART on the new War Cabinet, and on the German offensive in the west

LIDDELL HART: 11/1940/38

1940 May 10

Note by LIDDELL HART on suggested reorganisation of the higher military command

LIDDELL HART: 11/1940/39

1940 May 16

Note by LIDDELL HART of the effects of war, in particular the losses in wars of 1866 (Austro-Prussian), 1870-1871 (Franco-Prussian) and 1914-1918 (World War One)

LIDDELL HART: 11/1940/40

1940 May 27

Note by LIDDELL HART on discussion with Albert James Sylvester, Principal Secretary to the former Prime Minister, the Rt Hon David Lloyd George, on Lloyd-George's commission from the Cabinet

LIDDELL HART: 11/1940/41

1940 May

Comment by LIDDELL HART on commanding officers whom LIDDELL HART thought outstanding, including FM Sir William Edmund Ironside, Chief of the Imperial General Staff, and FM Sir John Greer Dill, Vice Chief of the Imperial General Staff, and appointed Chief of the Imperial General Staff, 27 May 1940

LIDDELL HART: 11/1940/42

1940 May

Note by LIDDELL HART on war hysteria, consisting of abstacts from various newspapers including the Sunday Pictorial, involving attacks on pacifism, and invoking anti-German sentiments

LIDDELL HART: 11/1940/43

1940 May

Various jottings, including discussion with the former Prime Minister, the Rt Hon David Lloyd George

LIDDELL HART: 11/1940/44-55

1940

Notes by LIDDELL HART on the campaign in the west

LIDDELL HART: 11/1940/56-60

1940 Jun 7-11

Memorandum by LIDDELL HART entitled 'The invasion of France-its basic factors (attack and defence)' with list of recipients

LIDDELL HART: 11/1940/61

1940 Jun 9

Memorandum by LIDDELL HART entitled 'A modern offensive-defensive technique'

LIDDELL HART: 11/1940/62

1940 Jun 15

Suggestions on tactics and training of Local Defence Volunteers

LIDDELL HART: 11/1940/63

1940 Jun 16-29

Diary notes kept by LIDDELL HART on hostility to Italians and conscientious objectors, German strategy, internment of aliens, French willingness to resist, passive resistance, and BEF morale

LIDDELL HART: 11/1940/64

1940 Jun 21

Notes by LIDDELL HART on the strategic possibilities of a German landing in the South-West of England

LIDDELL HART: 11/1940/65

1940 Jun 22

Note by LIDDELL HART on criticisms of LIDDELL HART's theories

LIDDELL HART: 11/1940/66

1940 Jun 25

Note by LIDDELL HART on the question of the defence of villages by Local Defence Volunteers

LIDDELL HART: 11/1940/67

1940 Jun

Notes by LIDDELL HART on defending the UK from invasion

LIDDELL HART: 11/1940/68

1940 Jun

Notes by LIDDELL HART concerning 'elementary exercises in Field-Craft', a series of suggestions for the purposes of training

LIDDELL HART: 11/1940/69

1940 Jul 4

Note by LIDDELL HART comparing the campaigns of Adolf Hitler with Napoleon Bonaparte, and on understanding Hitler's reasoning over Poland

LIDDELL HART: 11/1940/70

1940 Jul 16

A reflection by LIDDELL HART on 'regulations'

LIDDELL HART: 11/1940/71

1940 Jul 16

Various notes by LIDDELL HART on talks with Lt Gen Sir John Brown, Maj John North and Eric Cecil Heygate Salmon regarding Local Defence Volunteers, the campaign in the west, and the defence of the UK

LIDDELL HART: 11/1940/72

1940 Jul 16-17

Notes by LIDDELL HART on the campaign in France, especially air operations, personalities including FM Sir William Edmund Ironside, Commander-in-Chief, Home Forces, the need for a greater number of UK fighter squadrons, UK bomber losses, artificial smoke, the effectiveness of the balloon barrage, and allegations that the Prime Minister, Winston (Leonard Spencer) Churchill was behaving dictatorially

LIDDELL HART: 11/1940/73

1940 Jul 17-18

Talks with the former Prime Minister, the Rt Hon David Lloyd George, the Rt Hon Hastings Bertrand Lees-Smith, Arthur John Cummings, political editor of the News Chronicle, and the author Archibald Gordon Macdonell on the UK's situation, the Rt Hon Winston (Leonard Spencer) Churchill, FM Sir William Edmund Ironside, Commander in Chief, Home Forces, and the Rt Hon Leslie Hore-Belisha, former Secretary of State for War

LIDDELL HART: 11/1940/74

1940 Jul 23

Note by LIDDELL HART on discussion with the former Prime Minister, the Rt Hon David Lloyd George. Tour of training camps, the Rt Hon Winston (Leonard Spencer) Churchill, and Sumner Welles, United States Under-Secretary of State

LIDDELL HART: 11/1940/75

1940 Jul

Jottings by LIDDELL HART on the Polish Guarantee, 31 March 1939, and German bombing

LIDDELL HART: 11/1940/76

1940 Jul

Note by LIDDELL HART on headlines in The Times about the bombing of England and Germany

LIDDELL HART: 11/1940/77

1940 [Jul]

Note by LIDDELL HART on bombing raids of England and Germany at the beginning of 1940

LIDDELL HART: 11/1940/78

1940 Aug 26

Memorandum by LIDDELL HART entitled 'The bombing campaign-a suggestion', namely a temporary suspension of British bombing of Germany in order to give the UK time to carry out rearmament

LIDDELL HART: 11/1940/79

1940 Aug 31

Talks with the former Prime Minister, the Rt Hon David Lloyd George, and Thomas Jones on German bombing, Lloyd George's pessimism, and his safety at the present time

LIDDELL HART: 11/1940/80

1940 Sep 2-9

Extracts from Time on the condition of the United States Army

LIDDELL HART: 11/1940/81-86

1940 Sep 3-1940 Oct 18

Memorandum by LIDDELL HART entitled 'Before, and after, a year of war'-a summary of the war to date

LIDDELL HART: 11/1940/87

1940 Sep 14

Reflection by LIDDELL HART on war and peace in general, notably on war being avoidable, on blame usually lying with both sides, and the illusion of the aim of total victory

LIDDELL HART: 11/1940/88

1940 Oct 9

Note by LIDDELL HART entitled 'The spread of air warfare, summarising the campaign in the air to date

LIDDELL HART: 11/1940/89

1940 Oct 11

Memorandum by LIDDELL HART 'Extracts from a letter from LIDDELL HART to a leading statesman (Rt Hon David Lloyd George) on bombing'

LIDDELL HART: 11/1940/90-91

1940 Oct 12

Memorandum by LIDDELL HART entitled 'Simple arithmetic for statesmen', in which LIDDELL HART criticises the Allied adoption of a belligerent posture towards a materially superior Germany

LIDDELL HART: 11/1940/92-93

1940 Oct 14-15

Memorandum by LIDDELL HART entitled 'Great oaks from little acorns grow' on the bombing of London, suggesting that the apparently greater effectiveness of the Germans in bombing London, than the Allies in bombing Berlin, should produce a re-evaluation of Allied bombing strategy

LIDDELL HART: 11/1940/94

1940 Oct 22

Reflection by LIDDELL HART entitled 'How civilisation has declined', criticising internment

LIDDELL HART: 11/1940/95

1940 Oct 22

Diary note kept by LIDDELL HART on offensive and defensive war, and Greece

LIDDELL HART: 11/1940/96

1940 Oct

Note by LIDDELL HART on revised organisation for the infantry division

LIDDELL HART: 11/1940/97

1940 Oct

Notes by LIDDELL HART on mechanisation in India and in the UK

LIDDELL HART: 11/1940/98

1940 Oct-Nov

Note by LIDDELL HART of various predictions and prophecies made by the Prime Minister, the Rt Hon Winston (Leonard Spencer) Churchill, Adolf Hitler and others

LIDDELL HART: 11/1940/99

1940 Nov 3

Memorandum by LIDDELL HART entitled ''Crying for the Moon' and 'Seeing Red'' on the dangers of unwarranted optimism about the war situation

LIDDELL HART: 11/1940/100

1940 Nov 8

Diary note kept by LIDDELL HART on the influence of LIDDELL HART's inter-war theories on World War Two

LIDDELL HART: 11/1940/101

1940 Nov 17

Note by LIDDELL HART on discussion with Cdr William Stephen Richard King-Hall [adviser to William Maxwell Aitken, 1st Baron Beaverbrook in the Ministry of Aircraft Production] about working with Beaverbrook, bombing, campaigns in Scandinavia and France

LIDDELL HART: 11/1940/102

1940 Nov 17

Memorandum by LIDDELL HART entitled 'The reckoning' on the good chances of victory for Germany, and the dehumanising effect of total war rendering any Allied success a hollow one

LIDDELL HART: 11/1940/103

1940 Nov 23

Note by LIDDELL HART on discussion with Count von Rosen, the Swedish Military Attaché. Concerning Rosen's talks with Hermann Goering

LIDDELL HART: 11/1940/104

1940 Nov 24

Memorandum by LIDDELL HART entitled 'Seven Pillars of Wisdom' on the lessons of war in general

LIDDELL HART: 11/1940/105

1940 Dec 7

Notes by LIDDELL HART on the British naval position

LIDDELL HART: 11/1940/106

1940 Dec 15

Note by LIDDELL HART on discussion with Rudolph Sturza about the Czech military situation, Sep 1938

LIDDELL HART: 11/1940/107

1940 Dec 19

Note by LIDDELL HART on defences against German invasion in south Devon

LIDDELL HART: 11/1940/108

1940 Dec

Notes by LIDDELL HART on the Home Front and especially on rationing

LIDDELL HART: 11/1940 109

1940

Extracts by LIDDELL HART from an article by Brian Howard in Horizon entitled 'How France was paralysed-by Red Tape'

LIDDELL HART: 11/1940/110

1940

Note by LIDDELL HART on the specifications of the 'Christie Model Tank'

LIDDELL HART: 11/1940/111

[1940]

Notes by LIDDELL HART on the Norwegian campaign, and on disarmament

LIDDELL HART: 11/1940/112

[1940]

Notes by LIDDELL HART on the war in Norway and France

LIDDELL HART: 11/1940/113

[1940]

Reflection by LIDDELL HART on the futility of war

LIDDELL HART: 11/1940/114

[1940]

Note by LIDDELL HART on the organisation of the General Staff

LIDDELL HART: 11/1940/115

[1940]

Note by LIDDELL HART entitled 'To see ourselves as others have seen us' on Thomas Jefferson's comments on Great Britain in 1810

LIDDELL HART: 11/1940/116

[1940]

Note by LIDDELL HART entitled 'How not to evoke enthusiasm for Britain's cause. The treatment of the Auxiliary Military Pioneer Corps (alien companies)'criticising what LIDDELL HART saw as discrimination against foreign soldiers in the British Army

LIDDELL HART: 11/1940/117-122

1940

Various notes by LIDDELL HART on the growth of air bombing from a starting point of mutual restraint at the onset of war

