Lord Kitchener and ‘the Russian News’: Reconsidering the Origins of the Battle of Loos.

Recent work has suggested that fear of French defeatism prompted Britain to agree to take part in the Allied autumn offensive of September 1915, a commitment that resulted in the Battle of Loos (25 September - 13 October 1915). While this was certainly an important factor in the decision, the centrality of Russia to the British war effort needs to be stressed. It will be seen that the news emanating from a number of British agents on the Eastern Front, which documented the near collapse of Russian forces during the summer of 1915, was a hitherto neglected factor in the origins of the battle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]