Product Description

In the autumn of 1917, after years of stalemate at Ypres, the British and French armies launched a massive offensive to take Passchendaele Ridge. Following an intensive bombardment the Allies began their attack, but the low ground between the lines had been churned into a quagmire, and the attack was literally bogged down. All surprise had been lost, and the German defence in depth was well organised. For the first time the Germans used mustard gas, while German planes flew low to strafe the British infantry with machine guns. After two and a half months the British finally took the ridge they had been aiming for, but at the cost of over 300,000 Allied lives. German losses in the offensive were estimated at 260,000. Based on the archival holdings at the Imperial War Museum, this book gathers together a wealth of previously unpublished material about this horrific offensive. A history to appeal to the scholar and the general reader alike.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #90747 in Books
• Published on: 2001-11-08
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 352 pages

About the Author
Nigel Steel and Peter Hart are both historians at the Imperial War Museum in London. They have collaborated on two previous titles, on Gallipoli and the war in the air. Peter Hart was born in 1955. He went to Liverpool University before joining the Sound Archive at the Imperial War Museum in 1981. He is now Oral Historian at the Archive.

Customer Reviews

Powerful account using excellent sources
The authors of this book are right when they state that most of the familiar images of the First World War come from the Third Battle of Ypres or Paschendaele as it has come to be known.

The appalling conditions of mud, degredation and terror are conveyed in this book by those best able to comment - the men who fought in the Ypres Salient themselves. The authors access to the Imperial War Museum archive is clear and skilfully used.

I also liked the balance between the traditional (as it has become) view of the First World War - this appalling wasteful slaughter, Lions led by donkeys - and the more revisionist views espoused by writers like Gary Sheffield and Niall Ferguson.

Indeed Plumer was an excellent general as far the the first war general could be excellent. And his 'bite and hold' tactices were far more effective than Hubert Gough's over-ambitious early thrusts, but, as this book points out, 'bite and hold' was so slow that the Germans could go on plugging the gaps. Although Ludendorf was worried by the steady British advance, there was no danger of breakthrough (or break out) unless the German army collapsed, as the Germans themselves hoped the French would do at Verdun.

The descriptions of trench life are both poignant and entertaining. The extensive quotes from accounts, letters and diaries bring the men who fought back to life in our minds.

The only criticism - and this is because of the archive they were working with - is the lack of Germans. There are no accounts from ordinary German soldiers. I fel this would have enhanced what is a very good book.

an excellent read
This is quite simply an excellent book about the bloody slaughter in Belgium in late 1917. There are wonderful extracts from the men who fought and died in Flanders, and some breathtaking descriptions conjure a vivid and harrowing picture of the scene. One can almost feel the cold and misery of the troops, as they were lashed by rain and machine gun bullets.
This is a book that although fairly academic, is remarkably easy to read, however it would be nice to hear more from the German point of view, and to maybe see more extracts from German combattants.
On the whole an excellent book, well written and a thoroughly good read. I would recommend this as a good introduction to 3rd Ypres.