Passchendaele : a new history / Nick Lloyd.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 307-390) and index.

Introduction -- Prologue: the Nivelle Offensive -- Manoeuvres of war -- Haig and the 'Northern Operation' -- 'A great sea of flames' -- 'Have we time to accomplish?' -- 'Under constant fire' -- 'A perfect bloody curse' -- 'Like the black hole of Calcutta' -- 'A question of concentration' -- 'An introduction to hard work' -- 'A stunning pandemonium' -- 'War with a big W' -- 'An overwhelming blow' -- 'The weakness of haste' -- 'Not worth a drop of blood' -- 'Against the Iron Wall' -- Epilogue.

"The definitive account of Passchendaele, one of the most influential and tragic battles of the First World War. Passchendaele. The name of a small, seemingly insignificant Flemish village echoes across the twentieth century as the ultimate expression of meaningless, industrialized slaughter. In the summer of 1917, upwards of 500,000 men were killed or wounded, maimed, gassed, drowned, or buried in this small corner of Belgium. On the centennial of the battle, military historian Nick Lloyd brings to vivid life this epic encounter along the Western Front. Drawing on both British and German sources, he is the first historian to reveal the astonishing fact that, for the British, Passchendaele was an eminently winnable battle. Yet the advance of British troops was undermined by their own high command, which, blinded by hubris, clung to failed tactics. The result was a familiar one: stalemate. Lloyd forces us to consider that trench warfare was not necessarily a futile endeavor, and that had the British won at Passchendaele, they might have ended the war early, saving hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of lives. A captivating narrative of heroism and folly, Passchendaele is an essential addition to the literature on the Great War."--provided by publisher.