From the Publisher
"Boff has provided a very informative, readable book for a wide audience combining military operational history with a vivid description of moving and even tragic elements of Rupprecht's life." — Christian Stachelbeck, Bundeswehr Centre of Military History and Social Sciences, Potsdam, Germany, First World War Studies
"Boff has produced a welcome study, which will interest many students of military history. He has introduced a leading German figure of the First World War to an anglo-phone audience, and he has offered a persuasive historical analysis of critical issues of staff and command." — Roger Chickering, Journal of Modern History"Boff's book provides an important contribution to our understanding of the First World War. It is well written, and the scholarship is excellent."— History: Reviews of New Books"More than simply a biography, Haig's Enemy is a fresh, engaging, and thought-provoking book that should appeal to both academics and casual readers alike. Above all, it reminds the reader that the war of 1914-18 was a truly international event and that there are always two sides to every story. In this respect, Boff's findings make an important and very welcome contribution to the ongoing academic debate concerning military learning and adaptation during the First World War." — War in History"Of all diaries and memoirs written by the senior German officers of the First World War, that of Crown Prince Rupprecht of Bavaria has long been regarded as the most revealing. Yet Rupprecht himself has remained elusive, his contribution eclipsed by his more voluble and histrionic contemporaries. Jonathan Boff has not only brought him to life (and to an English audience), but done so in a book that ranges far more widely than a conventional biography. Readers will gain fresh perspectives on the British and French as much as they learn about Rupprecht's Bavarians."—Sir Hew Strachan, University of St Andrews and editor of Oxford's Great Battles series"Haig's Enemy is a very welcome addition to the literature. As the title suggests, Crown Prince Rupprecht was one of the most significant German commanders to face the British Army across No Man's Land, but until now we have lacked a biography in English. What is more, Jonathan Boff has pulled off the rare trick of writing a book that is both scholarly and very readable—it is a triumph."—Gary Sheffield, Professor of War Studies, University of Wolverhampton"This scholarly but lucid and beautifully written account of the German High Command is essential reading for anyone who wishes to understand how the fighting on the Western Front developed during the First World War."—Professor Sir Michael Howard"Boff has produced a welcome study, which will interest many students of military history. He has introduced a leading German figure of the First World War to an anglophone audience, and he has offered a persuasive historical analysis of critical issues of staff and command." —Journal of Modern History"The literature on the First World War has grown enormously over the past three decades, given a further recent boost by the centenary of the war. It thus comes as a surprise to realize that, apart from Paul von Hindenburg and Erich Ludendorff, no senior German commander has yet been the subject of a full English-language biography, though several memoirs appeared in English soon after the war. Historian Jonathan Boff (Univ. of Birmingham) has thus begun to fill a serious gap in the scholarship on World War I. Haig's Enemy centers specifically on Rupprecht, Crown Prince of Bavaria, who, for much of the war, commanded the main German forces opposing the British on the Western Front." — Michigan War Studies Review"Compelling... both scholarly and very readable... I absolutely recommend it..." — David Ian Hall, English Historical Review