Passchendaele the Sacrificial Ground

by Nigel Steel

Dramatic and filled with horror, the clash at Passchendaele Ridge was one of World War One's bloodiest. After years of stalemate, the British and French armies launched a massive offensive, only to find themselves literally bogged down in low ground that had turned into a quagmire. By battle's end, over 300,000 Allied and 260,000 German soldiers had perished. Includes a wealth of previously unpublished testimonies from the Imperial War museum.

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

351 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2000

Reviews

['Aussie Rick' · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nigel Steel and Peter Hart's third book covering the Great War deals with the Third Battle of Ypres, better known as Passchendaele. This book joins a long list of other titles covering this most horrendous battle of World War One. As in their previous books the authors utilize the accounts of many of the participants in this great struggle. From gunners and footsloggers to the men in the air trying to gain mastery of the airspace above the salient. Using first-hand accounts, interviews, letters and after action reports they put together a fairly comprehensive story of the fighting as experienced by British and Commonwealth soldiers. It must be said that there are very few similar accounts used in this book from the German side.

Overall they do reasonable well in presenting the story of the fighting in the Ypres salient from 1917-1918. However I feel that they may not have done as well as some previous books. At times I found that the narrative appeared to drag or lose its continuity. The authors have attempted to be very fair in their assessment of the British High Command and the involvement or lack of involvement of the politician's back home. The book does not appear to have an axe to grind in regards to any one person's culpability in regards to the tremendous casualties suffered for so little tangible gain. The authors simply present the facts and allow you, the reader, to determine who may be at fault for the loss of so many innocent lives.

I found that the authors offered a very good overview of the circumstances leading to this battle, the tactics used and the decisions of the Commanding Generals. Overall it's a very easy to read account of this battle and a good starting point for someone wishing to learn more about what the poor bloody 'Tommy', 'Aussie', 'Kiwi' and 'Canuck' suffered. I would also recommend for further reading Lyn MacDonald's 'They Called it Passchendaele', Robin Prior and Trevor Wilson's 'Passchendaele; The Untold Story', and books by Philip Warner, Winston Groom and Leon Wolff.

I would like to finish up with an account from the book where a young British soldier was about to go 'over the top' during the offensive to take Pilckem Ridge on the 31st July 1917: "It was still dark but then suddenly it was illuminated by a line of bursting shells, but what was astonishing still was that we must all have been deafened by the noise. I looked at Herbert, I could see his lips move - I shouted but I couldn't hear myself at all. I wanted to tell him that we would keep together so I grabbed his hand and we went over together as we had gone to Sunday School - hand in hand." - Private Alfred Warsop, 1st Battalion, Sherwood Foresters.

[Dimitri · Rating 3 out of 5]

The eyewitness accounts tend to render the structure of the strategic-tactical story too loose

[Dropbear123 · Rating 4 out of 5]

4/5. Not much to say about it. Lots of personal accounts, maybe more personal account than text by the authors which maybe interrupts the flow/narrative of the book. Pretty detailed.

[Simon · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is good book and well worth reading, intermixing fascinating personal accounts of Third Ypres with a decent examination of the course of the campaign.

However I did find the balance swung a bit too far towards the personal accounts - page after page of them with little more than a sentence from the authors separating them. While this gives a very good insight into the life and death of the soldier at Third Ypres, it does so at the expense of a full examination of the tactical and strategic situation in the Salient, and the progression of the battles.

This is in contrast to The Somme, also by Peter Hart (though not with Nigel Steel), which employs a similar style but I thought achieved a better balance between historical study and personal accounts. If you are interested more in the personal accounts, with a lighter examination of the "macro-history" then Passchendaele: The Sacrificial Ground is the book for you.

