The enemy must not get the Messines Ridge at any price … So read the orders to German troops defending the vital high ground south of Ypres. On 7 June 1917, the British Second Army launched its attack with an opening like no other. In the largest secret operation of WWI, British and Commonwealth mining companies placed over a million pounds of explosive beneath the German front-line positions in 19 giant mines which erupted like a volcano. This was just the beginning.
The fighting at Messines would descend into unimaginable savagery, a lethal and sometimes hand-to-hand affair of bayonets, clubs, bombs and incessant machine-gun fire, described by one Australian as ‘72 hours of Hell’. After their string of bloody defeats over 1915 and 1916, Messines would prove the ultimate test for the Australians.
This is a USED book in generally good condition. Please contact the bookshop, Just Tassie Books at The Book Cellar, if you require additional detailed photos and description of condition before purchasing.
Published: 2017
Format: hardcover with dustjacket
Pages: 335, indexed |
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