Jon Cooksey

The Battles of French Flanders

Pen & Sword Books have just published an important history cum travel guide for the Battlefields of French Flanders, written by Jon Cooksey and Jerry Murland. The Battle Lines series covers areas of the battle field in a series of ‘tours’ which can be undertaken in various forms of transport as well as on foot. This is a popular series in that it is more than glossy pictures and map references.

There are twelve routes that cover various battlefields including show more Neuve Chapelle, Aubers Ridge, Festubert, Loos and Fromelles while the main emphasis is on the battlefields of 1915 this area was a theatre of war throughout the conflict. The tours in this book the writers have tried to put them in a chronological order there are also the notes on visiting Military Cemeteries which in this day and age is very important.

There is at the beginning of the book a historical context which will help you with some of the general basic knowledge that you may require. Each route also has also the historical notes and context and where things are and what they were. There are plenty of pictures with explanations along with map coordinates to help you find your way around the battlefield.

The notes on each battlefield are well research and very informative as you stand and look at once was mud and desolation. The excellent notes even tell you how far you to walk to be on certain spots of where various actions took place or what were observation points.

This is an excellent addition to the Battle Lines series and one worth buying and travelling with and it does not matter if you are an experienced historical voyeur or new to touring battlefields this is an important addition to your library. show less

Reviewed in the February 2018 issue of the Socialist Standard:

http://socialiststandardmyspace.blogspot.com/2018/02/war-exposures-2018.html