Passchendaele
The Untold Story
2nd Edition
Published on 10. April 2002
Book
Paperback/Softback
272 pages
978-0-300-09307-0 (ISBN)
Description
No conflict of the Great War excites stronger emotions than the war in Flanders in the autumn of 1917, and no name better encapsulates the horror and apparent futility of the Western Front than Passchendaele. By its end there had been 275,000 Allied and 200,000 German casualties. Yet the territorial gains made by the Allies in four desperate months were won back by Germany in only three days the following March. The devastation at Passchendaele, the authors argue, was neither inevitable nor inescapable; perhaps it was not necessary at all. Using a substantial archive of official and private records, much of which has never been previously consulted, Trevor Wilson and Robin Prior provide the fullest account of the campaign ever published. The book examines the political dimension at a level which has hitherto been absent from accounts of "Third Ypres." It establishes what did occur, the options for alternative action, and the fundamental responsibility for the carnage.
Prior and Wilson consider the shifting ambitions and stratagems of the high command, examine the logistics of war, and assess what the available manpower, weaponry, technology, and intelligence could realistically have hoped to achieve. And, most powerfully of all, they explore the experience of the soldiers in the light-whether they knew it or not-of what would never be accomplished.
Prior and Wilson consider the shifting ambitions and stratagems of the high command, examine the logistics of war, and assess what the available manpower, weaponry, technology, and intelligence could realistically have hoped to achieve. And, most powerfully of all, they explore the experience of the soldiers in the light-whether they knew it or not-of what would never be accomplished.
Reviews / Votes
"The clearest and most balanced picture yet of a battle whose very name evokes the horror and supposed futility of World War I." John Grigg, The Spectator "This book will appeal to both the scholar and the general public and belongs in every World War I collection." Agnes F. Peterson, History "An excellent, carefully researched, and dispassionate history of the Passchendaele campaign... It must now become the standard scholarly work on the grim battle of Passchendaele, integrating as it does both politics and war." Tim Travers, Journal of Military History "The most wide-ranging and perceptive account of Passchendaele yet written" Robert Cowley, Military History Quarterly "The authors excell in their thorough use of original sources to provide a masterly account... clearly related and supported by admirable maps." Brian Bond, Times Literary Supplement "Lucid and persuasive." E.S. Turner, London Review of Books "An extraordinary investigation of Sir Douglas Haig's ruinous Third Ypres campaign of 1917... This is the most wide-ranging and perceptive account of Passchendaele yet written. This book not only captures the agony of the soldiers' war but, in the measured, understated tone of the best prosecutors, leads us to inevitable conclusions." Robert Cowley, Military History Quarterly "A monument to scholarship, economical and often eloquent writing, and a solid grasp of the real issues involved in World War I.... This is a great book... It is a book that every marine who aspires to higher command should add to his or her library - one that will undoubtedly reward its owner by rereading and rereading." Williamson Murray, Marine Corps Gazette "Without a doubt the best book on the campaign yet published... It is well-researched, well-written, and will keep historians arguing for years to come." Stand To "Prior and Wilson, both distinguished historians, have conducted extensive primary research to provide an account at once both provocative and authoritative" Choice "The authors should be commended for writing a balanced, convincing work that reveals the devastation of the First World War and the failure of military and political leaders to recognise this horror." Virginia Quarterly ReviewMore details
Series
Edition
2nd Revised edition
Language
English
Place of publication
United States
Target group
College/higher education
Professional and scholarly
Edition type
Revised edition
Product notice
Paperback (UK-B)
Illustrations
35 illustrations
Dimensions
Height: 197 mm
Width: 127 mm
Weight
224 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-300-09307-0 (9780300093070)
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Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
New editions
Book
04/2016
3rd Edition
Yale University Press
€19.80
Shipment within 10-20 days
Previous edition
Book
01/1998
Yale University Press
€13.56
Article exhausted; check for reprint
Persons
Robin Prior is lecturer in history at the Australian Defence Force Academy, Canberra. Trevor Wilson is professor of history at the University of Adelaide.