The third in a trilogy of books, the others being Cambrai -The Right Hook and Bourlon Wood by the same authors covering the battle for Cambrai in November 1917. It covers the defense against the German counter strike, the defense of the Flesquieres Salient against the Kaiserschlact in March 1918 and its recapture in Sept/Oct 1918 all key elements in great Allied advance to victory. This book and guide to the Battle for Flesquieres Ridge tells of the onslaught by 470 tanks and infantry battalions which smashed through the Hindenburg line to the great surprise of the Germans who thought it invincible. So successful was the initial assault that for the first time in the war church bells rang out and the face of land warfare was changed forever. The story illustrates the indomitable spirit of British infantry who in spite of being outnumbered and outgunned, and frustrated by political interference, still managed to thwart Ludendorff's last drive for the Channel Ports. They were then in a position to force him back eastwards, breaking through the reinforced Hindenburg Line once again before final victory in November 1918.

In the past, while visiting the First World War battlefields, the author often wondered where the various Victoria Cross actions took place. He resolved to find out. In 1988, in the midst of his army career, research for this book commenced and over the years numerous sources have been consulted. Victoria Crosses on the Western Front – Battles of the Hindenburg Line – Canal du Nord is designed for the battlefield visitor as much as the armchair reader. A thorough account of each VC action is set within the wider strategic and tactical context. Detailed sketch maps show the area today, together with the battle-lines and movements of the combatants. It will allow visitors to stand upon the spot, or very close to, where each VC was won. Photographs of the battle sites richly illustrate the accounts. There is also a comprehensive biography for each recipient, covering every aspect of their lives warts and all: parents and siblings, education, civilian employment, military career, wife and children, death and burial/commemoration. A host of other information, much of it published for the first time, reveals some fascinating characters, with numerous links to many famous people and events.

The Hindenburg Line, or Siegfriedstellung, achieved almost mythical status in the minds of the British public: the strongest defence system the world had then seen, scientifically designed by fortification experts with only one aim, to keep at bay the British Army. So pleased and delighted were the British that church bells were rung when the Line was pierced at Cambrai in November 1917. The new wonder-weapon, the Tank, had shown itself to be capable of great deeds and British Generals were seen to be capable of showing the Germans what Tommy could do when properly organised. The initial elation was followed by disappointment as the Germans fought back and the Hindenburg defences were retaken when the Germans used "defence-in-depth" and "elastic-defence", both new concepts to the British who were to learn from their mistakes. The British were to witness triumph and joy again, when, towards the end of the Great War, the Hindenburg Line was to be broken by men from the Midlands. This book examines the reasons for the German's decision to fall back to a strong defence line while their Navy starved Britain into submission, and the "burnt earth" policy of devastation in the area evacuated. The design and layout of the Hindenburg Line, and the Battles for its possession in 1917 and 1918, are given: with numerous maps covering different sectors and the struggles for each village and farm, together with the part played by many British Regiments. The maps contain information on how to find all remaining vestiges of both German and British defences in the region, most of which are rarely visited and many of which have not been seen by British eyes for many years. No book since the Great War has examined this area in such detail, nor has any single account contained so much for the battlefield visitor to see. The sites of individual acts of bravery, including the winning of many Victoria Crosses are featured, and existing locations of battle lines, headquarters, artillery observation and machine gun posts are also included, together with an absorbing narrative which also guides the armchair reader.

From 26 September until 8 October 1918, the Allied armies in France launched their largest ever combined offensive on the Western Front of World War I. The British, French, American and Belgian armies launched four attacks in rapid succession across a 250km front between the Argonne and Flanders. At the centre of this huge assault the British, First, Third and Fourth Armies, led by Field Marshal Sir Douglas Haig, breached the formidable Hindenburg Line defences and drove the Kairser's Army from its last fully prepared defensive position west of the German border. The impact of this defeat had a shattering effect on the Germans with their army admitting for the first time that an armistice was required to save it from annihilation. Although these decisive results were to a large extent consequences of the battle of the Hindenburg Line, the subsequent controversies over the conduct of the war meant that it went unheralded and has remained Haig's forgotten triumph.