LIDDELL HART: 11/1940/123-136

1940

Various notes by LIDDELL HART on campaigns in North Africa 1940-1942, including notes on Gen Sir Bernard Law Montgomery

LIDDELL HART: 11/1940/137

1940

Miscellaneous jottings by LIDDELL HART on the French army after 1918, and current divisional strengths

LIDDELL HART: 11/1940/138

1940-1942

Extracts by LIDDELL HART from John Rutherford Gordon's articles in The Sunday Express

LIDDELL HART: 11/1940/139

[1940]

Jotting by LIDDELL HART [from talks with Rt Hon David Lloyd George and Ivan Mikhailovich Maisky?] on Norway

LIDDELL HART: 11.1940/140

[1940]

Note by LIDDELL HART on the failure to make use of the ideas of Maj Gen John Frederick Charles Fuller and LIDDELL HART

LIDDELL HART: 11/1940/141

[1940]

Note by LIDDELL HART on a 1935 War Office war game on the problem of employing the BEF

LIDDELL HART: 11/1940/142

[1940-1941]

List of names of people LIDDELL HART believed constituted a roll of dishonour in terms of their conduct and decision-making during the war, including the Prime Minister, the Rt Hon Winston (Leonard Spencer) Churchill

LIDDELL HART: 11/1941/1

1941

Pocket appointments diary kept by LIDDELL HART. With typescript copy

LIDDELL HART: 11/1941/2

1941 Jan

Note by LIDDELL HART on a War Office invasion exercise

LIDDELL HART: 11/1941/3

1941 Feb 17

Notes by LIDDELL HART on the army, Royal Air Force, anti-aircraft defence, Egypt, food shortages, and the invasion threat

LIDDELL HART: 11/1941/4

1941 Feb 18-28

Notes by LIDDELL HART on talks with the Rt Hon Gwilym Lloyd George, and the Rt Hon Leslie Hore-Belisha

LIDDELL HART: 11/1941/5

1941 Feb 25

Notes by LIDDELL HART on the invasion of England from an invader's point of view

LIDDELL HART: 11/1941/6

1941 Feb 251941 Mar 7

Diary notes kept by LIDDELL HART on talks with Maj Gen Frederick Browning and others about the invasion exercise

LIDDELL HART: 11/1941/7-8

1941 Feb-May

Extracts by LIDDELL HART from newspapers about the Greek campaign

LIDDELL HART: 11/1941/9-11

1941 Mar 3

Memorandum by LIDDELL HART entitled 'A possible German plan of invasion', with a list of recipients

LIDDELL HART: 11/1941/12

1941 Mar 4

Carbon copy of a letter from LIDDELL HART to 'Strategicus' (Herbert Charles O'Neill) of The Spectator, on the invasion problem

LIDDELL HART: 11/1941/13-15

1941 Mar 4

Notes by LIDDELL HART principally on the defence of the South-West of England against possible invasion

LIDDELL HART: 11/1941/16

1941 Mar 15-16

Talks with Maj Baron De Dorlodot, of the Belgian Staff, now of the British Embassy in London. On the German attack on Belgium

LIDDELL HART: 11/1941/17

1941 [Mar 17]

Various reflections by LIDDELL HART on the futility of relying on bombing and blockade alone to bring about Allied victory

LIDDELL HART: 11/1941/18

1941 Mar 17

Reflections by LIDDELL HART on the futility of 'victory' in total war, and of the mass starvation predicted as the outcome of blockade of mainland Europe, as a crime against humanity

LIDDELL HART: 11/1941/19

1941 Mar 23

Note by LIDDELL HART on British armoured divisions

LIDDELL HART: 11/1941/20

1941 Apr 1

Note by LIDDELL HART on the sales of LIDDELL HART's books up to the end of 1940

LIDDELL HART: 11/1941/21

1941 Apr 12

Notes by LIDDELL HART entitled 'Passchendaele in the air', on the folly of a war of atrition, and 'what is the writing on the Balkan Wall?', recommending a policy of blockading Germany, scaling back the bombing campaign against Germany and pursuing war without draining the resources of the UK

LIDDELL HART: 11/1941/22

1941 Apr 16

Note by LIDDELL HART on discussion with Maj Gen Percy Cleghorn Stanley Hobart, 11 Armoured Div, 1941-42, concerning the state of armoured divisions

LIDDELL HART: 11/1941/23

1941 Apr 18

Reflection by LIDDELL HART on the problems of democracy in wartime

LIDDELL HART: 11/1941/24

1941 May 14-19

Extracts by LIDDELL HART from newspaper commentary on the landing of Rudolf Hess in Scotland

LIDDELL HART: 11/1941/25

1941 May 29

Suggestion by LIDDELL HART on the army, and in particular, mobile reconnaissance and airborne infantry

LIDDELL HART: 11/1941/26

1941 May 30-31

Talks with AM Richard Hallam Peck,Gen Sir Frederick Alfred Pile, General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Anti-Aircraft Command, and Maj Gen Percy Cleghorn Stanley Hobart, 11 Armoured Div, 1941-42, on bombing, tank affairs, and Crete

LIDDELL HART: 11/1941/27

1941 May

Odd jottings by LIDDELL HART on British strategy

LIDDELL HART: 11/1941/28

1941 May-Jun

Note by LIDDELL HART on the press headlines about the Crete campaign

LIDDELL HART: 11/1941/29

1941 Jun 1

Notes by LIDDELL HART on Crete, tanks, the bombing of Dublin, the sinking of the BISMARCK and anti-aircraft defence

LIDDELL HART: 11/1941/30

1941 Jun 4-5

Notes by LIDDELL HART on the invasion exercise, southern command, for 54 Div

LIDDELL HART: 11/1941/31

1941 Jun 8

Notes by LIDDELL HART on the Totnes Company of the Home Guard

LIDDELL HART: 11/1941/32-34

1941 Jun 11

Memorandum by LIDDELL HART entitled 'When are we going to adjust ourselves to mechanised warfare?', arguing that despite two years of war, the British Army had yet to grasp the full implications of mechanised warfare

LIDDELL HART: 11/1941/35

1941 Jun 15

Note by LIDDELL HART on discussion with Maj Gen Guy de Courcy Glover, Deputy Adjutant General, about Poland, Germany, USA, and the invasion threat to the South West of England

LIDDELL HART: 11/1941/36

1941 Jun 16

Comment by LIDDELL HART on the number of armament adverts in Army Ordnance, a United States journal

LIDDELL HART: 11/1941/37

1941 Jun 21

Note by LIDDELL HART on new weapons used in coastal defence

LIDDELL HART: 11/1941/38

1941 Jul 14

Notes by LIDDELL HART placing the present war in historical perspective

LIDDELL HART: 11/1941/39

1941 Jul 23

Note by LIDDELL HART on discussion with Col Harry Ripley M Mackeson on armoured divisions and cooperation with paratroops

LIDDELL HART: 11/1941/40

1941 Jul 30

Notes by LIDDELL HART on defensive and offensive war in the Soviet Union

LIDDELL HART: 11/1941/41

1941 Aug 7-28

Reflections by LIDDELL HART on the danger of compromising freedom in the pursuit of war

LIDDELL HART: 11/1941/42

1941 Aug 8

Notes by LIDDELL HART on discussion with Albert James Sylvester, Principal Secretary to the former Prime Minister, the Rt Hon David Lloyd George, on Lloyd George

LIDDELL HART: 11/1941/43

1941 Aug 18

Notes by LIDDELL HART on discussion with Eric (Cecil Heygate) Salmon, formerly Deputy Clerk of the London County Council, on war damage insurance

LIDDELL HART: 11/1941/44-45

1941 Aug 20-21

Reflections by LIDDELL HART on the outlook of military men on the war, and on conscription

LIDDELL HART: 11/1941/46

1941 Aug 23

Extract from a letter by John Wales on an example of the over-scrutiny of innocuous letters and papers by the authorities

LIDDELL HART: 11/1941/47

1941 Aug 28

Reflection by LIDDELL HART on the dangers to freedom, of conscription in the UK

LIDDELL HART: 11/1941/48

1941 Aug

Note by LIDDELL HART on problems including the misuse of men in wartime

LIDDELL HART: 11/1941/49

1941 Aug

Extract by LIDDELL HART from an address by Maj Gen George Mackintosh Lindsay on the war in the Soviet Union, and on air bases in England

LIDDELL HART: 11/1941/50

1941 Aug-Sep

Extracts from newspapers and by other commentators, including Maj Gen Sir Frederick Maurice and FM George Francis Milne, 1st Baron Milne of Salonika and of Rubislaw, Co Aberdeen, on the war in the Soviet Union

LIDDELL HART: 11/1941/52

1941 Sep 1

Notes by LIDDELL HART on the sinking of the German battleship, BISMARCK

LIDDELL HART: 11/1941/53-57

1941 Sep 3-23

Memorandum by LIDDELL HART entitled 'The eternal will-o'-the-wisp-in war'-the pursuit of victory leading inevitably to further conflict between powers, and the need to find ways to better guarantee peace in future

LIDDELL HART: 11/1941/58

1941 Sep 4

Diary note kept by LIDDELL HART on the reluctance of the Daily Mail to publish an article by LIDDELL HART

LIDDELL HART: 11/1941/59

1941 Sep 4

Extracts by LIDDELL HART from newspapers allegedly stirring up hatred of Germans

LIDDELL HART: 11/1941/60-62

1941 Sep 6

Memorandum by LIDDELL HART entitled 'Trial by facts', warning of the danger of the UK losing the war because of a mistaken belief that Britian's armed strength would allow such an outright victory under present circumstances

LIDDELL HART: 11/1941/63

1941 Sep 18

Note by LIDDELL HART on the competing historical claims of various commanders for the hypothetical and retrospective title of 'Great Captain', including Alexander the Great and the Duke of Wellington

LIDDELL HART: 11/1941/64

1941 Sep-Oct

Note by LIDDELL HART on the BUMPER ( simulated invasion) exercise

LIDDELL HART: 11/1941/65

1941 Sep

Extracts by LIDDELL HART from comments on Scandinavia and relations with the Soviet Union 1939-1940, by Adolf Hitler, the Prime Minister, the Rt Hon Winston (Leonard Spencer) Churchill, and others

LIDDELL HART: 11/1941/66

1941 Oct 3

Note by LIDDELL HART on discussion with AM Richard Hallam Peck, Assistant Chief of the Air Staff (General), concerning German air strength

LIDDELL HART: 11/1941/67

1941 Oct 4

List compiled by LIDDELL HART of people LIDDELL HART needed to talk to, and jottings of a discussion with the Rt Hon Leslie Hore-Belisha

LIDDELL HART: 11/1941/68

1941 Oct 5

Note by LIDDELL HART on discussion with Gen Sir Frederick Alfred Pile, General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Anti-Aircraft Command, on armoured divisions, the BUMPER invasion exercise in the Orkneys

