Pillars of Fire: The Battle of Messines Ridge 1917

Until 1918, Messines was the only clear-cut Allied victory on the Western Front.
Pillars of Fire is the first detailed account of the battle for the Messines-Wytschaete Ridge and is examined from the British/ANZAC and German perspectives. It reassesses the reasons for General Plumer's success on the day, the implications of Haig's failure to exploit that success, and finally the legacy of the battle for the maturing of the BEF in 1918.
Fully illustrated with a selection of archive photographs and maps, many of which are previously unpublished, Pillars of Fire is a major contribution to our understanding of one of the seminal battles of the First World War.

Ian Passingham was educated at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst and Keele University, serving in the British Army for 18 years before leaving as a major to pursue a career as a professional historian and defence analyst.