The Battle for the Wastelands

The Battles for the Wastelands is an operational account and analysis of the offensive Northern Devastated Zone, March 1917–September 1918 and defensive actions fought by British and German forces from spring of 1917 to late summer of 1918 in the areas between the eastern-most boundaries of the Somme campaign and the Hindenburg Line.

The important offensive and defensive encounters by which the British and Dominion corps captured, lost, and recaptured villages such as Achiet-le-Petit, Gomiécourt, Ervillers, Mory, Croisilles, Frémicourt, Ytres, Lebucquière, Beaumetz, and Hermies are described and explained within the context of the BEF’s learning process. Although generally not large-scale, set-piece battles, these engagements were heavily contested and incurred substantial casualties. In addition to lesser known actions, this volume also examines the British Third Army Army’s epic fighting withdrawal in the face of Operation Michael.

The area is one of undulating open fields, country roads, scattered copses, small villages and the Canal du Nord. There are few physical remains of fortifications but there are dozens of CWGC cemeteries, many of which appear to receive no visitors for months at a time. The land is ideal for exploring either by car, bike, or on foot, and is within very easy and short travelling distance from the towns where most British visitors to the Somme and Arras stay.

The Battle for the Wastelands offers both a practical touring guide as well as a reference volume for these under-appreciated but important battles and actions. It will inform those visitors who drive through these areas as they pass to and from the coast of their importance and significance to the eventual Allied victory on the Western Front.

"A new book from Bill Mitchinson is always looked forward to with pleasure in my household! In this latest work he adopts the unusual approach of concentrating his study on the repeated battles for the ‘wastelands’ of Northern France, those villages between the old Somme battlefield of 1916 and the approaches to the German fortifications we usually call the Hindenburg Line....There are some particularly effective black-and-white photographs of the key terrain. There is a wonderful innovation of four carefully crafted guides to battlefield tours. Anyone interested in a particular unit or location will enjoy visiting the sites under Bill Mitchinson’s skilled leadership." The Western Front Association Stand To! No. 137