LIDDELL HART: 11/1941/69

1941 Oct 19

Memorandum by LIDDELL HART entitled 'The offensive use of the defensive' showing how German success so far could be attributed, in part, to their method of securing offensive positions, defensively, and not due to overwhelming numerical superiority

LIDDELL HART: 11/1941/70

1941 Nov 2

Note by LIDDELL HART on discussion with the Rt Hon Richard Rapier Stokes, MP, about war production, and his mission to the Soviet Union

LIDDELL HART: 11/1941/71

1941 Nov 8

LIDDELL HART on the importance of the changes in meaning that take place during translation, with the example of a speech by Joseph Stalin

LIDDELL HART: 11/1941/72

1941 Nov 20

Note by LIDDELL HART assessing the careers and personalities of the High Command

LIDDELL HART: 11/1941/73

1941 Nov 24

Diary note kept by LIDDELL HART on the war in Libya

LIDDELL HART: 11/1941/74

1941 Nov 28-1941 Dec 6

Questions by LIDDELL HART about the Libyan offensive, criticising the British for a misunderstanding of the reasons for German success-namely that it lay in a crude application of offensive tactics, regardless of circumstances

LIDDELL HART: 11/1941/75

1941 Dec 3-17

Notes by LIDDELL HART on the production of Churchill tanks, and inefficiencies in bomb manufacture

LIDDELL HART:

Note by LIDDELL HART on discussion with Gen Sir Frederick Alfred Pile, General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Anti-Aircraft Command, about the Libyan offensive, and comments on various personalities including Gen Claude John Eyre Auchinleck, Commander-in-Chief, Middle East

LIDDELL HART: 11/1941/76

1941 Dec 8

Notes by LIDDELL HART on the strength of US and Japanese armed forces

LIDDELL HART: 11/1941/77

1941 Dec 17

Note by LIDDELL HART on discussion with Sir Archibald Rowlands, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Aircraft Production, about various personalities, including the Prime Minister, the Rt Hon Winston (Leonard Spencer) Churchill

LIDDELL HART: 11/1941/78a

1941 Dec 17-19

Note by LIDDELL HART on discussion with Col A Gibson (Chemical Warfare Chief, 2 American Army). Various, including the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour, 7 Dec 1941

LIDDELL HART: 11/1941/78b

Note by LIDDELL HART on discussion with an anonymous RAF officer about the bombing policy of the RAF

LIDDELL HART: 11/1941/78c

Note by LIDDELL HART on discussion with the former Prime Minister, the Rt Hon David Lloyd George, about Lloyd George's views on the war

LIDDELL HART: 11/1941/78d

Note by LIDDELL HART on discussion with the Rt Hon Leslie Hore-Belisha about Hore-Belisha's future, and Scandinavia in 1940

LIDDELL HART: 11/1941/79

1941 Dec 19

Notes by LIDDELL HART on political warfare involving the organisation of resistance groups in occupied countries

LIDDELL HART: 11/1941/80

1941 Dec 23

Note by LIDDELL HART on discussion with Maj Gen Percy Cleghorn Stanley Hobart, 11 Armoured Div, 1941-42, on the armoured division, and comments about various personalities including Gen Bernard Law Montgomery

LIDDELL HART: 11/1941/81-85

1941

Notes by LIDDELL HART giving an historical perspective to Japanese actions and the situation in the Far East

LIDDELL HART: 11/1941/86

1941

List by LIDDELL HART of military critics writing in the Press

LIDDELL HART: 11/1941/87

1941

Note by LIDDELL HART on night fighter successes

LIDDELL HART: 11/1941/88

1940-1941

Statistics relating to the bombing campaign between the UK and Germany

LIDDELL HART: 11/1941/89-91

1941

Notes by LIDDELL HART on the Polish Guarantee, Britian's pre-war guarantee of Polish security, 31 March 1939

LIDDELL HART: 11/1941/92

[1941]

Notes by LIDDELL HART on his position, and on the Prime Minister, the Rt Hon Winston (Leonard Spencer) Churchill's focus group

LIDDELL HART: 11/1941/93

1941 Dec 27

Summary by LIDDELL HART of the course of the war on all fronts

LIDDELL HART: 11/1941/94

1941

List by LIDDELL HART of the mistakes and omissions in Capt Charles Randolf Kutz's 'War on Wheels, the evolution of an idea' (John Lane, London, 1941)

LIDDELL HART: 11/1941/95

[1941]

Criticisms by LIDDELL HART on the unpublished book, 'How to Defeat Tanks' written by Col Josef Vrzacek and Maj V Sacher under the pseudonyms E M Willer and J M Vrek

LIDDELL HART: 11/1942/1

1942

Appointments diary kept by LIDDELL HART. With typescript copy

LIDDELL HART: 11/1942/2

1942 Jan 24

Note by LIDDELL HART on the need for a global perspective in the Allied war effort, and criticism of an over-readiness by the Allies to launch offensives when ill-prepared

LIDDELL HART: 11/1942/3

1942 Feb 2

Bibliography of military writings compiled by LIDDELL HART

LIDDELL HART: 11/1942/4

1942 Feb 11

Notes for Lindsay Rogers, Burgess Professor of Public Law, Columbia University, on the development of LIDDELL HART's thinking regarding offensive and defensive tactics

LIDDELL HART: 11/1942/5

1942 Feb 24

Reflection by LIDDELL HART on Japanese relations with Europe

LIDDELL HART: 11/1942/6

1942 Feb 28

Rough notes by LIDDELL HART for articles on the war situation

LIDDELL HART: 11/1942/7

1942 Mar 7

Notes by LIDDELL HART on the war situation, including the problem of invading the Continent

LIDDELL HART: 11/1942/8

1942 Mar 7

Notes by LIDDELL HART on the problems of invading the Continent as a diversionary tactic to aid the Soviet Union

LIDDELL HART: 11/1942/9

1942 Mar 7

Reflection by LIDDELL HART entitled 'The influence of civilisation on military power' on the weakness of unwarlike powers in the face of aggression, and the dangers of imposing conscription on such peoples

LIDDELL HART: 11/1942/10

1942 Mar

Note by LIDDELL HART on the distribution of air strength between the UK and the Axis powers

LIDDELL HART: 11/1942/11-12

1942 Mar 16

Notes by LIDDELL HART on the Home Guard, including the necessity for a greater concentration on rural companies, the poor quality and age of recruits, inefficiency of units due to inadequate supply of ammunition and excessive diversity of weapons types, and other criticisms

LIDDELL HART: 11/1942/13

1942 Mar 17

Notes by LIDDELL HART on the career of Capt Henry David Margesson, 1st Viscount Margesson of Rugby, and on discussion with Maj Gen Percy Cleghorn Stanley Hobart, 11 Armoured Div, concerning invasion exercises

LIDDELL HART: 11/1942/14

1942 Mar 18-23

Talks with Sir Archibald Rowlands on the plan to create a body of scientific advisers, the visit to the Soviet Union of William Maxwell Aitken, 1st Baron Beaverbrook, on LIDDELL HART's pre-war proposal for the creation of a Ministry of Defence, and plans for a training command

LIDDELL HART: 11/1942/15

1942 Mar 19

Talks with William Maxwell Aitken, 1st Baron Beaverbrook, on Beaverbrook's visit to the USA, and on the Rt Hon Leslie Hore-Belisha

LIDDELL HART: 11/1942/16

1942 Mar 19

Talks with Gen Sir Frederick Alfred Pile, General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Anti-Aircraft Command, and ACM Sir Hugh Caswell Tremenheere Dowding, Principal Air ADC to the King, about the operational strength of the RAF, and comments on various personalities including Lt Gen Henry Royds Pownall and Duncan Sandys, Financial Secretary to the War Office

LIDDELL HART: 11/1942/17

1942 Mar 19

Notes by LIDDELL HART on the naval situation, including criticism of British preparedness in dealing with the German warships, SCHARNHORST and GNEISENAU, and shortage of British shipping

LIDDELL HART: 11/1942/18

1942 Mar 20-22

Talks with Ivan Mikhailovich Maisky, Soviet Ambassador to the UK, on the under-employment of LIDDELL HART, and on the war in the Far East

LIDDELL HART: 11/1942/19

1942 Mar 20

Note by LIDDELL HART on discussion with Maj Gen Claude Francis Liardet concerning Liardet's meetings with the Prime Minister, the Rt Hon Winston (Leonard Spencer) Churchill, when preparing to repel possible invasion in 1940

LIDDELL HART: 11/1942/20

1942 Mar 21

Note by LIDDELL HART on discussion with AM Richard Hallam Peck, Assistant Chief of the Air Staff (General), on airforce strengths, possible invasions of Ireland or England, Libya, the Far East, and alleged mistreatment of Australian soldiers in the UK

LIDDELL HART: 11/1942/21

1942 March 21

List compiled by LIDDELL HART of promising younger officers

LIDDELL HART: 11/1942/22

1942 Mar 22

Notes by LIDDELL HART on talks with the former Prime Minister, the Rt Hon David Lloyd George, concerning discussions with Ivan Mikhailovich Maisky, Soviet Ambassador to the UK, and views on Sir (Percy) James Grigg, the new Secretary of State for War, the Prime Minister, the Rt Hon Winston (Leonard Spencer) Churchill, and the general war situation including the possibility of an Allied invasion of the Continent, the likelihood of the Soviet Union negotiating a separate peace with Germany, and the British shipping shortage

LIDDELL HART: 11/1942/23

1942 Mar 24

Memorandum by LIDDELL HART entitled 'Tank and infantry organisation-and tempo', recommending close scrutiny of reorganisation plans, and the danger of concentrating on slow-speed warfare, instead of fast tempo

LIDDELL HART: 11/1942/24

1942 Mar

Report by LIDDELL HART of two stories circulating in London on the visit to the US of William Maxwell Aitken, 1st Baron Beaverbrook, Minister of War Production, and a joke concerning Dr Marie Carmichael Stopes, the birth control pioneer

LIDDELL HART: 11/1942/25

1942 Apr

Memorandum by LIDDELL HART entitled 'Conscription kills enthusiasm' on the dangers of conscription

LIDDELL HART: 11/1942/26

1942 Apr 5-1942 Jul 31

Jottings by LIDDELL HART on James Louis Garvin, Editor of The Observer, 1908-1942, the Rt Hon Winston (Leonard Spencer) Churchill, Prime Minister, and AF Sir Roger (John Brownlow) Keyes, Member of Parliament for Portsmouth (North) division

LIDDELL HART: 11/1942/27

1942 Apr 7

Memorandum by LIDDELL HART on resistance to change within the army

LIDDELL HART: 11/1942/28

1942 Apr 27

Notes by LIDDELL HART on the reorganisation of the armoured divisions [Note by LIDDELL HART on discussion with Maj Gen Percy Cleghorn Stanley Hobart, 11 Armoured Div], and on plans for the invasion of France by the Allies

LIDDELL HART: 11/1942/29

1942 Apr 30

Note by LIDDELL HART on discussion with Gen Sir Frederick Alfred Pile, General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Anti-Aircraft Command, about armoured divisions, the plan for a research organisation, tank design, and on air defence

