Passchendaele: Requiem for Doomed Youth

by Paul Ham

Passchendaele epitomises everything that was most terrible about the Western Front. The photographs never sleep of this four-month battle, fought from July to November 1917, the worst year of the war: blackened tree stumps rising out of a field of mud, corpses of men and horses drowned in shell holes, terrified soldiers huddled in trenches awaiting the whistle.

The intervening century, the most violent in human history, has not disarmed these pictures of their power to shock. At the very least they ask us, on the 100th anniversary of the battle, to see and to try to understand what happened here. Yes, we commemorate the event. Yes, we adorn our breasts with poppies. But have we seen? Have we understood? Have we dared to reason why? What happened at Passchendaele was the expression of the 'wearing-down war', the war of pure attrition at its most spectacular and ferocious.

Paul Ham's Passchendaele: Requiem for Doomed Youth shows how ordinary men on both sides endured this constant state of siege, with a very real awareness that they were being gradually, deliberately, wiped out. Yet the men never broke: they went over the top, when ordered, again and again and again. And if they fell dead or wounded, they were casualties in the 'normal wastage', as the commanders described them, of attritional war. Only the soldier's friends at the front knew him as a man, with thoughts and feelings. His family back home knew him as a son, husband or brother, before he had enlisted. By the end of 1917 he was a different creature: his experiences on the Western Front were simply beyond their powers of comprehension.

The book tells the story of ordinary men in the grip of a political and military power struggle that determined their fate and has foreshadowed the destiny of the world for a century. Passchendaele lays down a powerful challenge to the idea of war as an inevitable expression of the human will, and examines the culpability of governments and military commanders in a catastrophe that destroyed the best part of a generation.

Genres: History, World War I, Nonfiction, Military History, Audiobook, War

565 pages, Hardcover

Published October 3, 2016

About the author

PAUL HAM is a historian specialising in 20th century conflict, war and politics. Born and raised in Sydney, Paul has spent his working life in London, Sydney and Paris. He teaches narrative non-fiction at SciencesPo in Reims and English at l'École de guerre in Paris. His books have been published to critical acclaim in Australia, Britain and the United States, and include: 'Hiroshima Nagasaki', a controversial new history of the atomic bombings (HarperCollins Australia 2010, Penguin Random House UK 2011, & Pan Macmillan USA 2014-15); '1914: The Year The World Ended' (Penguin Random House 2013); 'Sandakan' (Penguin Random House 2011); 'Vietnam: The Australian War' and 'Kokoda' (both published by HarperCollins, 2007 and 2004). Paul has co-written two ABC documentaries based on his work: 'Kokoda' (2010), a 2-part series on the defeat of the Japanese army in Papua in 1942 (shortlisted for the New York Documentary prize); and 'All the Way' (2012), about Australia's difficult alliance with America during the Vietnam War, which he also narrated and presented (it won the UN's Media Peace prize). Paul is the founding director of Hampress, an independent ebook publisher, and a regular contributor to Kindle Single, Amazon's new 'short book' publishing platform, for which he has written '1913: The Eve of War' and 'Young Hitler', co-written 'Honey, We Forgot the Kids', and published several titles by other authors. Hampress welcomes your ideas! A former Australia correspondent for The Sunday Times (1998-2012), Paul has a Masters degree in Economic History from London School of Economics. He lives in Sydney and Paris, and takes time off now and then to organise the Big Fat Poetry Pig-Out, an annual poetry recital, for charity.

Some relevant links:

http://www.amazon.com/Paul-Ham/e/B001...

https://www.hampress.com/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Ham

http://us.macmillan.com/hiroshimanaga...

http://lareviewofbooks.org/review/hir...

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18...

http://www.amazon.com/Sandakan-Paul-H...

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/42...

http://www.randomhouse.com.au/authors...

http://www.harpercollins.com.au/97807...

Reviews

[Anthony · Rating 5 out of 5]

And So it Continues.

Passchendaele, or the Third Battle of Ypres is everything which is associated with the First World War. Senseless unimaginable slaughter, trench warfare, going over the top, failure and stalemate. Under pressure to deliver results, following the fall of HH Asquith in 1916, and to take pressure of the mutinying French army which needed to recover, the burden fell to Great Britain.