[Elliott · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a straight narrative of Third Ypres this book is extremely good. It uses a variety of sources from David Lloyd George down to the lowly Tommy Atkins in the trenches. Hart and Steel do tend to rely on a few individuals heavily though I suspect that is for their clarity and descriptiveness than inability to find others.
Where the book does not work well are the authors' analysis on Haig as commander. I'm of the "traditional" opinion that Haig was either a sadist or singularly incompetent. However even if I were not of that opinion if you can forgive Haig's conduct at the Somme (as Hart does in a prior book) than you cannot forgive Haig for the latter months at Passchendaele. The odd thing is that Hart and Steel place blame on Plumer in continuing the offensive while questioning why Haig allowed his subordinate to carry on. HAIGiographers (if I may coin a word) have always faced difficulty in these situations of simultaneously exculpating Haig from wrongdoing but then having to explain why a superior officer should not be held accountable for the actions of those under him when that superior officer had every possibility to step in. Easy enough: you can't.
Despite this failing Hart and Steel are able to present a very horrific telling of the Battle and battlefield that readers one hundred years separated from the events can experience some small bit of the horror of the Ypres Salient.

[Bill38silver · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the second book on this campaign that i have read in the last fortnight, having introduced myself to the detail of the subject through Lyn Macdonalds "They Called It Passchendaele". Either book could have been called Hell on Earth or Murder In the Mud. Published 25 years apart either book is a useful portrayal of many aspects of war on an industrial scale, with artillery doling out death, maiming and injury to thousands and thousands of individuals in pitiable and inhuman conditions.

Steel and Hart's book is more directed at the military campaign but increasingly as the tragedy and trauma unfolds, personal accounts of those who were there, the main thrust of Macdonalds' narrative, begin to feature prominently. The facts of what happened on the ground and in the air make for unpleasant reading throughout but the structure of the narrative is well organised. The sacrifice of so many heroes should be remembered even 100 hundred years later. This book is a useful addition to our understanding of what happened but perhaps not why.

[Barry Higgins · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book opened my eyes, about the First World War. I'd read about the war, in history class. By esteemed authors who analysed what caused the war. But i'd never seen the words, of the common soldier. Who experienced the day to day slog, of battle. How they'ed seen friends die, unmentionable deaths in the squalor of Flanders.
Nigel Steel & Peter Hart have written a book, that informs. As well as reaches deep, into your imagination. Of what the horrors and terrors our grand and great grandfathers, went through. With over 250,000 allied casulaties, lost in the period of 3 months.
Some of the letters that are included, are difficult to read. But must be, as it tells of the hardship of those brave battalions. That battled on through the death and destruction, that was the third battle of Ypres. Or as we came to know it, Paschendaele.

[Roger Woods · Rating 4 out of 5]

Using to great effect the unpublished memoirs and oral recordings of the participants held at the Imperial War Museum the authors Nigel Steel and Peter Hart present a gritty account of Passchendale. The book captures the unimaginable horrors of the Western front in the First World War blending perceptive analysis with the soldiers' stories from the front line. The losses on both sides were huge as the industrialisation of killing took effect on a scale never seen before. The sacrifice of thousands of men seems remote one hundred years later but it should never be forgotten if only to underline the futility of war.

[David Lloyd · Rating 5 out of 5]

In my humble opinion the personal accounts of the fighting men were the high point of the book, I found it gave a more tangible view of the impact on the individual soldier. I realise there are benefits in understanding the actions of high command but there are volumes dedicated to the subject.
I read this title while visiting many of the battlefield sites, ultimately my understanding of the horrors and human suffering faced by the front line soldiers at Passchendaele is improved as a result of reading this book.
Below every headstone on the battlefield is a brave soldier, there is a personal story attached to each individual, I feel that the book went some way to explain the immorality these young men witnessed.

"Their Name Liveth For Evermore".

[Duncan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very detailed account of the tragic waste of lives that was the third battle of Ypres. Enhanced by a lot of individual accounts from soldiers on the ground; sketchier on the leadership issues. In particular, I wanted to know more about what competent leadership *would* have done in 1917 to hasten the end of the war--it's not obvious what the right thing to do was, given the circumstances (i.e., defensive capability vastly outstripped offensive capability, and terrible weather made progress even harder). Read it and feel overwhelming gratitude that you are not a World War I soldier.