LIDDELL HART: 11/1942/30

1942 Apr 30

Note by LIDDELL HART on discussion with Sir Archibald Rowlands, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Aircraft Production, concerning plans for a scientific research division for the General Staff, higher commanders, and the outlook on the Russian front

LIDDELL HART: 11/1942/31

1942 Apr

Reflections by LIDDELL HART on the limitations on the UK in winning outright victories in Continental engagements, based on historical precedent, with LIDDELL HART's preferred strategy designed to neutralise Continental opponents without the risk of the economic exhaustion implicit in a strategy of commitment to outright victory

LIDDELL HART: 11/1942/32

1942 May 1

Note by LIDDELL HART on discussion with Sir Percy James Grigg, Secretary of State for War, and Sir Archibald Rowlands, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Aircraft Production, concerning various army personalities including Maj Gen Percy Cleghorn Stanley Hobart, 11 Armoured Div, and on armoured forces, and the Home Guard

LIDDELL HART: 11/1942/33

1942 May 2

Note by LIDDELL HART on discussion with (Arthur) David Kemp Owen, Personal Assistant to the Rt Hon Sir (Richard) Stafford Cripps at the Office of the Lord Privy Seal, on the loss of shipping in the Far East, the visits of Owen to India and Egypt, and concerning the Rt Hon Sir (Richard) Stafford Cripps, Lord Privy Seal

LIDDELL HART: 11/1942/34

1942 May 10

Note by LIDDELL HART on discussion with Herron, Toc-H Padré, concerning Herron's recent visit to Iceland

LIDDELL HART: 11/1942/35

1942 May 16

Three reflections by LIDDELL HART on the difficulty of following a path of truthfulness in time of war

LIDDELL HART: 11/1942/36

1942 May 18

Reflection by LIDDELL HART on the three stages of military thought, elementary (concerned with strategy and tactics), intermediate (adaption of these principles to particular circumstances), and advanced (the recognition that winning a war is only a means to an end-the achievement of lasting peace)

LIDDELL HART: 11/1942/37

1942 May 23

Note by LIDDELL HART on discussion with William Maxwell Aitken, 1st Baron Beaverbrook, concerning the Russian front

LIDDELL HART: 11/1942/38

1942 May 25

Memorandum by LIDDELL HART entitled 'The role of the Home Guard', covering the history of the Guard, and its present and future roles

LIDDELL HART: 11/1942/39

1942 May 26

Extract from The Daily Express on Gen Sir Claude John Eyre Auchinleck, Commander-in-Chief, Middle East, and his efforts to eliminate 'red tape' hindering the war effort in the Middle East

LIDDELL HART: 11/1942/40

1942 Jun 2

Criticism by LIDDELL HART of Allied air raids on Cologne

LIDDELL HART: 11/1942/41

1942 Jun 3

Note by LIDDELL HART on discussion with Gen Sir (Augustus Francis) Andrew (Nicol) Thorne, General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Scottish Command and Governor of Edinburgh Castle, on the Home Guard, the organisation of armoured divisions, the influence of LIDDELL HART's writings on German military planning, and on the Scottish command

LIDDELL HART: 11/1942/42

1942 Jun 11-15

Notes by LIDDELL HART on discussions with William Maxwell Aitken, 1st Baron Beaverbrook, covering many aspects of the war

LIDDELL HART: 11/1942/43

1942 Jun 11

Notes by LIDDELL HART on discussions with Sir Archibald Rowlands, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Aircraft Production, about Sir (Percy) James Grigg, Secretary of State for War, and various politicians, the reorganisiation of the General Staff, the career of Rowlands, and concerning attitudes to LIDDELL HART

LIDDELL HART: 11/1942/44

1942 Jun 11-17

Note by LIDDELL HART on discussion with Capt Coulet, Chef de Cabinet to General Charles Andre Joseph Marie de Gaulle, Capt Russell Grenfell and Maj John North on the Polish Guarantee, 31 March 1939, Max Nicholson, (Arthur) David (Kemp) Owen, Maj Gen John Frederick Charles Fuller, and William Thomas Wells, General Staff Officer, Directorate of Military Training, War Office

LIDDELL HART: 11/1942/45

1942 Jun 12

Note by LIDDELL HART on discussion with the Rt Hon Duncan Edwin Sandys, Financial Secretary to the War Office, concerning promotion problems in the British Army

LIDDELL HART: 11/1942/46

1942 Jun 13

Note by LIDDELL HART on discussion with AM Richard Hallam Peck, Assistant Chief of the Air Staff (General), about Libya, British bomber strength, and rates of loss, on the Luftwaffe being weaker in the West as a consequence of pressure in the Soviet Union, reduced aircraft deliveries from the United States since their entry into the war, shipping losses, the use of propaganda by the Chinese and the threat to British control of Burma and Malaya from a resurrgent China

LIDDELL HART: 11/1942/47

1942 Jun 14

Note by LIDDELL HART on discussion with Brig Harry Ripley Mackeson, Brigadier General Staff, Royal Armoured Corps HQ, about organisation of armoured divisions, and the Malayan campaign

LIDDELL HART: 11/1942/48

1942 Jun 14

Note by LIDDELL HART on discussion with the former Prime Minister, the Rt Hon David Lloyd George, concerning Anglo-Soviet relations, and the Second Front

LIDDELL HART: 11/1942/49

1942 Jun 15

Note by LIDDELL HART on discussion with Lt Col Herbert Charles James Yeo, of the Royal Tank Regiment, about the Libyan campaign

LIDDELL HART: 11/1942/50

1942 Jun 15

Note by LIDDELL HART on discussion with Maj Gen Percy Cleghorn Stanley Hobart, 11 Armoured Div, concerning armoured divisions, especially weakness in signals and a lack of officers qualified in command of armoured divisions, and on air defence, in particular the need for all-purpose weapons

LIDDELL HART: 11/1942/51

1942 Jun 17

Note by LIDDELL HART on discussion with Lt Gen Sir Bernard (Charles Tolver) Paget, Commander-in-Chief, Home Forces, on the method of working of the Prime Minister, the Rt Hon Winston (Leonard Spencer) Churchill, the Home Guard, and about the training of mechanised forces

LIDDELL HART: 11/1942/52

1942 Jun 26

Reflection by LIDDELL HART on maintaining moral in armies

LIDDELL HART: 11/1942/53

1942 Jun 28-29

Note by LIDDELL HART on discussion with (Arthur)David Kemp Owen, Personal Assistant to the Rt Hon Sir (Richard) Stafford Cripps, concerning many aspects of the war, including consultation about Operation TORCH, the Allied invasion of North Africa, High Command reorganisation proposals mooted by LIDDELL HART, and the possibility of the Soviet Union making a separate peace with Germany

LIDDELL HART: 11/1942/54

1942 Jun

Note by LIDDELL HART on the current distribution of the German and Japanese armies

LIDDELL HART: 11/1942/55

1942 Jun

Note by LIDDELL HART on the 'New' doctrine, governing the manoeuvre of corps commanders with the objective of delivering optimum punch

LIDDELL HART: 11/1942/56

1942 Jul 3-7

Note by LIDDELL HART on discussion with (Arthur) David Kemp Owen, Personal Assistant to the Rt Hon Sir (Richard) Stafford Cripps, on the question of appointing mechanised experts to senior command positions, the Prime Minister, the Rt Hon Winston (Leonard Spencer) Churchill, LIDDELL HART's letters to The Times

LIDDELL HART: 11/1942/57

1942 Jul 6

Note by LIDDELL HART entitled 'The underlying lesson of Libya', namely the danger of entrusting mechanised forces to 'unmechanised-minded generals' reflected in LIDDELL HART's perception of the poor speed of control and inadequate rapidity of manoeuvre of British armoured forces

LIDDELL HART: 11/1942/58

1942 Jul 8

Jottings by LIDDELL HART on discussion with Auckland Campbell Geddes, 1st Baron Geddes, Regional Commissioner for the South East and North West regions, 1939-1942,on the Prime Minister, the Rt Hon Winston (Leonard Spencer) Churchill, the US, and on India

LIDDELL HART: 11/1942/59

1942 Jul 14-1942 Nov

Reflections by LIDDELL HART on freedom, responsibility for the current war, conservatism in war policy, and on codes of conduct in war

LIDDELL HART: 11/1942/60

1942 Jul 16

Reflection by LIDDELL HART on his efforts to develop a technique of modern defence

LIDDELL HART: 11/1942/61

1942 Jul 20

Reflection by LIDDELL HART on technical knowledge and a current lack of creative imagination in the British military

LIDDELL HART: 11/1942/62

1942 [Jul]

Notes by LIDDELL HART on the relative merits of offensive and defensive strategies

LIDDELL HART: 11/1942/63

1942 Jul-1942 Oct 18

Notes by LIDDELL HART on the distribution of German divisions, and the movement of US 1 Div

LIDDELL HART: 11/1942/64

1942 Aug 5

Memorandum by LIDDELL HART entitled 'The growth of a legend' reproducing opinions on General Charles Andre Joseph Marie De Gaulle abstracted from three recent biographies of De Gaulle, and LIDDELL HART's devaluing of the innovative nature of De Gaulle's military ideas. With list of recipients

LIDDELL HART: 11/1942/65

1942 Aug 20

Comments and suggestions by LIDDELL HART for the Director of Military Training ,on new defence doctrine, especially the defence of communication routes and of towns

LIDDELL HART: 11/1942/66

1942 Aug 21

Note by LIDDELL HART on the value of learning from experience with particular reference to the Dieppe Raid (19 Aug 1942)

LIDDELL HART: 11/1942/67

1942 Aug 28

Note by LIDDELL HART on the organisation of a Ministry of Defence

LIDDELL HART: 11/1942/68

1942 Aug 28-29

Note by LIDDELL HART on discussion with (Arthur) David Kemp Owen, Personal Assistant to the Rt Hon (Richard) Stafford Cripps, about many aspects of the war including the Dieppe Raid (19 Aug 1942) and changes to the higher commands as a result of Dieppe

LIDDELL HART: 11/1942/69

1942 Sep 1

Notes by LIDDELL HART on the Dieppe Raid (19 Aug 1942) from the experience of a Canadian soldier

LIDDELL HART: 11/1942/70

1942 Sep 3

Memorandum by LIDDELL HART entitled 'Age-old truths of war', a series of aphorisms on the general theme of the dangers to freedom in the pursuit of total war, the loss of historical sense among the British, and a critical contrast between the current pursuit of total war by the British, and the former method of resolving conflicts via agreement and without the onset of total material exhaustion. With list of recipients

LIDDELL HART: 11/1942/71

1942 Sep 10

Notes by LIDDELL HART on why large cities constitute difficult targets for attacking forces

LIDDELL HART: 11/1942/72

1942 Sep 21-27

Notes by LIDDELL HART on discussions with Gen Sir Frederick Alfred Pile, General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Anti-Aircraft Command, about appointments to command positions