The allied commander Sir Douglas Haig had promised that this battle would not be like the Somme in 1916, that with the advance in tactics such as the creeping barrage, employment of tanks and troops with lighter equipment and reconnaissance planes, there should have been a breakthrough. However there was two factors that Haig thought he had under control and had planned for: weather and terrain. Unfortunately this is where it went wrong. The rains came unusually heavy for the time of year in the area and turned the battlefield into a muddy, waterlogged mess. This with deep German defences and concrete machine gun nests ground the advance to a halt in late September. Even though the village of Passchendaele was captured itself, this offered no strategic advantage. Once again thousands of British, Dominion and ANZAC troops had died for very little. The war would continue.

Ham offers a great telling of the battle in this book. We learn about the dynamics of David Lloyd George and Haig and how both tried to justify the battle after the war had ended. We get the order of battle, how it was fought, thoughts and objectives from commanders through to what it was like to be on the ground. We learn from the diaries and memoirs of those who thought, what they experienced and how they felt. Sad tales of families loosing more than one loved one, desperate mothers searching for lost sons years after the hostilities had long ended. Soldiers watching in despair at men and horses drowning in creators knowing there was nothing they could do to save them. Only the horses were put out of their misery.

The writing style is very readable, with no topic, passage or quote lingering on too long. This is a great book and has something to give any scholar interested in WWI or military history.

[Mina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Essential for anyone with an interest in The Great War. Outstandingly written with so much detail and expert examinations while maintaining an unbiased perspective. I can not recommend this enough.

[Bevan Lewis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Five miles north-east of Ypres in Belgium lies the village of Passchendaele. It takes its name from the Easter Passion, evoking the suffering of Christ. Few before 1914 could have envisaged that this Flemish village’s name would become a watchword for suffering in the worst war in history. The word conveyed the power of loss, horrific memories for participants and expressed the revulsion of war. Ham tells of how New Zealand lieutenant general Sir Bernard Freyberg “merely had to utter the word ‘Passchendaele’ to bring [the third attempt to take Cassino in World War 2] to a halt”.
Private Charles Faithfull, a twenty year old farmer from the north of New Zealand was one of the New Zealanders who attacked with the Auckland Infantry Regiment on the first day of the campaign, the 31st of July 1917. Having gone up to the line on the 23rd for his first action he was killed in the initial attack. I thought often of this man, my great uncle, as I read this book. Paul Ham ensures that we don’t ignore the individual amid the storm. He selects a range of characters that we follow through the action with letters and diaries. The three Seabrook brothers had sailed from Australia the previous October. Old Etonian Desmond Allhusen was a junior officer, having enlisted back in August 1914. Nineteen year old Corporal Skirth, solicitor E. C. Allfree, Lieutenant Patrick Campbell - these and other characters provide the 'on the ground' impressions that are so useful in understanding the reality of Passchendaele. It is only a shame that there were not more German voices.
Ham avoids the trap of becoming enmeshed in individual voices however - the use of extensive first person testimony which John Keegan dismissed as “the historian as copy-typist” in The Face Of Battle: A Study Of Agincourt, Waterloo And The Somme. Ham analyses the battlefield action, the strategic decision making and the politics behind the Flanders campaign in an excellent balanced account. The book is not pure military history - those who want complete accounts of the actions of individual regiments will be disappointed. For readers who are looking for a broader historical understanding the book will be full of insight and thought provoking discussion.
Ham considers the historiographical debates over Passchendaele and challenges the arguments of the revisionists who have attempted to rehabilitate Douglas Haig and the war of attrition. John Terraine is the ‘high priest’ of this school of thought, succeeded by Gary Sheffield, Sir Max Hastings and Gordon Corrigan. Ham admits that their claims that the eventual victory was a great feat of arms is correct in a strictly military sense, but questions whether the four years of warfare and the catastrophic losses were ‘worth it’ in a broader sense. “They fail to explain exactly what advantages accrued to Britain from fighting the war in the first place, or just how the war achieved anything worthwhile for Europe”. He also points out the internal conflict in this school of history - most of those who talk about “forgotten victory” still acknowledge the war as catastrophic (as in the title of Sir Max Hasting’s book), appalling and tragic. Paul Ham confuses the matter himself however as he broadens his argument about whether Passchendaele was ‘worth it’ to looking at whether the whole war was worth it. He uses our knowledge of how the war turned out to assess whether the governments of Europe should have decided to go to war in 1914, a cheap rhetorical trick. Additionally the focus on the benefits or lack thereof to Britain ignores considerations of the impact on France and Belgium of losing the war.
Avoiding those distractions however, Haig’s justifications of Passchendaele itself seem thin and were even challenged at the outset, with some including the French advancing an alternative of a defensive strategy until the US entered the war. Criticism of Lloyd George and the politicians is also unavoidable as the campaign continued despite poor results and high attrition instead of being halted as was agreed at the outset. Ham rightly rehabilitates the ‘poet's view’ (and indeed the so-called Blackadder view). The military minded revisionist historians seem to relish laying into these soft targets yet surely the fact that the likes of Remarque, Junger, Owen, Graves and Sassoon actually experienced these events deserves more respect in our analysis?
It must be said that Ham treads his ground carefully. I think the book, although a work of synthesis actually stands up as a sound historical account that deserves to stand the test of time. Yes he does offer a ‘human’ perspective on the suffering, deficiencies of leadership and futility of aspects of the battle. However he doesn’t paint Haig as a heartless incompetent ‘donkey’. He recognises that in the most apparently damning charge, his decision to continue the attack into November after weather conditions deteriorated, Haig had constraints. Ending the battle in a position where recent expensive gains (and the middle part of the battle after Plumer took charge had seen significant advances) could be easily lost would have been difficult to justify. There is truth though that the determination to continue was “rooted in the psychology of power and pride”. Haig would have been finished had he not only failed to attain the original objectives of the U Boat bases on the Belgian coast, but had also failed even to reach the ultimate fall back objective of Passchendaele. His obsession with attaining the goal had become overwhelming, imbued with his strong sense of Christian purpose and sense of being an instrument of God’s plan.
Lloyd George comes in for his share of criticism as well. His inaction both in not stopping the whole campaign or cutting it short when gains evaporated and thousands of lives were being expended was a failure which it took all his cunning to avoid taking accountability for.
Ham takes us for the final judgement of these horrific events back to those participants we followed through the battle, to their lives after the war, some successful, some wracked with guilt, psychological or physical pain. Perhaps most upsetting are accounts like those of the mother of the three Seabrook boys who for years after the war obsessively sought details of where her boys had been buried, and clung to the possibility that one had survived. A solely military analysis of the facts, while useful for posterity and for understanding at a tactical level what occurred cannot tell the complete story. Ham’s broad account goes a long way to telling it.

