Mud, Blood and Poppycock re-examines the old myths of incompetence and unnecessary slaughter that have coloured the popular view of the First World Was. In so doing Gordon Corrigan may well shatter precious libertarian illusions, but in explaining what war is really about, how an army does its work, and examining the facts he overturns myths and legends and gets to the truth. British casualty rates were high, but less than those of France and Germany, and there was no ‘lost generation’.