LIDDELL HART: 11/1942/73

1942 Sep 21-28

Notes by LIDDELL HART on discussions with leading members of Liberal Party including the Chief Whip, Sir Percy Harris, and Albert James Sylvester, Principal Secretary to the former Prime Minister, the Rt Hon David Lloyd George, on Lloyd George, also concerning a conversation with the Rt Hon Leslie Hore-Belisha about Hore-Belisha's retreat in a Cistercian monastery and on complaints about undercover surveillance of Hore-Belisha and others, discussions with Guy Patterson Chapman on the Army Bureau of Current Affairs, with Sir Archibald Rowlands, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Aircraft Production, about the Secretary of State for War, the Rt Hon Sir (Percy) James Grigg, and with Esmond Cecil Harmsworth, 2nd Viscount Rothermere of Hemsted on the Prime Minister, the Rt Hon Winston (Leonard Spencer) Churchill

LIDDELL HART: 11/1942/74

1942 Sep 21

Note by LIDDELL HART on the development of his thought

LIDDELL HART: 11/1942/75

1942 Sep 21-23

Jottings by LIDDELL HART from talks, including to the Rt Hon Sir (Richard) Stafford Cripps, ambassador to the Soviet Union

LIDDELL HART: 11/1942/76

1942 Sep 22

Note by LIDDELL HART on discussion with Brig Harry Ripley Mackeson concerning various personalities including Maj Gen Percy Cleghorn Stanley Hobart, 11 Armoured Div, Commander of 79 (Specialised) Armoured Div, autumn 1942-1945, and Lt Gen Bernard Law Montgomery, Commander, 8 Army

LIDDELL HART: 11/1942/77

1942 Sep 22-24

Notes by LIDDELL HART on discussions with Lt Col Sir Albert Stern, Chairman, Special Vehicle Development Committee, Ministry of Supply, and Gen Sir Frederick Alfred Pile, General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Anti-Aircraft Command, on tank design and development, the Prime Minister, the Rt Hon Winston (Leonard Spencer) Churchill and the role of tanks in World War One

LIDDELL HART: 11/1942/78

1942 Sep 23

Note by LIDDELL HART on discussion with William Maxwell Aitken, 1st Baron Beaverbrook on many aspects of the war, including the situations in the Soviet Union and Egypt

LIDDELL HART: 11/1942/79

1942 Sep 23

Note by LIDDELL HART on discussion with the Rt Hon Duncan Edwin Sandys, Financial Secretary to the War Office, about mechanical warfare

LIDDELL HART: 11/1942/80

1942 Sep 24

Note by LIDDELL HART on discussion with Brig Reginald Lawrence Scoones, Deputy Director Military Training, and Lt Col Herbert Charles James Yeo, of the Royal Tank Regiment, on tank production, and on the Middle East

LIDDELL HART: 11/1942/81

1942 Sep 25

Note by LIDDELL HART on discussion with (Arthur) David Kemp Owen, Personal Assistant to the Rt Hon Sir (Richard) Stafford Cripps about the position of Cripps in the Government, on Operation TORCH, the Allied invasion of North Africa, German casualties, and British shipping losses

LIDDELL HART: 11/1942/82

1942 Sep 26-27

Notes by LIDDELL HART on discussions with William Maxwell Aitken, 1st Viscount Beaverbrook, Minister of War Production, on many aspects of the war situation including Beaverbrook's former recommendation of a policy of isolationism, the Libyan campaign, and the Dieppe Raid (19 Aug 1942)

LIDDELL HART: 11/1942/83

1942 Oct 1

Memorandum by LIDDELL HART entitled 'A survey of the war-at the start of the 4th year'

LIDDELL HART: 11/1942/84-86

1942 Oct 5-11

Notes by LIDDELL HART on a General HQ study week to test new army organisation by the hypothetical launch of a Second Front

LIDDELL HART: 11/1942/87

1942 Oct 29-1942 Nov 11

Notes by LIDDELL HART on discussions with the Rt Hon Leslie Hore-Belisha, Secretary of State for War, 1937-1940,Gen Sir Frederick Alfred Pile, General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Anti-Aircraft Command, the Rt Hon Gwilym Lloyd George, Minister of Fuel and Power, Maj Gen Percy Cleghorn Stanley Hobart, Commander, 79 (Specialised) Armoured Div, and Cdr Robert Tatton Bower, MP on the use of night attacks by Lt Gen Bernard Law Montgomery at El Alamein, accusations of the waste of petrol by US forces in the UK, and on the forces of Lt Gen Bernard Law Montgomery, Commander, 8 Army

LIDDELL HART: 11/1942/88

1942 Oct 31

Note by LIDDELL HART on discussion with Maj Gen Percy Cleghorn Stanley Hobart, Commander, 79 (Specialised) Armoured Div, concerning the organisation of the armoured division, and personalities including Maj Gen Kenneth Arthur Noel Anderson, Commander, 1 Army, North Africa

LIDDELL HART: 11/1942/89

1942 Oct

Note by LIDDELL HART on the manacling of prisoners by the Spartans, with reference to current policy

LIDDELL HART: 11/1942/90

1942 Oct

Jottings by LIDDELL HART on the origins of World War Two

LIDDELL HART: 11/1942/91

1942 Nov 2

Note by LIDDELL HART on discussion with Gen Sir Frederick Alfred Pile, General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Anti-Aircraft Command, concerning the Rt Hon Sir (Richard) Stafford Cripps, Lord Privy Seal, Operation TORCH, the Allied invasion of North Africa, and the air force situation, in particular the performance of particular British aircraft, and comparing British and American bombing raids

LIDDELL HART: 11/1942/92

1942 Nov 2

Note by LIDDELL HART on discussion with Brig Eric Dorman-Smith concerning the Libyan campaign, May-Aug 1942

LIDDELL HART: 11/1942/93

Nov 2

Notes by LIDDELL HART on discussions with (Francis) David (Langhorne) Astor and (Arthur) David Kemp Owen, Personal Assistant to Sir (Richard) Stafford Cripps at the Office of the Lord Privy Seal, about the Dieppe raid (19 Aug 1942), Sir (Richard) Stafford Cripps, and on the war in North Africa

LIDDELL HART: 11/1942/94

1942 Nov 4

Note by LIDDELL HART on discussion with ACM Sir Hugh Caswell Tremenheere Dowding, Principal Air ADC to the King, about the inter-war period, and on FM Doublas Haig, 1st Earl Haig, in 1913

LIDDELL HART: 11/1942/95

1942 Nov 4

Note by LIDDELL HART on discussion with Sir Archibald Rowlands, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Aircraft Production, concerning aircraft development and the performance of various British aircraft such as the Hurricane and Typhoon in comparison with German aircraft, the Rt Hon Sir (Richard) Stafford Cripps, Lord Privy Seal, Sir (Percy) James Grigg, Secretary of State for War, and Brig John Alan Lyde Caunter, Brigadier General Staff, GHQ, India

LIDDELL HART: 11/1942/96

1942 Nov 4-11

Notes by LIDDELL HART on the campaign in North West Africa

LIDDELL HART: 11/1942/97

1942 Nov 5

Note by LIDDELL HART on discussion with the Rt Hon Sir (Richard) Stafford Cripps, Lord Privy Seal, in a meeting attended by, AM Richard Hallam Peck, General Officer Assistant Chief of the Air Staff (General), Maj Gen Percy Cleghorn Stanley Hobart, Commander, 79 (Specialised) Armoured Div, Brig Eric Dorman-Smith and (Arthur) David Kemp Owen, Personal Assistant to Cripps. The discussions concerned the war in North Africa

LIDDELL HART: 11/1942/98

1942 Nov 14

Notes by LIDDELL HART on the use of so-called 'human torpedoes' by the Italians against British ships in the Mediterranean, and on British trials of similar devices in Scotland

LIDDELL HART: 11/1942/99

1942 Nov 16

Notes for Daily Mail articles by LIDDELL HART on North Africa and the Soviet Union

LIDDELL HART: 11/1942/100

1942 Nov 24

Notes by LIDDELL HART on North Africa, Lt Gen (Frank) Noel Mason-Macfarlane's opinion on the Russian situation and its influence on the strategic balance in the Middle East

LIDDELL HART: 11/1942/101

1942 Nov 25-27

Notes by LIDDELL HART on discussions with Gen Sir Frederick Alfred Pile, General Officer Commmanding-in-Chief, Anti-Aircraft Command, and Maj Gen Percy Cleghorn Stanley Hobart, Commander, 79 (Specialised) Armoured Div. Various, including the procedures for selecting officers, the North African campaign, anti-aircraft defences off the coast at Liverpool, and the development of new weapons including dazzling lights and flame throwers

LIDDELL HART: 11/1942/102

1942 Nov 28-1942 Dec 11

Notes by LIDDELL HART on discussions with Maj Gen Percy Cleghorn Stanley Hobart, Commander, 79 (Specialised) Armoured Div, concerning the organisation of the armoured division, and on various personalities including Charles (Frederick) Keightley, Commander, 6 Armoured Div, Tunisia, and Maj Gen Herbert Lumsden, Commander, 10 Corps, 8 Army

LIDDELL HART: 11/1942/103

1942 Dec 5

Various jottings by LIDDELL HART on the North African campaign in particular

LIDDELL HART: 11/1942/104-105

1942 Dec 17

Memorandum by LIDDELL HART entitled 'The problem of quickening manoeuvre-the potential value of a 'Five finger' organisation', suggesting ways of enhancing British Army mobility and flexibility. With comments on the various recipients

LIDDELL HART: 11/1942/106

1942 Dec 21

Memorandum by LIDDELL HART entitled 'Arms for the attack' on the need for more effective use of armoured forces

LIDDELL HART: 11/1942/107

1942 Dec

Odd notes by LIDDELL HART on the battle of El Alamein, 23 Oct-4 Nov 1942

LIDDELL HART: 11/1942/108

1942 Dec

Outline by LIDDELL HART of the war in North Africa prior to El Alamein, 23 Oct-4 Nov 1942

LIDDELL HART: 11/1942/109

1942

Note by LIDDELL HART on Outlines of the World's Military History by Brig Gen William Augustus Mitchell with the similarities to LIDDELL HART's Great Captains Unveiled (1927)

LIDDELL HART: 11/1942/110

1942

Text of a poem circulated around General HQ in Cairo concerning the departing Chief of General Staff (Maj Gen SirArthur (Francis) Smith)

LIDDELL HART: 11/1942/111

1942

Notes by LIDDELL HART on the new organisation of the armoured division

LIDDELL HART: 11/1942/112

1942

Note by LIDDELL HART on the relations between officers and men in the British Army

LIDDELL HART: 11/1942/113

[1942]

Note by LIDDELL HART entitled 'The US Armoured Force', summarising its history and current status

LIDDELL HART: 11/1942/114

1942 Oct

Notes by LIDDELL HART on the German Army, in particular, force levels and divisional strengths

