Authors Nigel Cave and Jack Sheldon combine their respective expertise to tell the story of the men – British, French, Indian and German - who fought over the unremarkable undulating ground that was to become firmly placed in British national conscience ever afterwards. Bent and battered by the German storm, dressed in rags and short of food, equipment and ammunition, the regiments of the old professional army stood their ground against huge odds. Field Marshal Haig set out to make what 1980s TV sitcom Blackadder would mock as “yet another gargantuan effort to move his drinks cabinet six inches closer to Berlin.” Haig believed these pushes would eventually bring the Allies into Germany. Read the full review here. A retired soldier he lives in France and is fully engaged researching and writing. The Third Battle of Ypres was the big British push of 1917. Like other books in the series, this edition provides an extremely well written and illustrated overview of an important element of battle on the Western Front. His German Army on the Somme was a run-away success and he has built on his reputation with The German Army at Passchendaele and The German Army on Vimy Ridge. These three Battleground Europe books on Ypres 1914 mark the centenary of the final major battle of the 1914 campaign on the Western Front. After lengthy preparations and a weeklong preparatory bombardment all the objectives were taken. Read the full review here, An excellent guide for those who like to control their own visits/tours. German counter-attacks were repulsed and the gains were consolidated. A text that I think can not be missing in the libraries of those who want to know in detail the first decisive battles that have shaped then the way of fighting the Great War. Although fought over a relatively small area and short time span, the fighting was even more than usually chaotic and the stakes were extremely high. Onto this information is laid the information to help those going today to visit the sites of the old battlefields. WWI It was here that the Old Contemptibles of the BEF earned their legendary heroic status as they fought off increasingly desperate German assaults day after day, whilst place names such as Zandvoorde, Polygon Wood and Gheluvelt were first etched into the British national consciousness. The most direct route to Ypres for the advancing German columns in October 1914 was along the axis of the Menin Road. The Battle of Menin Road was an offensive operation, part of the Third Battle of Ypres on the Western Front, undertaken by the British Second Army in an attempt to take sections of the curving ridge, east of Ypres, which the Menin Road crossed. Like other books in the series, this edition provides an extremely well written and illustrated overview of an important element of battle on the Western Front. This book is a combined History and guide of those dark days- and as such it is Very detailed- and still rapidly paced. Read the full review here, The authors have provided a great deal of information on the fighting and the senior commanders involved.