Dr Spencer Jones talks about The Darkest Year, a collection of essays he edited on the British Army fighting on the Western Front in 1917 during the First World War.

The Darkest Year covers: grand strategy, tactical development and training, maintenance of morale and the importance of intelligence gathering. It also includes insightful studies of crucial battles and engagements such as: the advance to the Hindenburg Line, Third Battle of the Scarpe and the dreadful struggle for Bourlon Wood.

Spencer outlines a ‘learning process’ of operational and organisational development.

Spencer Jones is a Senior Lecturer in Armed Forces and War Studies at the University of Wolverhampton, and currently serves as the Regimental Historian of the Royal Regiment of Artillery.