LIDDELL HART: 11/1943/1

1943

Appointments diary kept by LIDDELL HART. With typescript copy

LIDDELL HART: 11/1943/2

1943 Jan 121943 Jul 4

Reflections by LIDDELL HART on the nature of a possible victory over the Axis powers in Europe, including the illusionary nature of victory by attrition, and the possibility of post-war rivalry between the US and Soviet Union

LIDDELL HART: 11/1943/3

1943 Jan 22-31

Various reflections by LIDDELL HART, principally on neglect of defensive strategy, problems with the Versailles Treaty (7 May-28 June 1919) and on the dangers to freedom, of conscription

LIDDELL HART: 11/1943/4

1943 Jan

Note by LIDDELL HART on distribution of forces in India

LIDDELL HART: 11/1943/5

1943 Feb 11

Memorandum by LIDDELL HART entitled 'Too much top hamper?' on the need to simplify management control systems in the British Army

LIDDELL HART: 11/1943/6

1943 Mar 10

Note by LIDDELL HART on discussion with Gen Sir Frederick Alfred Pile, General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Anti-Aircraft Command, about the SPARTAN exercise, March 1-12, air defence, new weapons including flame throwers and dazzle, the war in the Mediterranean, the proposed invasion of France, and on army reorganisation

LIDDELL HART: 11/1943/7

1943 Mar 10

Note by LIDDELL HART on discussion with Sir Archibald Rowlands, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Aircraft Production, on the SPARTAN exercise, Mar 1-12, and comments on various personalities including the Rt Hon Leslie Hore-Belisha, Secretary of State for War, 1937-1940, and the Rt Hon Sir (Richard) Stafford Cripps, Minister of Aircraft Production

LIDDELL HART: 11/1943/8

1943 Mar 11

Talk with William Maxwell Aitken, 1st Baron Beaverbrook, on Tunisia and Sicily, the Second Front, the war at sea, and aircraft and tank production

LIDDELL HART: 11/1943/9-16

1943 Mar 12

Notes by LIDDELL HART on the SPARTAN exercise, Mar 1-12

LIDDELL HART: 11/1943/17

1943 Mar 12

Note by LIDDELL HART on discussion with the Rt Hon Duncan Edwin Sandys, concerning decision making in Whitehall, suggestions of reducing the number of officer ranks, and the war in Libya

LIDDELL HART: 11/1943/18

1943 Mar 12

Note by LIDDELL HART on discussion with Brig John Winthrop Hackett about North Africa

LIDDELL HART: 11/1943/19

1943 Mar 12

Note by LIDDELL HART on discussion with (Arthur) David Kemp Owen, Personal Assistant to the Rt Hon (Richard) Stafford Cripps at the Ministry of Aircraft Production, about Owen's visits to Sweden to explain the Beveridge Report, and the possibility of Germany and the Soviet Union negotiating a separate peace

LIDDELL HART: 11/1943/20

1943 Mar 14

Note by LIDDELL HART on discussion with Maj Gen Sir Percy Cleghorn Stanley Hobart, Commander, 79 (Specialised) Armoured Div, about the SPARTAN exercise, March 1-12, and an offer to Hobart of the task of supervising the development of new weapons, including dazzle, amphibious tanks and mine-sweeping devices

LIDDELL HART: 11/1943/21

1943 Mar 17

Note by LIDDELL HART on discussion with Maj Gen Sir Percy Cleghorn Stanley Hobart, Commander, 79 (Specialised) Armoured Div, on the SPARTAN exercise, March 1-12, amphibious tanks and mine sweeping devices, and on Tunisia

LIDDELL HART: 11/1943/22

1943 [Mar 17]

Note by LIDDELL HART of statistics of RAF raids on Germany, Mar 1-17

LIDDELL HART: 11/1943/23

1943 Mar 29

Note by LIDDELL HART on discussion with Cameron Secord at the Ministry of Production about the high losses among bomber crews

LIDDELL HART: 11/1943/24

1943 Apr 23

Note by LIDDELL HART on discussion with Maj Gen Sir Percy Cleghorn Stanley Hobart, Commander, 79 (Specialised) Armoured Div about new weapons, especially dazzle, mine-sweeping and flame throwers

LIDDELL HART: 11/1943/25

1943 Apr 24

Notes by LIDDELL HART on discussion with Brig John Alan Lyde Caunter, Brigadier General Staff, GHQ India, on the war in North Africa

LIDDELL HART: 11/1943/26

1943 Apr

Note by LIDDELL HART on army organisation in North Africa

LIDDELL HART: 11/1943/27

1943 May 9

Extract from a letter from AM Sir Hugh Caswall Tremenheere Dowding, Principal Air ADC to the King, on the Battle of Britain

LIDDELL HART: 11/1943/28-32

1943 May 11-12

Notes with LIDDELL HART of talks with Brig John Alan Lyde Caunter, Brigadier General Staff, GHQ, India, on North Africa, Greece, the use of armoured cars in India and on various personalities including FM Archibald Perceval Wavell, Commander-in-Chief, India, and Lt Gen Thomas Jacomb Hutton, Secretary of the War Resources and Reconstruction Committees of Council (India)

LIDDELL HART: 11/1943/33

1943 May 17

Notes by LIDDELL HART on German anti-tank mines

LIDDELL HART: 11/1943/34

1943 May 20

Note by LIDDELL HART on alternative objectives on the battlefield in order to confuse defending forces

LIDDELL HART: 11/1943/35

1943 Jun 5

Note by LIDDELL HART on discussion with Maj Gen Neil Methuen Ritchie, Commander 52 Lowland Div, concerning North Africa, and on army training and organisation

LIDDELL HART: 11/1943/36

1943 Jun 9-10

Talks at 1st Corps HQ with Commander, Gerard Corfield Bucknall, on the SPARTAN exercise, March 1-12, and an assessment of Canadian forces

LIDDELL HART: 11/1943/37

1943 Jun 25

Memorandum by LIDDELL HART entitled 'Bombing-theory and practice' on the evolution of the strategy of mutual destruction of enemy cities by bombing

LIDDELL HART: 11/1943/38

1943 Jul 1-1943 Nov 7

Diagrams summarising basic principles of war as seen by LIDDELL HART

LIDDELL HART: 11/1943/39

1943 Jul 3

Reflection by LIDDELL HART entitled 'Towards the solution of a problem that has long puzzled me' (criticising British bombing strategy designed to demoralise enemy civilians)

LIDDELL HART: 11/1943/40

1943 Jul 3

Reflection by LIDDELL HART on strategy and policy in the past and present, criticising the current British demand for the unconditional surrender of the enemy as inherently barbaric

LIDDELL HART: 11/1943/41

1943 Jul 4-7

Notes by LIDDELL HART on discussions with Gen Sir Frederick Alfred Pile, General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Anti-Aircraft Command, on the war in the Mediterranean, bombing, and the Second Front

LIDDELL HART: 11/1943/42

1943 Jul 4-7

Notes by LIDDELL HART on discussions with (Arthur) David Kemp Owen, Personal Assistant to the Rt Hon Sir (Richard) Stafford Cripps at the Ministry of Aircraft Production, the Rt Hon Leslie Hore-Belisha, formerly Secretary of State for War, Capt Francois Coulet, FM Archibald Percival Wavell, Viceroy of India, and Sir Archibald Rowlands, Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Aircraft Production

LIDDELL HART: 11/1943/43

1943 Jul 7

Note by LIDDELL HART on discussion with AM Sir Richard Hallam Peck, Assistant Chief of the Air Staff (General), comparing the relative strengths of Allied and Axis air forces

LIDDELL HART: 11/1943/44

1943 Jul 7

Note by LIDDELL HART on discussion with Ralph Carson Cooney (Deputy Director of Military Training) on the Battle of El Alamein (23 Oct-4 Nov 1942)

LIDDELL HART: 11/1943/45

1943 Jul 7-9

Notes by LIDDELL HART on discussions with the author John Brophy and Esmond Cecil Harmsworth, 2nd Viscount Rothermere of Hemsted about the Prime Minister, the Rt Hon Winston (Leonard Spencer) Churchill, and expectations of a scaling back in the British bombing campaign with strengthened German defensive capabilities

LIDDELL HART: 11/1943/46

1943 Jul 9

Note by LIDDELL HART on discussion with Lt Gen John Tredinnick Crocker, Commander 9 Corps, Tunisia, on North Africa

LIDDELL HART: 11/1943/47

1943 Jul 31

Note by LIDDELL HART on the background to the use of the term 'unconditional surrender' during the American Civil War

LIDDELL HART: 11/1943/48

1943 Aug 14-1944 Feb 26

Notes by LIDDELL HART on the need for the Allies to take advantage of windows of opportunity in the course of the war, and the strategic 'three-point threat' in relation to the war in Tunisia

LIDDELL HART: 11/1943/49

1943 Aug 21-1943 Sep 11

Note by LIDDELL HART on unconditional surrender, arguing its employment had assisted in the attempt of Axis governments to rally their civilian populations, and making the conclusion of a separate peace with Italy, more difficult

LIDDELL HART: 11/1943/50

1943 Aug 28

Notes by LIDDELL HART on British Army armoured strength, orders for new tanks and supply of American Sherman tanks

LIDDELL HART: 11/1943/51

1943 Sep 5

Note by LIDDELL HART on discussion at All Souls, Oxford, with the Rt Hon Sir (James) Arthur Salter, Head of the British Merchant Shipping Mission, Washington DC, 1941-1943. Salter's experience in Washington, and on American supplies to the UK

LIDDELL HART: 11/1943/52

1943 Sep 5-6

Note by LIDDELL HART on discussion with Vernon Egerton Rowland Blunt and Jon Kimche. Mediterranean and airborne forces, army exercises on the South Coast of England, codename LINK, the suppression of Press stories in relation to possible negotiations for peace with Italy, and doubts about the future utility of the helicopter

LIDDELL HART: 11/1943/53

1943 Sep 6

Note by LIDDELL HART on discussion with Gen Sir Frederick Alfred Pile, General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Anti-Aircraft Command, on the South Coast exercises, LINK, responsibility for the anti-aircraft defence of the field army's lines of communication, the usefulness of daylight bombing, and new German weapons, including rockets and jet propulsion

LIDDELL HART: 11/1943/54

1943 Sep 7

Note by LIDDELL HART on discussion with Brig Eric Dorman-Smith about North Africa

LIDDELL HART: 11/1943/55

1943 Sep 7

Note by LIDDELL HART on discussion with Lt Gen Noel Mackintosh Stuart Irwin, Commander, 6th Infantry Brigade, on the Arakan campaign, Burma, and on various personalities including Lt Gen Sir Charles (Noel Frank) Broad, General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Eastern Army, India, 1940-1942, and FM Archibald Percival Wavell, Viceroy of India

LIDDELL HART: 11/1943/56

1943 Sep 9

Note by LIDDELL HART on discussion with Richard Bryan Wyndham Bethell and Guy Cameron Pollock, editor, Navy League Publications, concerning the Allied landings in Sicily in July 1943 (Operation HUSKY), the results of an interrogation of German prisoners, and the career in North Africa of Maj Gen Kenneth Arthur Noel Anderson, Commander Second Army in UK, formerly Commander, 1 Army, North Africa

