"An eloquent re-telling of one of the First World War's most mismanaged battles. Lloyd movingly recounts the ordeal of German and British infantry in the mud and blood of Passchendaele." --Alexander Watson, author of Ring of Steel: Germany and Austria-Hungary in World War I "Nick Lloyd's timely re-appraisal of Passchendaele--that awful battle of mud and muddle--is a masterpiece. On the ground the abiding image is of heroic soldiers battling the mud, but tragically there was muddle in the British Government as it failed to find a winning strategy while at the operational level the debate raged between Plumer's pragmatic 'bite and hold' operations and Haig's continuing desire for the great breakthrough. Yet despite the mud and muddle, the sacrifice at Passchendaele laid the foundation for the success of the 100 Days Campaign of 1918, and eventual victory, however short-lived." --General The Lord Dannatt, Chief of the UK General Staff "Passchendaele was a pivotal battle for the Allies. Haig promised victory; Lloyd George predicted defeat. Nick Lloyd's account of the 'campaign of mud' is definitive, deftly analyzing the strategic debate, Haig's assumptions, the prime minister's equivocation, and the brutal combat for the heights above Ypres.

" --Geoffrey Wawro, author of A Mad Catastrophe: The Outbreak of World War I and the Collapse of the Habsburg Empire.