Passchendaele

Requiem for Doomed Youth

By: Paul Ham

Narrated by: Robert Meldrum

Length: 17 hrs and 1 min

Publisher's summary

From Paul Ham, winner of the NSW Premier's Prize for Australian History, comes the story of ordinary men in the grip of a political and military power struggle that determined their fate and has foreshadowed the destiny of the world for a century.

Passchendaele epitomises everything that was most terrible about the Western Front. The photographs never sleep of this four-month battle, fought from July to November 1917, the worst year of the war: blackened tree stumps rising out of a field of mud, corpses of men and horses drowned in shell holes, terrified soldiers huddled in trenches awaiting the whistle.

The intervening century, the most violent in human history, has not disarmed these pictures of their power to shock. At the very least they ask us, on the 100th anniversary of the battle, to see and to try to understand what happened here. Yes, we commemorate the event. Yes, we adorn our breasts with poppies. But have we seen? Have we understood? Have we dared to reason why? What happened at Passchendaele was the expression of the 'wearing-down war', the war of pure attrition at its most spectacular and ferocious.

Paul Ham's Passchendaele: Requiem for Doomed Youth shows how ordinary men on both sides endured this constant state of siege, with a very real awareness that they were being gradually, deliberately, wiped out. Yet the men never broke: they went over the top, when ordered, again and again and again. And if they fell dead or wounded, they were casualties in the 'normal wastage', as the commanders described them, of attritional war. Only the soldier's friends at the front knew him as a man, with thoughts and feelings. His family back home knew him as a son, husband or brother, before he had enlisted. By the end of 1917 he was a different creature: his experiences on the Western Front were simply beyond their powers of comprehension.

The audiobook tells the story of ordinary men in the grip of a political and military power struggle that determined their fate and has foreshadowed the destiny of the world for a century. Passchendaele lays down a powerful challenge to the idea of war as an inevitable expression of the human will, and examines the culpability of governments and military commanders in a catastrophe that destroyed the best part of a generation.

©2016 Paul Ham, Produced by arrangement with Penguin Random House Australia Pty Ltd (P)2016 Bolinda Publishing Pty Ltd

Critic reviews

"Provocative and challenging.... A voice that is both vigorous and passionate." ( The Times)

Conscious Military History

This is a book about the cold realities of modern warfare. What a waste of young lives. There had to be a better way for nations to settle disputes. I think that military histories that glorify war and pedestalize the glorious warrior are doing a disservice to humanity.

This book is well-researched, well-written, and the audiobook is well-performed. Most importantly - I learned a lot.

an excellent read

An excellent read and very informative about a battle that doesnt quite get the press it deserves. 3rd Ypre is as important as Verdun and The Somme.

Excellent

There was a lot more going on during that battle than I had learned before.

story quite touching and horrifying

the lessons of war are constantly forgotten. this book examines the cost of wars of attrition and the particular horror of trench warfare. The narration is wonderful and the tone is heartfelt.

Unbelievably Detailed

"Passchendaele: Requiem For Doomed Youth" truly sums up everything it is in the title. Paul Ham did an unbelievable job in his research and narrative. What happened during the war was truly beyond awful, so awful the reader can't even comprehend it. From the debacles and mismanagement by Prime Ministers, generals, and others, who should have worked to stop the unparalleled carnage, to the bravery of the men who fought knowing they would likely die, the book leaves nothing out. And after all the battles before, Passchendaele (Third battle of the Ypres) in 1917 was a scene of the most senseless slaughter. This narrative moves the reader in ways that few other books can.

Robert Meldrum's narration is perfect for this most real horror story. There is a reason why they say WWI propagated the horror culture. What a wonderful work.

Passchendaele

Five stars are not enough, wish now I could visit these hallowed grounds to pay my respects in person.

Wow just wow.

an amazing book well told about the horrors of the great war and the human sacrifice that happened during this battle.

Very compelling - good story, good narration

Like many I am sure, I have read + listened to a lot of World War ! and World War 2 books. Not sure why I chose this book ( somewhat on impulse) as, of late, I have "moved" out of these two eras in search of other histories - Napoleon, Rome, American Civil War etc. But I ended up being enthralled ( engaged) with "Passchendaele". Mr Ham is an excellent story teller, both about the leaders ( Lloyd -George, Haig) and the war as experienced by "ordinary soldiers". His writing is clear, precise, opinionated ( in a good way) and ( at times) moving.

As a Canadian, I am embarrassed to say I knew little about Passchendaele ( this, along with Vimy Ridge, is considered a battle in which the Canadians stood out ( and stood apart from the British for a change) and Mr Ham does a good job in outlining their role. Although notionally told from an "Aussie" viewpoint, "Passchendaele" is really about this one senseless battle in the context of the whole war ( the latter which he explains in background as we proceed)

Mr Meldrums narration added to my enjoyment.

An excellent book

Pathos & objectivity?

It is difficult to find a history of The Great War that is objective. I have read and listened to a plethora of work on The Great War, most of them being good histories, however being typical in that they perpetuate myths and legends, over exaggerate certain events without much insight (in order to create a misrepresentation of the truth) and that overall take a biased approach to the war that has been difficult for historians to avoid since allied propaganda (following the great war) and the subsequent atrocities carried out by Germany in the second war. Paul Ham's account of Passchendaele takes a rare objective look into the events surrounding the battle and the war in general. The story of the troops who fought (on both sides) is recounted beautifully and with an absence of bias that is hard to come by. He also dispels many myths and distortions of truth that were created by the Entente during the war for the purpose of propaganda. "Ring of Steel" by Alexander Watson is another great work that I would recommend to someone looking for another angle on the war, as well as a more objective one. I would highly recommend this audiobook as it is well written, full of important details, and narrated well.

Passchendaele: A Crucial WWI battle.

If you could sum up Passchendaele in three words, what would they be?

Interesting, detailed description of failed tactics and strategies and homage to the hundreds of thousands of young men courageously following foolish officers.

What did you like best about this story?

The details about why certain strategies were unworkable. The descriptions of the gas poisonings were horrific but also informative.

What about Robert Meldrum’s performance did you like?

Clear diction. However, pace was a bit predictable. Sing song rhythm a bit distracting.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

All the accounts of young men's desperate attempts to survive such unspeakably diabolical circumstances.

Any additional comments?

Not for the faint hearted. Graphic, but necessarily so if one wants an accurate understanding of this goliath battle.