LIDDELL HART: 11/1943/57

1943 Sep 11-1943 Oct 23

Notes by LIDDELL HART on the space-to-force ratio governing defensive strategy

LIDDELL HART: 11/1943/58

1943 Sep 28

Notes by LIDDELL HART on Russian divisional deployment as cited in Stalin's orders of the day Aug 7-Sep 25

LIDDELL HART: 11/1943/59

1943 Sep 29

Interim reflection by LIDDELL HART on the Italian campaign, the inflexibility of British Army command, and the stress placed upon careful preparation by Gen Bernard Law Montgomery, Commander, Eighth Army, North Africa, Sicily and Italy

LIDDELL HART: 11/1943/60-63

1943 Oct 1

Memorandum by LIDDELL HART entitled 'The future balance of Europe-a reflection', on the evolution of an expansionist, imperialistic Soviet Union and the likelihood of the occupation of central Europe by the Red Army in the aftermath of the defeat of Germany. With list of recipients

LIDDELL HART: 11/1943/64-66

1943 Oct 10

Note by LIDDELL HART on discussion with Lt Gen John Tredinnick Crocker, Commander 9 Corps in Tunisia, comparing the effectiveness of different armoured divisions, and on the nervous exhaustion periodically suffered by Maj Gen Percy Cleghorn Staley Hobart, Commander, 79 (Specialised) Armoured Div, German anti-aircraft weapons, and many other aspects of the war

LIDDELL HART: 11/1943/67

1943 Oct 26

Notes by LIDDELL HART on the reduction in the scale of British armoured forces

LIDDELL HART: 11/1943/68

1943 Oct 29

Note by LIDDELL HART on press comments on the Dnieper Battle, Russia

LIDDELL HART: 11/1943/69

1943 Oct

Notes by LIDDELL HART criticising 'The Mixed Transport' by Arthur Koestler, in Horizon (on the extermination of the Jews)

LIDDELL HART: 11/1943/70

1943 Nov 8

Note by LIDDELL HART on the landing at Salerno in Italy by Allied forces, 9 Sep 1943

LIDDELL HART: 11/1943/71

1943 Nov 12

Note by LIDDELL HART on the Red Army's manoeuvring capability

LIDDELL HART: 11/1943/72

1943 Nov 12

Note by LIDDELL HART on the Russian and British attitudes to army reorganisation

LIDDELL HART: 11/1943/73

1943 Nov 30

Note by LIDDELL HART on discussion with Gen Sir Frederick Alfred Pile, General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Anti-Aircraft Command, on German rockets, a government reshuffle, the deployment of light anti-aircraft guns, a reduction in the rate of loss of British bomber crews, and a study of potential landing beaches in Brittany

LIDDELL HART: 11/1943/74

1943 Nov 30-1943 Dec 1

Talks with Maj John North, of the Allied force HQ, North Africa, and Brig Raymond Briggs, GOC 1, Armd Div, North Africa, concerning the Mediterranean, and the Battle of El Alamein (23 Oct-4 Nov 1942)

LIDDELL HART: 11/1943/75

1943 Dec 1-1944 Jan 12

Reflections by LIDDELL HART on war aims and on 'victory', arguing that the complete overthrow of Germany would lead to a Russian military predominance in Europe, and that the policy of total war pursued by the UK would result in British dependence on the US

LIDDELL HART: 11/1943/76

1943 Dec 7

Supplementary note by LIDDELL HART on the balance of power in Europe between the Western Allies and the Soviet Union, and the need to keep a strong Germany as a counterbalance to the Soviet Union

LIDDELL HART: 11/1943/77-78

1943 Dec 8-28

Notes by LIDDELL HART on new possibilities in tank warfare, such as artificial fog belts and tank traps, and on the possibility of creating a 'barrage of fire'

LIDDELL HART: 11/1943/79

1943 Dec 9

Note by LIDDELL HART on discussion with Maj Gen Percy Cleghorn Stanley Hobart, Commander, Seventy Ninth Div, about preparations for an Allied invasion of Europe, new weapons and devices, and comments on various personalities including Lt Gen Sir Oliver William Hargreaves Leese

LIDDELL HART: 11/1943/80

1943 Dec 18-1944 Feb 16

Notes by LIDDELL HART on bombing attrition, and on bombing in Monte Cassino, Italy

LIDDELL HART: 11/1943/81

1943 Dec 25

Memorandum by LIDDELL HART on the Kharkov Trial in the Soviet Union (a trial of Germans following the massacre of Russians at Kharkov). With list of recipients

LIDDELL HART: 11/1943/82

1943 Dec 26

Notes by LIDDELL HART on the bombing campaign over Germany, in particular, the use of 'windows', path-finders, the performance of the Mosquito aircraft, mid-air collisions and other matters

LIDDELL HART: 11/1943/83

1943 Dec 27

Notes by LIDDELL HART on British naval strength

LIDDELL HART: 11/1943/84

[1943]

Note by LIDDELL HART on the distribution of aircraft in various air forces

LIDDELL HART: 11/1943/85

[1943]

Note by LIDDELL HART on Italian armistice negotiations

LIDDELL HART: 11/1943/86-88

1943

Various jottings by LIDDELL HART on various aspects of the war, including bomber losses

LIDDELL HART: 11/1943/89-91

[1943]

Notes by LIDDELL HART on the Sicilian and Italian campaigns, and a summary of the opinions of the Press on the campaign

LIDDELL HART: 11/1943/92

1943 Nov 11

Note by LIDDELL HART on the similarities and differences between the military thought of Maj Gen John Frederick Charles Fuller and LIDDELL HART

LIDDELL HART: 11/1944/1

1944

Appointments diary kept by LIDDELL HART. With typescript copy

LIDDELL HART: 11/1944/2

1944 Jan 6

Comment by LIDDELL HART entitled ''Victory's' plan for peace that will render Germany harmless for all time', on the dangers of repeating the one-sided disarmament which characterised the Versailles Treaty

LIDDELL HART: 11/1944/3

1944 Jan 15

Note by LIDDELL HART on the use by the Germans in the early stages of the war of a defensive strategy in aid of the offensive

LIDDELL HART: 11/1944/4

1944 Jan 20

Note by LIDDELL HART on discussion with Gen Sir Frederick Alfred Pile, General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Anti-Aircraft Command, on FM Sir Bernard Law Montgomery, Commander, 8 Army, Maj Gen Sir Percy Cleghorn Stanley Hobart, Commander 79 Armoured Div

LIDDELL HART: 11/1944/5

1944 Jan 25

Reflections by LIDDELL HART on the problem of an Allied invasion of the Continent

LIDDELL HART: 11/1944/6

1944 Feb 12

Note by LIDDELL HART on the lessons of Anzio (landings in Italy which began on 22 Jan 1944)

LIDDELL HART: 111/1944/7

1944 Feb

Notes by LIDDELL HART on the composition of American forces

LIDDELL HART: 11/1944/8

1944 Mar 5

Notes by LIDDELL HART on LIDDELL HART's contributions to discussions at Rt Hon Sir (Richard) Stafford Cripps' conference at Dartington, in particular, the need to reconcile individuality with the planned economy

LIDDELL HART: 11/1944/9

1944 Mar 5

Note by LIDDELL HART on discussion with the Rt Hon Sir (Richard) Stafford Cripps, Minister of Aircraft Production, and others, on relationships between the Allied powers, and on missions to the Soviet Union

LIDDELL HART: 11/1944/10

1944 Mar 8

Note by LIDDELL HART on discussion with Maj Gen Sir Percy Cleghorn Stanley Hobart, Commander, 79 Armoured Div, and Gen Sir Frederick Alfred Pile, General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Anti-Aircraft Command, on FM Sir Bernard Law Montgomery and British armoured strength

LIDDELL HART: 11/1944/11

1944 Mar 9-12

Notes by LIDDELL HART on the Allied bomber strength, German terror weapons, the Second Front, and related matters

LIDDELL HART: 11/1944/12

1944 Mar 11

Note by LIDDELL HART on discussion with J E Hugo about the Soviet Union, especially Russian frustration with delays in opening a Second Front, the deliberate exaggeration of German losses by the Russians for propaganda purposes, the growing self-confidence of the Russians heralding possible future disagreement with her allies, and other matters

LIDDELL HART: 11/1944/13

1944 Mar 12

Note by LIDDELL HART on discussion with Gen Sir Frederick Alfred Pile, General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Anti-Aircraft Command, on various personalities including MRAF Arthur William Tedder, Deputy Supreme Commander, on the use of radios by German agents in the UK to transmit information, delays in the development of German secret weapons, gossip on various commanders, and other matters

LIDDELL HART: 11/1944/14

1944 Mar 14

Note by LIDDELL HART on discussion with Lt Gen George Smith Patton and Maj Gen G H Reinhardt. American forces, on close combination of arms and tank tactics

LIDDELL HART: 11/1944/15

1944 Mar 21

Note by LIDDELL HART on discussion with Lt Gen Omar Nelson Bradley, Anglo-American relations and tactics

LIDDELL HART: 11/1944/16

1944 Mar 31

Note by LIDDELL HART on threat of post-war Russian hegemony in Europe

LIDDELL HART: 11/1944/17-27

1944 Mar-May

Papers relating to the interview of LIDDELL HART at the War Cabinet Office over the question of a suspected breach of security concerning the precise location of the landing sites in France for the proposed Allied invasion of the Continent, arising from a paper by LIDDELL HART which accurately predicted the Allied plans (see LH 11/1944/5). Correspondence with Col (Edward) Ian (Claud) Jacob and the Rt Hon Duncan Sandys in which LIDDELL HART protests his innocence and expresses irritation at being distrusted

LIDDELL HART: 11/1944/28

1944 Apr 2

Note by LIDDELL HART on discussion with Robert Samuel Theodore Chorley on German secret weapons

LIDDELL HART: 11/1944/29

1944 Apr 4

Note by LIDDELL HART on discussion with Alexander Clifford on the effects on German public opinion of the Allied bombing of Germany, Clifford's journey back from the Mediterranean with ACM Sir Arthur William Tedder, Deputy Supreme Commander, allegations of the killing of German and Italian prisoners by American and French forces in Sicily

LIDDELL HART: 11/1944/30

1944 Apr 9-1944 May 4

Reflections by LIDDELL HART on the Easter Sunday Service at LIDDELL HART's parish church, on civil servants, and on tributes to LIDDELL HART's work

LIDDELL HART: 11/1944/31

1944 Apr 12

Note by LIDDELL HART on the possible shape of the post-war army, involving the replacement of the Territorial Army

LIDDELL HART: 11/1944/32

1944 Apr 14

Note by LIDDELL HART on the changing role of the followers of Gen Charles Andre Joseph Marie de Gaulle

