Campaign
2 primary works
Book 187
This is a crucial new study on one of the seminal events in military history dispelling many of the myths surrounding Cambrai 1917. Common perception classifies it as the 'world's first tank battle' when in fact it was not. Instead, as the author points out, the importance of Cambrai was that it was the first use of armour as an operational shock tactic and with this emergence of the pre-eminence of armour, the conduct of war was irrevocably changed. The battle also heralded the use of aircraft marking the birth of modern combined arms techniques. Written by a military historian and serving soldier, this is a fascinating insight into a battle which was a stalemate yet spawned a host of war-winning tactics.
Book 225
At 0310 hours on 7 June 1917, the pre-dawn gloom on the Western Front was shattered by the 'pillars of fire' - the rapid detonation of 19 huge mines, secreted in tunnels under the German lines and containing 450 tonnes of explosives. Admitted by the Germans to be a 'masterstroke', the devastating blasts caused 10,000 soldiers to later be posted simply as 'missing'. Launching a pre-planned attack into the carnage, supported by tanks and a devastating artillery barrage, the British took the strategic objective of Messines Ridge within hours. A rare example of innovation and success in the First World War, this book is a fresh and timely examination of a fascinating campaign.