No Bad Soldiers: 119 Infantry Brigade and Brigadier-General Frank Percy Crozier in the Great War

On 20 November 1916 the newly promoted Brigadier-General Frank Percy Crozier took command of 119 Brigade, one of three infantry brigades that made up the 40th Division, once labelled “the forgotten Fortieth”. This book brings the history and achievements of the brigade to a wider audience and adds to the story of the controversial Frank Crozier.

Raised in 1915 and originally intended as a formation of the Welsh Army Corps, 119 Brigade, consisting of four battalions of Welsh bantams, had crossed to France in June 1916 – more than a year after it was formed – as a part of the last of the New Army divisions to join the BEF. It then spent an undistinguished few months in the Loos sector. According to Crozier, fresh from his service commanding the 9th Royal Irish Rifles on the Somme, he was told on arrival at divisional headquarters, that the brigade was “very bad – quite the worst in the Division”. Firmly believing that there were no such things as bad soldiers, only bad colonels, Crozier claimed to have transformed the brigade in six months and in the process removed “a brigade-major, a brigade signalling officer, nearly a dozen commanding officers in turn, a few seconds in command, three adjutants, several doctors, quartermasters and transport officers and one or two sergeant majors”. The brigade performed well in April 1917 around Villers Plouich and later, most famously, at Bourlon Wood in November 1917. After the major army reorganisation of February 1918, the brigade was reconstituted with a majority of new battalions in time to be severely mauled in the German Spring Offensives but, reconstituted once again (largely with men considered unfit for front line service), it nevertheless performed creditably in the final months of the war. Despite these upheavals Crozier remained as GOC until after the end of hostilities and was one of just twenty-seven New Army brigadier-generals to remain in command for more than two years.

Shortlisted for the SAHR Best First Book Prize in 2022

“No Bad Soldiers really is a splendid book and is compelling and essential reading for all who seek to look beyond, and behind, the often bland narratives of the First World War based mostly on contemporary War Diaries. Most highly recommended.” Clive Elderton, Military Historical Society

“Although there has been a welcome recent increase in scholarly works on the BEF’s ‘middle management’ on the Western Front in the First World War, studies of the brigade level of command remain comparatively rare.  This excellent book on the 119th Infantry Brigade and Brigadier-General F P Crozier, not only represents a significant addition to this field but also places the author firmly in the small but growing group of scholars who have set new and higher standards in the production of unit histories and military biography. Skilfully combining a lively narrative with impressive research and forensic analysis, Michael Taylor covers, in impressive detail, a wide range of relevant sub-topics, including the origins, recruitment and social composition of the 119th Brigade as well as its overall leadership, command and staff appointments, organisational changes, training, discipline, tactics and battlefield performance.  All this is interwoven with what is undoubtedly the most judicious and balanced  assessment to date pf the character, career and post-war writings of the controversial F P Crozier.  Taylor’s book is a splendid addition to the historiography of the British Army’s experience and learning process on the Western Front in the Great War.” Prof Peter Simkins

“This interesting book is a compact exploration of the First World War military career of Brigadier-General Frank Crozier and an account of the brigade he commanded from 1916-1918. It is a scholarly account drawing on a wide range of sources and breaking some new research ground to seek to present a balanced picture of both Crozier as a commander and the Brigade (notoriously initially described as ‘the worst in the division’) which he commanded…..a good addition to the limited corpus of brigade histories and historical writing about the interesting Crozier.” Army Rumour Service

“The author succeeds in showing how a brigade evolved over time both tactically and organisationally, while offering an informed opinion on the controversial Brigadier Crozier and contributing a fine account of a much overlooked if not forgotten aspect of Welsh military history.” JSAHR, Vol 101 Number 406 Autumn 2023