Research Catalog

Title

Passchendaele : the hollow victory / Martin Marix Evans.

Author

Marix Evans, Martin.

Publication

Barnsley : Pen & Sword Military, 2005.

Items in the Library & Off-site

Holdings

Details

Description

194 p. : ill.; 24 cm.

Summary

"Passchendaele is one of the most evocative names associated with the Great War. For over 80 years, the battle has been regarded as the epitome of pointless slaughter on an unimaginable scale. The statistics -- half a million British, French and German casualties between July and November 1917 -- appear to speak for themselves. Ever since, the image of hapless soldiers struggling through the mud and the shellfire has been promoted as a demonstration of the futility of war on the Western Front and of the incompetence of the commanders. Yet, as Martin Marix Evans demonstrates in this ... reassessment, these common assumptions about the course of the battle and the ways in which it was fought are mistaken and should be looked at again ... [Evans examines] the planning of the British offensive ... and the thinking behind it, visits the terrain over which the battle was fought and describes the weather that affected it so profoundly"--Jacket.

Series Statement

Campaign chronicles

Uniform Title

Campaign chronicles (Barnsley, England)

Subject

Ypres, 3rd Battle of, Ieper, Belgium, 1917

Bibliography (note)

• Includes bibliographical references (pages 187-190) and index.

Processing Action (note)

• committed to retain

Contents

Background. The terrain -- The weather -- The experience of war in 1916 and 1917 -- The learning curve -- Messines -- Campaign chronicle. 1 June 1917 : Gough prepares a massive blow -- 10 July : German assault at Lombartzyde thrown back -- 17 July : British bombardment on the Ypres Front begins -- 25 July : six-day delay ordered -- 27 July : the guards cross the Yser Canal -- 31 July : Battle of Pilkem Ridge -- 16 August : Battle of Langemarck -- 19 August : dramatic success of British tanks -- 22 August : remaining strong points on the Zonnebeke-Langemarck road attacked -- 25 August : Inverness Copse lost -- 27 August : Springfield falls to Worcestershires -- 31 August : Second Army publishes new guidelines for attacks -- 20 September : Battle of the Menin road -- 26 September : Battle of Polygon Wood -- 4 October : Battle of Broodseinde -- 9 October : Battle of Poelcappelle -- 12 October : First Battle of Passchendaele -- 22 October : Fifth Army attacks -- 26 October : Second Battle of Passchendaele, first phase : Canadians reach dry ground -- 27 October : Second Battle of Passchendaele, first phase : Canadians consolidate -- 30 October : Second Battle of Passchendaele, second phase : Crest farm and Meetcheele in Canadian hands -- 6 November : Second Battle of Passchendaele, third phase : Passchendaele falls to the Canadians -- 10 November : Second Battle of Passchendaele, final phase : Canadians secure the high ground -- Aftermath. The context -- A flawed plan? -- Should it have been stopped? -- What went wrong? -- Was it worth it?

ISBN

1844153681 (hbk.)

Owning Institutions

Harvard Library