The first in a grand series of four First World War novels about the men of the 13th Battalion, Hampshire Regiment. In 'The Subaltern's Tale' Richard Holmes introduces the reader to the battalion and Guy Erskine, an undergraduate turned subaltern who, over the early years of the war, quickly comes of age. The 13th Battalion, Hampshire Regiment is raised in August 1914 in response to Lord Kitchener's 'Your Country Needs You' appeal for volunteers. One of the battalion's first recruits is farmer's son Guy Erskine, an undergraduate turned subaltern, who witnesses the battalion's formation, its training in and around Winchester, departure for France in August 1915, and eventual near-destruction at the Battle of Loos the following month. Loos is a baptism of fire for Erskine and the men of the 13th Battalion -- 445 of its 690 officers and men are killed and wounded. Also killed are its valiant commanding officer and two out of four company commanders. Just as the 13th Hampshires had come of age, so too had Guy Erskine who emerges from the devastation as a temporary captain with a Military Cross, preparing to take his men into battle in the Somme. As a former soldier and one of our finest military historians, best known for his work on the British soldier throughout the ages, Richard Holmes is perfectly placed to bring the best historical evidence to bear on this series of engaging novels. In 'The Subaltern's Tale' he introduces a battalion whose richly-drawn characters are to experience the tragedy and heroism of the most terrible of conflicts.