This collection of primary source documents investigates the strategic decision-making processes and internal administrative challenges faced by the British High Command during the critical years of World War II. Brian Bond, a distinguished military historian, provides the necessary scholarly context to these diaries, which were authored by Lieutenant General Sir Henry Pownall while he served in key roles including Chief of Staff to the British Expeditionary Force and later in the Far East. The work serves as a critical record of the logistical and political pressures exerted on the British military leadership as they navigated the shifting tides of the global conflict.

This volume is regarded as a foundational text for scholars of mid-twentieth-century military administration due to the candid nature of Pownall's observations. The material provides a dense, specialist look at the bureaucratic realities of wartime leadership, making it an essential resource for those studying the internal mechanics of the British military establishment.