ISBN: 978 0 297 84553 9
Bryn Hammond has in this book provided a compelling and fascinating read about the greatest tank battle of the First World War. From the strategy and planning to the training and logistics in preparation for the assault to the manner of the German counter attack the reader is deprived of little from the author's exhaustive research. He writes with clarity and chronicles the complexities of the battle for Cambrai making the account comprehensible, logical and very readable.
This book uses personal memories to add authority and poignancy to the story of the battle. The reader is held captivated as the story develops. The ebb and flow of battle is vividly illustrated as are the acts of personal courage and endurance which emphasis the human tragedy.
Bryn Hammond has in this book removed the need for prior knowledge of the Great War. This account is delivered with passion and enthusiasm fully illustrating author's exemplary scholarship and ability to articulate and sustain the story. It is a moment when men and machines combined and advanced together as an evocative symbol of the culmination of the industrialisation of warfare.
Reviewer: Martin Hornby
