Ian Passingham's book has just been published in paperback, and is well worth reading from the aviation enthusiast's point of view. It is a masterly description of arguably the first real success of Allied armies on the Western Front since the beginning of the War, and shows that by meticulous preparation, even well entrenched and disciplined German soldiers could be beaten. For the first time the RFC were in on the planning from the beginning, their main objectives being to identify German artillery positions as targets for counter-battery fire, and to provide timely intelligence on enemy movements for the Allied guns. Air superiority was essential for this task, and 300 aircraft were allotted to this work, as well as 8 captive balloons of 2nd Kite Balloon Wing RFC. Also new was the use of the RFC to conduct Fighter Ground Attack, supporting the troops on the ground by strafing German gun emplacements, machine gun posts, reinforcements and any other opportunity targets.

Before the Battle even started, Allied planes dominated the skies around Messines for weeks, blinding the German intelligence effort and limiting the German command's ability to judge the size and intent of the Allies activities. The initial stage of the Battle was so successful that many more troops survived than expected, and the consequent bunching gave the German artillery some targets. However, as so often on the Western Front, success was not capitalised on, this time because of Haig's uncharacteristic hesitancy, and the whole thing petered out into the appalling mud of Third Ypres.

Passingham's book gives a well researched and detailed account of the Battle from both sides, at all levels from overall strategy, right down to the individual in the field. It is lavishly illustrated with both pictures (including some of aircraft) and maps, which appear in the right places in the text, which I found particularly helpful. There is also an Index, Bibliography and copious Appendices. I think the book is very readable and a credit to the research and scholarship of the author. This is his first book, and I look forward to the next, especially as he intends to concentrate in future on the German side of events, which he thinks (rightly) is a neglected area so far.