LIDDELL HART: 11/1944/33

1944 Apr

Note by LIDDELL HART entitled 'Eight Pitfalls of Unwisdom-errors of [British] war policy', alleging that precipitate action by the British in several theatres of war provoked a German response which compounded the problems faced by the British, principally the bombing of German cities from 1940, the British landing in Greece leading to the German invasion of that country, and the insistence on terms of absolute surrender of Italy in delaying the submission of Italy

LIDDELL HART: 11/1944/34

1944 May 31

Note by LIDDELL HART on the attitude to the British bombing campaign in France of various British denominations, including the Roman Catholic Church and the Church of Scotland

LIDDELL HART: 11/1944/35

1944 Jun 10

Notes for opening commentary on the invasion of France

LIDDELL HART: 11/1944/36

1944 Jun 15

Note by LIDDELL HART on discussion with Lt Gen John (Fullerton) Evetts, Senior Military Adviser to the Ministry of Supply, concerning various appointments

LIDDELL HART: 11/1944/37

1944 Jun 16

Note by LIDDELL HART on discussion with Maj Gen Sir Percy Cleghorn Stanley Hobart, Commander of the 79 Armoured Div, about the invasion of France

LIDDELL HART: 11/1944/38

1944 Jun 16

Note by LIDDELL HART on discussion with Col (Edward) Ian (Claud) Jacob, Military Assistant Secretary to the War Cabinet, on the invasion of France, pilotless aircraft, higher defence organisation, the Rt Hon Neville Chamberlain, former Prime Minister, the equipment and role of army, and various personalities including John Standish Surtees Predergast Vereker, 6th Viscount Gort, former Chief of the Imperial General Staff

LIDDELL HART: 11/1944/39-40

1944 Jun 191948

Note by LIDDELL HART on discussion with Lt Gen George Smith Patton, and a later note, 1948, comparing British and American roles in Operation Overlord, the allied invasion of the Continent

LIDDELL HART: 11/1944/41

1944 Jun 30

Note by LIDDELL HART entitled 'What is the best method of ensuring international security?', involving international agreement to abolish weapons designed for purposes other than defence, such as bombers, and the preservation of weapons of a primarily defensive nature, such as fighter aircraft

LIDDELL HART: 11/1944/42

1944 Jun-Jul

Jottings by LIDDELL HART on LIDDELL HART's London engagements, and on the situation in France and the Soviet Union

LIDDELL HART: 11/1944/43-52

1944

Notes by LIDDELL HART, compiled at a later date on the lessons of the invasion of France by the Allies and the campaign in Normandy, criticising the Allied campaign on the continent, and ascribing these shortcomings to poor quality training, war-weariness, the earlier removal of accomplished officers through being invalided, and other reasons. An examination of these criticisms drawing on specific examples, including the Falaise campaign, mid-August 1944, an appraisal of Operation GOODWOOD, and statistics regarding British and Commonwealth divisional strengths in 1944

LIDDELL HART: 11/1944/53

1944 Jul 2

Note by LIDDELL HART on discussion with Robert Samuel Theodore Chorley, Deputy Regional Commissioner for Civil Defence, North West Region, 1942-1944, about German flying bombs, and on the bombing of Hamburg by the Allies

LIDDELL HART: 11/1944/54

1944 Jul 23-1944 Aug 11

Notes by LIDDELL HART on the V1 flying bomb, and speculation on the possible damage which the V2 might cause, and on possible evacuation of London as a consequence of these attacks

LIDDELL HART: 11/1944/55

1944 Aug 1-3

Note by LIDDELL HART on discussion with Maj Gen (George) Philip (Bradley) Roberts, Commander 11 Armoured Div, and Gen Richard Nugent O'Connor, Corps Comdr, on the Caumont offensive, Operation BLUECOAT, a British 2 Army offensive to break out of the Normandy beachhead south of Caumont, on 30 July 1944

LIDDELL HART: 11/1944/56

1944 Sep

Notes by LIDDELL HART the German V2 weapon, including speculation on explosive yield, the location of firing points, and range

LIDDELL HART: 11/1944/57

1944 Oct 9

Notes by LIDDELL HART on a scheme for a history of World War Two, including the organisation of proposed research teams with costings

LIDDELL HART:

1944 Oct 11-1945 Apr 18

Correspondence relating to the scheme for a history of World War Two

LIDDELL HART: 11/1944/58

1944 Oct 10-1945 Apr 11

Reflections by LIDDELL HART on human folly, including the dangers of reliance on instinct instead of historical experience

LIDDELL HART: 11/1944/59

1944 Oct 26

Note by LIDDELL HART on discussion with Gen Sir Frederick Alfred Pile, General Commanding-in-Chief, Anti-Aircraft Command, concerning German flying bombs, and with comments on Lt Gen Archibald Nye, Vice Chief of the Imperial General Staff

LIDDELL HART: 11/1944/60

1944 Oct 26

Note by LIDDELL HART on discussion with Barry Sullivan, about German war production, in particular of synthetic oil and fighter aircraft

LIDDELL HART: 11/1944/61

1944 Oct 27

Note by LIDDELL HART on discussion with Maj Gen (Edward) Ian (Claud) Jacob, Military Assistant Sec to the War Cabinet, about the campaigns in France, Italy, the Soviet Union and the Pacific, rocket warfare

LIDDELL HART: 11/1944/62

1944 Oct 28

Note by LIDDELL HART on discussion with Lt Gen Sir Gifford le Quesne Martel, on shortage of equipment in the Soviet Union, and on appointments

LIDDELL HART: 11/1944/63

1944 Oct 28

Talks with Vernon Egerton Rowland Blunt and Wg Cdr Eliot Joseph Benn Rose, on German flying bombs, a German peace offer to the Soviet Union, and the campaign in the West

LIDDELL HART: 11/1944/64

1944 Nov 4

Extract from The Economist on Europe's projected population in 1970

LIDDELL HART: 11/1944/65

1944 Dec 2

Note by LIDDELL HART on discussion with (Arthur) David Kemp Owen, a member of the Reconstruction Dept of the Foreign Office, in charge of League of Nations affairs, concerning Allied relations, and on Owen's future

LIDDELL HART: 11/1944/66

1944 Dec

Note by LIDDELL HART on US forces in the Ardennes offensive, the German counter-attack, Dec 1944-Jan 1945

LIDDELL HART: 11/1944/67-68

[1944]

Notes by LIDDELL HART on statistics of the Allied bombing campaign against Germany

LIDDELL HART: 11/1944/69

1944

Notes by LIDDELL HART on Col [Mark Kingsley] Wardle's pamphlet 'If it can be done'

LIDDELL HART: 11/1945/1

1945

Appointments diary kept by LIDDELL HART. With typescript copy

LIDDELL HART: 11/1945/2

1945 Feb 8

Notes by LIDDELL HART on discussion with Barry Sullivan, on the German failure to locate the Operation TORCH convoy, a taskforce comprising ships from the US and the UK carrying soldiers for the invasion of North Africa, 8-11 Nov 1942

LIDDELL HART: 11/1945/3

1945 Feb 13

Notes by LIDDELL HART on the Press accounts of the Yalta Conference in the Crimea, attended by representatives of the Soviet Union, the UK and the United States

LIDDELL HART: 11/1945/4

1945 Apr 7

Notes by LIDDELL HART assessing the success of the Allied bombing campaigns

LIDDELL HART: 11/1945/5

1945 Apr 7-1945 May 1

Reflections by LIDDELL HART on the dependence on her allies brought about by the British contribution to the war, which LIDDELL HART argues is disproportionate compared with her resources and capacity, the danger that the pursuit of absolute victory over Germany would leave the Soviet Union in an hegemonic position in Eastern and Central Europe

LIDDELL HART: 11/1945/6

1945 May 1

Jottings by LIDDELL HART on army organisation, talks with William (John) Haley, Director General of the BBC, Maj Gen Sir Percy Cleghorn Stanley Hobart, Commander 79 Armoured Div, and Albert James Sylvester, formerly Principal Sec to the former Prime Minister, the Rt Hon David Lloyd George, 1st Earl of Dwyfor

LIDDELL HART: 11/1945/7

1945 May 21

Reflection by LIDDELL HART on his qualifications as a political and diplomatic commentator

LIDDELL HART: 11/1945/8

1945 May 22-23

Note by LIDDELL HART on discussion with (Francis) David (Langhorne) Astor, Alexander Clifford and Maurice Pascal Alers Hankey, 1st Baron Hankey of the Chart, concerning the campaign in the West, bombing, especially during the Spanish Civil War, and the plans of the Rt Hon Winston (Leonard Spencer) Churchill, for a defence of beaches in 1940 consisting of burning petrol, and Churchill's role in the failure to re-arm during the 1920s

LIDDELL HART: 11/1945/9

1945 Jun 13

Note by LIDDELL HART on discussion with Maj Anthony Irwin on the war in the Far East, the treatment of German prisoners by the Allies, and on German concentration camps

LIDDELL HART: 11/1945/10

1945 Aug 10

Reflections by LIDDELL HART on the atomic bomb, with list of recipients. (Missing Aug 96)

LIDDELL HART: 11/1945/11

1945 Aug 20

Reflections by LIDDELL HART on the growth of lawlessness in warfare which LIDDELL HART believed culminated in the dropping of atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan, 6 Aug and 9 Aug 1945, with list of recipients

LIDDELL HART: 11/1945/12

1945 Aug 21

Reflections by LIDDELL HART on the atomic bomb with reference to British defence policy, with list of recipients

LIDDELL HART: 11/1945/13

1945 Aug

Notes by LIDDELL HART on plans for a post-war British Army, consisting mainly of projected divisional strength statistics for British forces around the world

LIDDELL HART: 11/1945/14

1945 Sep 20-1945 Oct 8

Reflection by LIDDELL HART on his thought-processes and on the emergence of civilisation from the Dark Ages

LIDDELL HART: 11/1945/15

1945 Sep 28

Note by LIDDELL HART on discussion with Sir Hartley William Shawcross (the new Attorney General) about war crimes trials, and the potential drawbacks of the Nuremburg trials

LIDDELL HART: 11/1945/16-17

1945-1946

Notes by LIDDELL HART on the origins of scientific operational research

LIDDELL HART: 11/1945/18-30

1945

Assessment by LIDDELL HART on the career of the Rt Hon Winston (Leonard Spencer) Churchill, with notes on Churchill's memoirs, and various notes on aspects of Churchill's career collected by LIDDELL HART

LIDDELL HART: 11/1945/31

1945

Note by LIDDELL HART on discussion with Christopher Buckley about anti-British sentiment in the US contingent of the expeditionary forces

LIDDELL HART: 11/1945/32

[1945]

Jottings by LIDDELL HART from talks with Auckland Campbell Geddes, 1st Baron Geddes, formerly British Ambassador to the US (1920-1924), James Eustace Radclyffe McDonagh, surgeon and medical researcher, the Rt Hon Leslie Hore-Belisha, formerly Secretary of State for War, and Lt Col (Edwin) Hardy Amies of the Intelligence Corps, on various aspects of the war, principally opinions on a number of leading soldiers and statesmen