A PIVOTAL battle which claimed a huge death toll in the First World War comes under the microscope of military expert John Sadler later this month.

The Battle of Loos in 1915 resulted in 600,000 Allied and German soldiers being killed or injured.

It will be the subject of a talk by Mr Sadler, a Fellow of the Royal Society, at the Durham Light Infantry (DLI) Museum and Durham Art Gallery, on Saturday, September 22.

The battle was part of a series of unsuccessful offensives that year to try to break the stalemate on the Western Front.

Loos, in northern France, became the centre of one of the war's most intensive battles.

Mr Sadler will outline that if initial gains had been exploited, the course of the war could have been different.

Some historians have said Loos was an unnecessary battle, fought as part of a commitment to Britain's French allies, rather than in any serious expectation of a major breakthrough.

It saw the first major British attempt to use poison gas and was fought over unfavourable ground against stiff and well-entrenched German opposition.

It went on to seal the fate of Commander-in-Chief Sir John French.

Mr Sadler has given several talks at the DLI and other museums.

He attended the 90th anniversary commemoration in September 2005, with members of the DLI Association.

Tickets for his talk, which starts at 2pm, cost £4.35, with concessions £3.25 and children £2.45.

For more information, phone 0191-384-2214.