[Paul (Life In The Slow Lane) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lions led by donkeys.

I almost took one star off for writing a book supposedly about the battle of Passchendaele, but actually including the history of almost all of the battles in WWI. Yes, you need some background, but there is way too much background.

If you don't feel like ploughing through all 540 odd pages, you only need to read Chapter 12, 13, 14 and 17 to get the full horror of Passchendaele. What those poor buggers went through made even the worst horror story I've read look like a nursery rhyme.

My idea of a good military leader is one who wants to achieve their objective, but gives the safety of their men equal importance. Field Marshal Douglas Haig, the pompous English commander of the combined armies, had no regard for the lives of the men who served under him. He sent THOUSANDS, no...HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS of men to their deaths seemingly without a second thought, while he was safely ensconced back in England. The incompetence of the British Generals (mostly) was legendary in WWI but he took the cake. Instead of being given 100,000 Pounds and an Earldom after the war, he should have been put on trial for mass murder.

The battle of Passchendaele had casualties, on both sides, of 600,000! Think about that number. That's 2/3 of the population of the city I call home. And that was just one battle to capture a ridge that even Haig said afterwards, was of no strategic value.

As Paul Ham says:
How many millions would have had to die, how many nations destroyed, how many fascist and communist seedlings sown, how many families struck down with grief, before politicians, the press and military revisionists would concede that the First World War was NOT WORTH IT?

[Angelique Simonsen · Rating 2 out of 5]

found it hard going

[Michael reading a book · Rating 5 out of 5]

This author has once again re-shaped the way I think about history, and the people who play part in it. He takes something I’ve learned about from a 1000 ft view, and puts it under a microscope.

[Robert · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a really well written and engaging book on the topic. It is not the dry blow by blow play of the battle that you would expect. It take a far more human perspective of battle and this helps convey the human tragedy that it inflicted. It still manages a balanced approach to telling the facts but by also highlighting the human toll the battle created beyond its immediate vicinity is something that should be heeded in today's environment where conflict can be portrayed as righteous.

