Lions and donkeys

SIR – Sir Julian Brazier (Letters, February 24) credits the German General Erich Ludendorff for coining the phrase “lions led by donkeys”.

The phrase inspired the title of Alan Clark’s 1961 book The Donkeys. However, an earlier title was Lions Led By Donkeys: Showing How Victory in the Great War was Achieved by Those Who Made the Fewest Mistakes by Captain PA Thompson (RASC), published by T Werner Laurie in 1927. Geoffrey Miller

Bridlington, East Yorkshire

SIR – The phrase “lions led by donkeys” was in fact first used by the Russian defenders of Sebastopol to describe the disastrous British assault on the Great Redan on June 18 1855.

The “donkeys” chose June 18 as an auspicious day for their offensive, it being the anniversary of Waterloo. Strangely, our French allies, who were the senior partner in the Crimean campaign, agreed to the date. The planning and execution of that attack was as error-strewn and foolhardy as anything seen in the First World War. Algernon Percy

Alnwick, Northumberland