Pillars of Fire: The Battle of Messines Ridge 1917 - Couverture rigide

Passingham, Ian

Couverture rigide

ISBN 10 : 0750917040 ISBN 13 : 9780750917049

Editeur : Sutton Publishing Ltd, 1998

Synopsis

On June 7the 1917, General Sir Herbert Plumer's Second Army smashed the "impregnable" German defences along the Messines-Wytschaete Ridge in an assault where technology and innovative thinking were combined to produce an extraordinary success. Until 1918, Messines was the only clear-cut Allied victory on the Western Front. The victory came at a time when Britain and her allies needed it most; it boosted Allied morale and shattered that of the Germans. It was also a battle which brought together a commonwealth of nations, including Irishmen and Ulstermen, fighting alongside each other to defeat a common enemy. Plumer planned the battle as a composer might write the score of a symphony and assembled an "orchestra of war", with each "instrument" - artillery, engineers, infantry, tanks, aircraft and administrative units - playing its part at the right time to overwhelm the enemy. Messines became the first true all-arms modern battle. This detailed account of the battle for the Messines-Wytschaete Ridge examines it from the British/ANZAC and German perspectives. It explores why the name of Messines is not as familiar as The Somme, Passchendaele or Verdun, and why General Sir Herbert Plumer is not as widely known as Field Marshal Sir Douglas Haig or even General Sir Hubert Gough. The author reassesses the reasons for General Plumer's success on the day, the implications of Haig's failure to exploit the success, and finally the legacy of the battle for the maturing of the BEF in 1918.

A propos du livre

Présentation de l'éditeur

Gentlemen, I do not know whether we shall change history tomorrow; but we shall certainly alter the geography,' So said Major General 'Tim' Harington, General Sir Herbert Plumer's chief of staff, at a pre-battle press briefing on the day before 600 tons of explosives were detonated alongside a massive and sudden artillery barrage, the stunning prelude to British Second Army's successful assault on the previously imgregnable German defences of Messines Ridge. Until 1918 it was the only clear-cut Allied victory on the Western Front and came at a time when Britain and her Allies needed it most, boosting their morale whilst shattering that of the Germans. Precisely orchestrated, the attack on Messines Ridge was a truly modern all-arms battle, bringing together artillery, engineers, infantry, tanks, aircraft and administrative units from a commonwealth of nations to defeat a common enemy. Since this book was first published in 1998 there has been a greater understanding of how Britain and her Allies evolved and ultimately defeated a potent and resilient foe by examining battles such as Messines from an Allied and German perspective in ever more detail. In this context, Pillars of Fire remains a major contribution to our wider knowledge of one of the seminal battles of the First World War.

Biographie de l'auteur

Ian Passingham was educated at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst and Keele University, serving in the British Army for 18 years before leaving as a major to pursue a career as a professional historian and defence analyst.

Détails de l'édition

• Éditeur: Sutton Publishing Ltd
• Date d'édition: 1998
• Langue: anglais
• ISBN 10: 0750917040
• ISBN 13: 9780750917049
• Reliure: Relié
• Nombre de pages: 256
• Coordonnées du fabricant: non disponible
• Personne responsable: non disponible