[Mark Merritt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book on a very sad time. Many, many personal antidotes are what this book is about. The authors fill in the blanks and give a general overview of the battle and the outcomes expected vs. gained. A few maps cover the main points but don’t think you will gain a deep understanding of the battle by this one book alone. It may be that you will NOT want to dig much deeper since this was in a general a debacle for all involved to a large extent. It’s good however to not just dwell on the easy success, tough fights teach more than easy victories.

[richard daniels · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing

Such a sad account of the heroism of soldiers on both sides every man a hero great read and thoroughly recommended

[Robert Spencer · Rating 4 out of 5]

The horror of war is all too clear in this book which is rich in evidence and tends to offer a human history, rather than a strategic one.

[Jeremy Belanger · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a decent book. But I was hoping for a broader look at the battle with personal accounts to stress what was going. This book is largely somewhat random personal accounts interspersed with a few lines about the overall campaign.

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’ve labeled this one as “academic history,” although with its brief notes section and straightforward narrative, it is obviously intended to appeal to a broader audience of military enthusiasts, in addition to scholars. Also, although its source base is reasonably impressive, it doesn’t really have a particular argument to add to the historiography of World War One, it merely attempts to add a bit more of an “on the ground” perspective to our understanding of the Third Battle of Ypres (Passchendaele). It does this primarily through recollections of the troops themselves, using published memoirs along with archival documents and especially oral history interviews. The end result is like a rather more rigorous version of a Cornelius Ryan book. It will fascinate you, if you enjoy that sort of thing, bore you if you don’t.

I read this during a very busy term in grad school, probably scanning fewer than the usual amount of pages, and then briefly skimmed a few sections in preparation for this review. It’s quite possible that, given a thorough reading, I’d add another star. I’m just not certain that I’m really all that interested in the subject. It’s entirely limited to the British side of events, with no sources in German, French, or any other language. Some published accounts of the German High Command have been consulted, in English translation, but the “Tommies” are the real focus here.

The story of Third Ypres, as it is presented here, is fairly simple. In Spring 1917, British generals were convinced, in part by news reports of unrest on the German home front, that the time had come for the long-awaited “breakthrough” in the long positional war on the Western Front. An attack began at the end of July, with this goal in mind. The Germans were nowhere near as demoralized or as short on equipment as had been imagined, and held firm. An unusually rainy August turned the battlefield into a muddy hell, in which men drowned as they tried to crouch down to avoid the hail of bullets. Thousands died, no important gains were made, and the landscape transformed from wooded pleasantness to lunar desolation.

It’s the sort of thing you expect to read about trench warfare in World War One, so much so that it’s nearly a cliché now, but it is handled reasonably well and in considerable detail. Even quickly going over some of the bits of oral testimony, there are parts that sting to the heart. One brief description of a man giving a cigarette to young boy lying in the mud bleeding to death internally almost evoked tears. If you haven’t read a book about the hell that was the trenches, and especially if you want to see it from the British point of view, this is probably a great place to start. For me, it’s mostly not big news, but still worth a bit of recognition for what it is.

[Nathan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ever wanted to have it clearly stated just how hellish war is?

Read this.

Nasty. Muddy. Bloody. Corpsy. Noisy. Wet. Smelly. Gasey. Deadly. Pointless.


Rated R18 for pervasive bloody war violence and futility.

[Gareth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent.

[Kirsty · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought I would be utterly captivated with this, but even with the addition of personal testimonials, I do not feel that I learnt anything.

[James Webster · Rating 4 out of 5]

Seemed to tail off a bit in terms of summary analysis. But good narrative other plenty of eye-witness accounts. Good on the importance of artillery and on the process leading to the battle.

[Douglas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read about 3rd Battle of Ypres.