Passchendaele: A New History

Review ------ 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 The 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 The Guardian) Meticulously researched . . . A harrowing and important history (PD Smith The 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 s; he brings the battle and its political context vividly to life . . . this is in almost every respect a model of what a work of history should be, and is now perhaps the definitive account of this phase of the war on the Western Front (Simon Heffer The Telegraph) I thought it both precise and compassionate - a properly definitive history, with clear lines from the strategic planning, to the horror of the battle itself from both sides, through to its consequences for the war as it entered its complex final phase (Dr Emily Mayhew) A fresh and thorough examination of the events of July to November 1917 is definitely needed. Dr Nick Lloyd has achieved this in his book Passchendaele: A New History, an account that is both scholarly and gripping. (Glyn Harper, Professor of War Studies, Massey University) Confirms his position among the best young scholars of WWI in this comprehensively researched, convincingly presented analysis of the still-controversial 1917 battle of Passchendaele . . .Lloyd's thesis is controversial, but his scholarship makes it impossible to dismiss (Publishers Weekly) His narrative of the campaign is superb and written with clarity and dispassion. He teaches history at King's College London and has done his research thoroughly in German and Allied archives. It is fascinating to know the preoccupations, hopes and plans of the Kaiser ("The English must be made to grovel") and his generals, and to hear the voices of German frontline soldiers (Lawrence James The Times) From the Inside Flap -------------------- 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 med, sed 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.

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