Cassell Military Paperbacks
2 total works
At the outbreak of the First World War in 1914 Captain J. L. Jack was serving with the First Cameronians, one of the earliest British regiments to arrive in France. Almost every day while serving in France and Flanders, Jack kept a secret diary. This diary is unique. It presents the detail of a regular officer's life at war during virtually the whole of the First World War on the Western Front. Jack was witness not only to the horror and wretchedness of much that happened in the trenches but also to the bravery and spirit that kept the British soldiers in the line going through to the momentous battles of 1918 and final victory. Poignant and moving, as well as describing the reality of war on the Western Front, these diaries have been edited and linked with commentaries by the distinguished military historian John Terraine.
The British Flanders offensive of 1917 was one of the bloodiest episodes for the British Army in World War I and ranks with the Somme and Verdun for the sheer horror and scale of the fighting. It is also surrounded by controversy and odium, both from contemporaries and modern historians. This work seeks to discover the truth about Passchendaele by letting the protagonists tell their own story as the offensive is planned, launched and fought out to its bitter and bloody conclusion. Basing the book on the wealth of contemporary documents, military historian John Terraine allows readers to draw their own conclusions while he conveys the grinding inevitability of this great and tragic drama.