Product Description

"Passchendaele" is the third volume in the ongoing project to recover and publish the unseen battlefield panoramas of the First World War. This title includes newly discovered German collections and as yet unpublished British images. Today bearing the single name "Passchendaele", the 1917 British summer offensive in Belgian Flanders has entered the English language as the epitome of all that was both wretched and noble about the Great War. The remains of no fewer than 200,000 soldiers still lie unfound within the narrow boundaries of the battleground. Here are the battlefields of the Ypres Salient as you have never seen them before, from the start of the battle to the desolation of 1918. Peter Barton presents over 50 extraordinary panoramas of the conflict, including 20 German scenes that that have not seen the light of day since the war. All the panoramas were taken at huge personal risk by specialist photographers.They reveal what no other photographs have - the view beyond both British and German trench parapets - and a great deal more. Also included are unpublished testimonies, letters and memoirs from many of the units who served, sourced from archives across the United Kingdom, Ireland and elsewhere, with stunning mapping, plans and diagrams throughout and equivalent aerial photographs.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #30481 in Books
• Published on: 2007-07-26
• Format: Illustrated
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 468 pages

Review
'An extraordinary set of panoramic photographs that reveal the battlefields of the Western Front as never before.' The Times 'The book is a magnificent effort and most impressive - one could almost say unique.' Lyn Macdonald 'Is without doubt the best publication on the Great War in many years it is a superb piece of work.' --Western Front Association

Navy News
hauntingly magnificent

Ancestors magazine
Well worth investing in

Customer Reviews

A superb history book
I have a large collection of WWI books, including Peter Barton's previous two volumes that looked at panoramas of the Somme and panoramas of the Western Front. I was therefore surprised to find that this is not only is the best book of the series so far, but by far the best WWI book I have ever bought.

The book concentrates on the third battle of Ypres, commonly known as the battle of Passchendaele, which was fought in the summer and autumn of 1917. It has become a by-word for mud, death and suffering and is a highly emotive subject even today.

Although the book mainly looks at the third battle of Ypres, room is given to the first and second battles, giving the reader a feeling for how the later conflict developed. Peter Barton is also very even-handed in his approach, challenging the myths that have grown up around Passchendaele and putting the battle into a contemporary context.

However, it is in the maps, photographs and illustrations that this book excels. I was amazed by some of the aerial shots taken during the battle, which show a cratered, lunar landscape littered with the living and dead alike. Two pictures stand out for me. On page 264 the aerial shot of a lone British tank trekking across a "crater field" is haunting. This is matched by the horror of the photograph entitled "English Field of Death" on page 437. This German aerial photograph shows a muddy, blasted landscape typical of the latter stages of the battle. On closer inspection you become aware of tiny figures lying scattered around - all victims of this terrible conflict. In addition to the many photographs that have never been published before, the maps included show the objectives that the much maligned generals sought to achieve, whilst the "trench photographs" give an ordinary soldier's view of the battle.

I cannot rate this book highly enough. If you are at all interested in WWI you must add it to your collection.

top quality
This is yet another great example of Peter Bartons work, there has been a great deal of time and research put into this book, there are some fantastic panoramic views of the salient, along with quite a few unseen photographs, complemented with a great narrative.
I would highly reccomend this book to anyone with an interest in the subject of the great war.

Ypres As It Really Was.
Despite the obvious allure and importance of the panoramic images in this book, it is the text, not the pictures, that bring Ypres alive. The author cleverly intertwines the images with a detailed but rarely dull account of the development of this front. A particularly poignant and effective element is the liberal inclusion of letters from ordinary soldiers in the field. Many of these are very powerful, often sad, and sometimes surprisingly positive in the light of overwhelming adversity. An incredible sense of politeness, consideration for those at home, and stoicism is present in those letters, despite the littering of corpses around those fighting.

My grandfather fought here, and his brother was shot right next to him in a dash across no-man's land. I felt I had a very real, and much more complete impression of what it felt like to be stuck in those trenches for months and years on end. A week commonly saw over 3 million shells thrown by the British side alone, and one can only stand in awe at the psychological tenacity of the soldiers. Because the soldiers' letters actually relate to the day being described in the story of the battles, you don't have to make it up - they tell you what was going through their minds that very day. The text also refreshingly looks at the soldiers as feeling humans, rather than just 'resources' of a battle as has been common in the glorify-war days past.

So, great images, but the text is even better. A real must-have.