Passchendaele: The Hollow Victory

Campaign Chronicles

by Martin Marix Evans

Passchendaele is one of the most evocative names associated with the Great War. For over 80 years, the battle has epitomized pointless slaughter on an unimaginable scale. The bare statistics are shocking in themselves - the British, French and German armies suffered over half a million casualties between July and November 1917. Ever since, the image of hapless soldiers struggling through the mud and the shellfire has come to represent the futility of trench warfare and the incompetence of their commanders. Yet, as Martin Marix Evans demonstrates in this gripping and perceptive reassessment, some common assumptions about the course of the battle - and the ways in which it was fought - are mistaken and should be looked at again.

345 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 1, 2006

Reviews

[Gareth · Rating 1 out of 5]

Lazy, lazy publishing by Pen and Sword. This is nothing but very basic material chopped-up into a chronological format. There's very little attempt to place events within a wider context, and when the author does start to do this at the end of the book, his conclusions are ill-explained and seem cut short. If you have read any other book on Passchendaele, you will probably be familiar with most of the anecdotal evidence quoted here. Another gripe - lots of the anecdotes focus on tanks, yet they played a minor role in the campaign. The author's short discussion on the development of tank warfare on his summary does not justify spending about a third of his narrative on them.

[Nona]

One of the many attempts by writers and historians to document the terrible events of World War 1 in Belgium.
The contents of this book by Martin Marix EVANS are aptly paralleled with its title. It is a HOLLOW account.
Having a great-uncle killed during this time it was disappointing EVANS did not document the day Valentine Horace FOSTER died. It was a primary event on 16 October and one of the worst because of the inadequacy of the leadership of those in charge. They had planned an attack this day, but the previous days' weather made movement nearly impossible and the German offences had outwitted them by beginning earlier.
So what did the leaders do? They went ahead and were responsible for the murder of so many. Does EVANS give an account of this day? NO.
He has been industrious in listing every Division and Battalion of English soldiers who fought in this area, with slight mention of Canadian and Australian Forces. My research found there were also New Zealand and Indian soldiers at these battles.
Further, he has gone to great lengths in noting all those useless Generals and Majors who lead these forces. Those inadequate fops whose only knowledge of soldiers was to march them up and down on pleasant Sunday afternoons for the benefit of their wives and mistresses and general society. As well as all those useless Seargent's who spent their time ordering soldiers to polish their kit and make a flat bed.
EVANS makes very few comments on the outcomes and decision making, with some giving credit to those in charge.
Definitely not recommended.

[AL · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the best books I've read on the subject , the only problem is the maps which are not as clear as they should be .
The progression of the war towards Pascendachele and the work of different forces is clearly written along with all the commanders that took part .
It's also a commentary on the conditions of warfare in WW1 , it's written mainly from the command perspective it helps in understanding the nature of the decision making they did as well

[Ron Netherland · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book!

Full of insightful information from start to finish. It gave the battle and its horrors from a much more human perspective.