Passchendaele: A New History Book

A Sunday Times Top 10 Bestseller The Third Battle of Ypres was a 'lost victory' for the British Army in 1917. Between July and November 1917, in a small corner of Belgium, more than 500,000 men were killed or maimed, gassed or drowned - and many of the bodies were never found. The Ypres offensive represents the modern impression of the First World War: splintered trees, water-filled craters, muddy shell-holes. The climax was one of the worst battles of both world wars: Passchendaele. The village fell eventually, only for the whole offensive to be called off. But, as Nick Lloyd shows, notably through previously overlooked German archive material, it is striking how close the British came to forcing the German Army to make a major retreat in Belgium in October 1917. Far from being a pointless and futile waste of men, the battle was a startling illustration of how effective British tactics and operations had become by 1917 and put the Allies nearer to a major turning point in the war than we have ever imagined. Published for the 100th anniversary of this major conflict, Passchendaele is the most compelling and comprehensive account ever written of the climax of trench warfare on the Western Front. ‘This rigorous and well-illustrated study of the 'bloody draw', that was the Third Battle of Ypres is, in almost every respect, a model for what a military history should be.’ - The Sunday Telegraph 'A timely re-appraisal . . . a masterpiece' General Lord Richard Dannatt 'Sweeps aside mythology and provides a rational explanation and cool description of what took place' - Max Hastings, Sunday Times 'Nick Lloyd has unearthed a mass of new material for this harrowing account of one of the most infamous engagements of the Great War' - Ian Thomson, Guardian 'With clean, clear and often eviscerating writing, Nick Lloyd compels us to re-evaluate Passchendaele and all that word conjures' - Paul Gross, director and star of the film 'Passchendaele' 'Rigorously researched . . . one of the great features of this excellent book, absent from too many less rigorous histories of events in the First World War, is a clear account of how things were on the German side, and how the British attack not only gained ground, but devastated German morale . . . Lloyd's research is superb; the book is well-illustrated with photographs and maps; he brings the battle and its political context vividly to life . . . this is in almost every respect a model of what a work of military history should be, and is now perhaps the definitive account of this phase of the war on the Western Front' - Simon Heffer, Telegraph Dr Nick Lloyd is an English academic and Reader of Imperial Military History at King's College London, his other works include Hundred Days: The End of the Great War.Read More