THIS paperback has been released to coincide with the start of the third battle of Ypres, more commonly known as Passchendaele.

The authors chart the battle from its opening on July 31, 1917, when British troops attempted to break out of the Ypres Salient.

The ensuing battle, which raged for months in the most appalling conditions, came to epitomise the futility of the whole First World War.

This illuminating book gives a global overview of the battle, while getting down to ground level to give graphic accounts of the horrors encountered, in the words of men who were there.