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This is the story the British Expeditionary Forces part in the final days of the Advance to Victory. It starts with the massive offensive against the Hindenburg Line at the end of September 1918. Second Army launched the first of the British attacks in Flanders on the 28th, followed by Fourth Army the next day along the St Quentin Canal. Both First and Third Armies joined in, breaking the Hindenburg Line across the Lys plain and the Artois region, taking Cambrai by 10 October. The narrative then follows the advance through the battles of the River Selle and the River Sambre. It culminates with the final operations, including the actions at Maubeuge and Mons, just before the Armistice on 11 November 1918. Time and again the British and Empire troops used well-rehearsed combined arms tactics to break down German resistance as the four-year conflict came to an end. Each stage of the six week long battle is dealt with equally, focusing on the most talked about side of the campaign, the BEFs side. Over fifty new maps chart the day-by-day progress of the five armies. Together the narrative and the maps explain the British Army’s experience during the days of World War One. The men who led the advances, broke down the defences and those who were awarded the Victoria Cross are mentioned. Discover the end of the Advance to Victory and learn how the British Army reached the peak of their learning curve.

Review

Having read Rawson’s “Advance to Victory”, I was not expecting to enjoy this book. Like Advance, this is not a holistic and detailed military analysis of the tactics and strategy of the last battles, it is again a listing of the small unit actions that made up those battles. This probably makes the book more suited to wargamers or diorama makers. Although again there are plenty maps, they were not easily readable, did not relate to all the actions, and had no directional arrows or markers. Again, individual braveries were recorded, and it is right they are remembered

ANDREW RAWSON is a freelance writer who has written over thirty-five books on many conflicts. He has written eight books for Pen and Sword’s ‘Battleground Europe’ series and three reference books for The History Press ‘Handbook’ series. He has edited Eyes Only: The Top-Secret Correspondence between Marshall and Eisenhower and Organizing Victory: The War Conferences 1941-1945. This is his final volume in a ten-part series on the British Army’s battles on the Western Front in World War I. He has a master’s history degree with Birmingham University. –