At Passchendaele New Zealand forces lost over 1200 lives in a few hours in October 1917. The soldiers were demoralised almost to the point of no return. They retreated, rested and reinforced. In March 1918 they returned for The Spring Offensive - New Zealand's greatest military victory.
Glyn Harper is Professor of War Studies at Massey University in Palmerston North, New Zealand. He is now General Editor of the Centenary History of New Zealand and the First World War. A former teacher, he joined the Australian Army in 1988 and after eight years transferred to the New Zealand Army, where he rose to the rank of lieutenant colonel. Glyn was the army's official historian for the deployment to East Timor and is the author of numerous history books.