If you are a student of the Great War, you will enjoy this book even though the disregard for human life is so appalling. A battle is made up of more than just the actions that took place and this book covers all aspects wonderfully

[Sarah Jowett · Rating 5 out of 5]

I heard Paul Ham on the radio talking about this book. I became interested in the idea that the First World War was truly the defining event of last century and the incubator for our modern lives. I have never read a book about war before, but I found this one fascinating. It is interwoven with poignant and personal stories of individuals and delves into the personal and political motivations of the leaders. I found it a very rich and full account of the events of this horrifying part of our history.

[Ron Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was fortitudinous that I was reading Passchendaele at the time of the one hundredth anniversary of the battle. On SBS news there were detailed reports of the services that were held. I definitely would not use the word “celebrations.” The impact this book was reflected in the tears that welled in my eyes as the camera panned over the white gravestones and photographs of the battlefield appeared on the screen.
I am a fan of Pam Ham and I have read many of his books. He is a fine writer, a meticulous historian, undoubtedly assisted by some excellent historical researchers and he chooses interesting historical events. Finally, I appreciate his strength of argument when he is pursuing a point of view.
I have read widely on the topic of World War 1, more so the causes then the actual battles and campaigns of the war.
For all young and budding modern historians it is important to realise that the First World War was the seminal event of the twentieth century. The effects of that war are still being felt today, especially in the Middle East. I often ask myself, I wonder what steps the Tsar, Emperor, Kaiser and Sultan would have taken to stop the war if they knew what was install for them and their countries.
I had always hesitated to read accounts of the battles of WW1 because I knew there would be recalls of the massive losses and the futility of these battles. In Passchendaele Ham does report of these very things but the book is not too crowded with these statistics.
What Ham does focus on is the role of the generals, primarily Douglas Haigh, but also Currie, Plumer and Gough and our own Monash on the allie’s side and Ludendorff on the Axis. A theme running through the book is the role of Haigh. Was he a man more sinned than sinning? Ham answers this at some length.
Passchendaele was an orgy of annihilation, one of the greatest losses and destruction of human life on the battlefield. Ham does point the blame at the generals and the politicians but he also sheets the blame home to the civilian population on the home front, both in the UK and the members of the empire were persistent in their demand for military victories. Some historians are quick to blame certain individuals, but as with so many wars the general population are more than happy to send their brothers, father and sons off to fight foreign futile wars. Public opinion was a powerful influence on battleground decisions.
I do appreciate Ham’s personalizing this horrible event by relating the stories of immense loss that many families faced. He does this by naming actual families and quoting actual correspondence. The futile effort of mothers searching for their missing sons and the immense sadness of fathers on hearing of the death of their beloved offspring. Many families never recovered from these losses.
Ham has a vividly descriptive writing style. He certain captures the pathos of the life in the trenches of Passchendaele. The rats gnawing at dead bodies, feet and hands sticking up out of the mud are common scenes. One image is seared on my mind. As some soldiers moved to the front they passed a soldier stuck in the mud up to his waist. No one could get him out. When they returned that evening the mud was covering his chin, the bleakness of his future had driven him mad.
Ham mentioned the important role of the WW1 poets and authors, Wilfred Owen, Siegfried Sassoon, Rupert Brooke and Erich Marie Remarque and their important contribution to the literature of the time.
This is a stunning book that should be read by all and it would hopeful make readers aware of the futility of war – but I doubt it.

[Danny Jarvis · Rating 4 out of 5]

An honest look at the technology, politics, men, and their mindset during ther campaigns of WWI. It provides context leading up to the tragic battle through review of the strategic and tactical background. Doesn’t hold back in justifiable criticism of the folly of HQs and senior leaders, leading from the sheltered rear and never viewing the front. It highlights the arguably criminal decision of senior leaders (namely FM Haig) to continue fighting in a style, which is best described as futile and unethical. Also how politicians with the power to do so, failed to stop these campaigns, which were clearly not going anywhere and even disgustingly praised senior leaders for their attempts to advance against odds.

The details of the fighting, mostly through the accounts of those who fought it, highlight how claims of “Great victory” in the papers actually equated to unimaginable horrors on the battlefields with extremely high costs of life. Particularly at Messines Ridge preceding Third Ypres (Passchendaele) where a combination of mines, creeping artillery barrages with improved accuracy, and infantry supported by tanks resulted in high casualty rates. More violent than even Verdun according to the veterans who fought in both, the increased artillery volume and accuracy, changing the physical landscape, compounded by rain, and leading to soldiers drowning in mud as easily as being killed by arms.

