The Battle of the Lys 1918: North (Paperback)
Objective Ypres
Imprint: Pen & Sword Military
Series: Battleground: WWI
Pages: 205
Illustrations: 25
ISBN: 9781526717009
Published: 18th April 2018
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The second of two Battleground Europe titles covering this highly significant battle of spring 1918.
The German offensive in Flanders in April 1918 came close to catastrophe for the British Armies, but ultimately ended in strategic defeat for the Kaiser’s men. Following close on the heels of the devastating ‘Operation Michael’ attack in March, which had been aimed against the British front on the Somme and Arras, this offensive, ‘Operation Georgette’, was aimed at strangling the vital railways and roads that supplied the British at Ypres and threatening the vital logistics links with the Channel Ports.
Having assembled an overwhelming numerical advantage, the Germans attacked in thick fog on 9 April 1918. By day’s end, the Germans had succeeded in gaining a crossing of the River Lys and were well on their way to the railway junctions at Hazebrouck. Next day, they extended the attacked front northwards and advanced to the very gates of Ypres, forcing a British retirement from the bloodily won advances during the Third Battle of Ypres. Messines Ridge, captured so spectacularly by the British in June 1917, was soon in German hands and fighting inched towards Mont Kemmel, which dominated the Ypres front. Once this fell, the way was open for the capture of the main supply roads into Ypres.
To find sufficient reserves to counter the German attack, the British took the heart-breaking decision to abandon the ground won so dearly in the Passchendaele offensive in the summer and autumn of 1917. Gradually, fresher British and French reserves arrived and held their ground. With disappointing results, mounting casualties and a diminishing return for their efforts, the Germans paused to regroup. Late in the month they unleashed a rapid, unstoppable attack that captured Kemmel from the French forces that had been rushed north to reinforce the threatened line and which had been holding the summit: one of the finest military feats of the Great War.
Behind the scenes, however, the Germans were already calling off a continuation of the offensive and so, by a seeming miracle, the bastion that was Ypres remained in British hands.
What the British call ‘The ‘Battle of the Lys 1918’ is a fascinating yet curiously neglected period of military history. Chris Baker examines this major battle from the strategic down to the platoon level, highlighting the key events, characters and acts of enormous bravery on both sides, both in historical narrative and in a series of tours of the area.
This volume concentrates on the northern half of the battlefield; nearly all of the actions described in this volume took place in Belgium.
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About Chris Baker
Chris Baker is a former Chartered Engineer and manufacturing consultant, whose deep interest in the Great War led him to becoming a professional military historian. He is behind a research business, fourteeneighteen, and is the author of the well-known and invaluable website The Long, Long Trail.
Chris was the Chairman of the Western Front Association for a number of years and was the founder of the very successful internet Great War Forum. Chris’s book The Battle for Flanders: German defeat on the Lys, 1918 was published by Pen & Sword Military in 2011. In 2014 The truce: the day the war stopped was published by Amberley. He has also written two Battleground Europe books on the Battle of the Lys 1918 (2018).
Chris is an honorary Research Fellow at the University of Birmingham, where he gained a Masters in British First World War History in 2007.
He has spent much time over the years in Flanders. His work for this book has been notably assisted by his knowledge of the Belgian military archives and by his ability to read both Dutch and French.
The Battle of the Lys 1918: South Objective Hazebrouck (Paperback)
The German offensive in Flanders in April 1918 came close to catastrophe for the British Armies, but ultimately ended in strategic defeat for the Kaiser’s men. Following closely on the heels of the devastating ‘Operation Michael’ attack in March on the Somme and around Arras, named as ‘Operation Georgette’, the offensive was aimed at strangling the vital railways and roads that supplied the British at Ypres. Having assembled an overwhelming numerical advantage, the Germans attacked in thick fog on 9 April 1918. They faced tired British formations that had just been relieved from the…
By Chris BakerClick here to buy both titles for £29.98