Battle lines Ypres: from Nieuwpoort to Ploegsteert

[Chris_Baker]

Ypres: from Nieuwpoort to Ploegsteert

by Jon Cooksey and Jerry Murland

published by Pen & Sword Military, 2012 according to the book but I suspect 2013 in reality

ISBN 978 1 84884 793 4

cover price – £12.99

paperback, 222pp plus appendices and index

reviewed by Chris Baker

This is the first of what publisher Pen & Sword bills as a series known as "Battle Lines: the Western Front by car, by bike and on foot". As the title suggests, this one covers the battle area of Flanders all the way from Nieuwpoort on the coast down to Ploegsteert on the French border, and does so by describing 25 tours, varying from 2 to 30 miles in length.

The would-be battlefield tourist is not short of choice when it comes to the Ypres area. The late Rose Coombs' "Before Endeavours Fade"; the Holt's excellent guides to the Western Front North and to Ypres itself; many titles in the Battleground Europe series (also a Pen & Sword product) and more. Does the world need another? Is there a new niche for "Battle Lines"?

Cooksey and Murland - both well known to P&S buyers, having each had several titles published - set out to provide the independent battlefield tourist with some practical advice and good tours that take in the main sights. Each tour is a circuit and the tourist, armed with the author's descriptions of the distances and a guide to how difficult the terrain is, can make their own judgements as to whether to do it on foot or on wheels. The tours are described in the narrative and by clear sketch maps, although for anyone unfamiliar with the area they would also be well advised to have a good road map with them.

The authors are to be congratulated for opening with three routes that cover the battlefields of the Yser, for the most part in the sector of the Belgian army through the war. This is an area not often visited by British and Commonwealth tourists, it seems, and well worth a day or two. From there on south the area is obviously a well known one, possibly the region of the western Front that receives the greatest volume of such visitors: the places visited will be known to many. Langemarck, Passchendaele, Hooge, Messines .... they are all covered and certainly the new battlefield visitor (and indeed some more experienced hands) will gain a good feel for the area.

The tours take in the main cemeteries, memorials, museums and other sites of interest. Given that each tour is described in only perhaps 5 or 6 pages of narrative (and in a small format book) it is perhaps not surprising that the historical content, describing what went on and why, is fairly shallow. A good deal of text is devoted to describing notable figures in the cemeteries, particularly VC winners and some of those "shot at dawn". As such I am not sure it would make such good reading for the armchair tourist as the "Battleground Europe" books often do; it is more one to take with you or dip into when planning a trip.

The book is very nicely produced in glossy paper with many colour photographs: not at all bad for a cover price of £12.99 (although I see the much more extensive Coombs' work is about the same now and more narrowly focused "Battleground Europe" books can usually be had for about half as much). To me, it is disappointing to see that it is printed in India - but perhaps that is the only way to keep production costs at an affordable level for this physical quality of book.

So how does "Battle Lines" stack up as a concept? It is not as in-depth or readable as a "Battleground Europe" study of an area; it is not as broad or comprehensive as Coombs or Holt's. But it does provide a good and reliable set of suggested tours for a region and imparts the highlights well. It will be interesting to see how the series develops.

[BIFFO]

Nieuwpoort to Ploegsteert

By car-by bike and on foot

Any one wanting to explore Ypres and surrounding area will find this book of value, there are 24 different recommended routes

It is very similar to Paul Reeds walking the salient, it is on pen & sword web site but I bought mine cheaper through GWF Amazon link

Biff