The volume of maps, large-scale trench maps, fold-out copies of the 1916 British originals, superbly annotated in colour, would alone be a bargain at £25. It is a further tribute to the author and to his devotion to his subject that he has personally taken on the responsibility for the publication of his book and made it available for at least half of what a publishing firm would be charging. The list of acknowledgments, the bibliography and the wealth of explanatory notes will give some idea of the breadth and depth of the work that has been put into the preparation of this unique and definitive record. This is the product of years of study, of researching British and German archives, war diaries, operation orders, correspondence and contemporary accounts and photography from both sides. That day, 15 September 1916, was one which brought a new dimension to the land battle, and this book commemorates those officers and men of C and D companies of the Heavy Section, Machine Gun Corps (as the Tank Corps was then known), who were the pioneers of a form of warfare that was to dominate the battlefield in the next world war and beyond. In it the author (a member of The Western Front Assoication and until recently the cartographer) sets out to make good what he perceives to be a gap in the recorded history of the Great War by providing a detailed account of the part played by the tanks on the day when they first went into action. In my capacity as editor and compiler of the Naval & Military Press (previously the London Stamp Exchange) Book Lists during the past nine years, many hundreds of books have passed through my hands for description and write-up, but never before have I been at such a loss for superlatives to describe a book as I am now in the case of this outstanding publication. Ĭonsidered a ‘masterpiece’ by the late Terry Cave who wrote this review in 1996. Vol 1 contains 257pp with 106b/w and 40 colour illus
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