“Are wars armed with the technology to kill a generation of men, doomed to use it because the generals had found no other way? Did this not place an unprecedented responsibility on the political leaders to intervene and agree on compromised peace? That is the question Passchendaele forces upon us.”

[Lee McKerracher · Rating 5 out of 5]

Paul Ham has conducted thorough and detailed research to put forward an incredibly insightful account on what happened in the lead up to and throughout the battle of Passchendaele.

Such a tragic event, as is all war, and sadly the 'wastage' as the politicians called it, or as it should be called - the deaths of soldiers - was exacerbated by political infighting and belligerence.

The way Ham intersperses personal accounts from the battles, including correspondence from the families adds so much to his account. What was deemed a necessary battle, turned out not to be necessary at all. The cost in lives was horrendous, on all sides.

It is yet another example of how humans do not learn or even want to understand, that war is not the way to settle disputes. Violence is never the way. When will we learn?

[Nona · Rating 4 out of 5]

Unfortunately I have too much on at the moment, studying online so have had to return this Audio CD. A third through it is so stirring and emotional. I have a great uncle who died at Passchendaele and it is just so awful to think of all those people who went to war and died. They are often referred to as cannon fodder and so far, from what I have heard, I have to agree.
This piece is beautifully written, at times positive and negative in relation to the commanders of both sides and the men who fought for, and trusted them.
I shall continue after I finish the current assignment, and would recommend this to one and all. Lest we forget.

[Sam · Rating 5 out of 5]

The anger in Ham's words is palpable, his anger at the political and military leaders who decisions or lack of interest led to the one of worst experiences in the history of humanity. Through using numerous firsthand accounts from soldiers in the field, Ham produces the best description of the Third Battle of Ypres yet, but even as he says, it does not come close to the real horror that broke the morale of the British and Commonwealth forces. Half a million casualties for five miles of mud and blood.

[Brad · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting book about events during World War One from Flanders and what occurred then. I was expecting details about the ANZAC involvement only and was surprised by the involvement of the entire conflict with all nations involved and even the British government. Puts the Third battle of Ypres in perspective and gives a fair idea of what the landscape could be like for visitors. Worth the read and to take your time reading the book too.

[Julia Gilchrist · Rating 5 out of 5]

At first, it's an intellectual journey, simply understanding what, when, where and how a generation was lost. Then come the tears as the futility is writ large. Mothers letters to the command and Red cross relief services asking about their lost sons whereabouts broke me. So so sad. I prayed for these boys after closing the last page.

[Howard · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is a superb telling of this horrible battle. The author spares neither the inept, ego-driven politicians, nor the inept, ego-driven Army general staff. Throw in gas and phosphorus attacks, brutal trench warfare, incredible heroism, and tragic family devastation—its a sobering look at the senseless brutality of the “War to End All Wars.” The book is performed beautifully by Robert Meldrum.

[Louise · Rating 5 out of 5]

Received as Christmas present and as always found this a long read, but filled with stories, strategies and sacrifice of young men in WW1. Ham never disappoints when reselling and reliving the moments in our military history.

[Martin · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great and informative book about one of the most "meaningless" battles fought on the western front. It gives insights into the how the man on the ground experienced the battle. But at the same time describes the thoughts and strategy behind the battle.

[Simon Storey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another exceptional edition to Paul Ham's stunning career.

This, like all his works, is a beautifully written, thoroughly researched and enlightening read about the events and politics of one of the most futile and revolting human endeavours of the 20th century.

“I died in hell. They called it Passchendaele.” ― Siegfried Sassoon

[Chris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Superb history of this most tragic of of WWI battles known as Passchendaele. Should be of the reading list of all world leaders.

[Dulcie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lots of further reading coming from this

[Mark Latchford · Rating 5 out of 5]

Densely research and beautifully written. A delight to read and to learn from.

[Cameron McElwee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Definitely the best book on the subject. Reading this called into question the ratings I gave other Passchendaele works I have read this year!

[David Lawson]

Another excellently researched and written tome by Paul Ham. But so, so depressing to truly understand the horror of that battlefront and war.