Early in 1917 Allied leaders planned a series of offensives that were to take place as part of a programme of intensive operations along the Western Front. These included the attacks at Vimy Ridge, Arras, the Aisne, Messines and Cambrai, culminating in the brutal combat on the sodden fields of Passchendaele. 1917- The Year of Offensives examines each of these in turn, focusing on wider themes such as the changing nature of generalship on the Western Front, the use of new tactics and technology and the strain that these offensives put on the Allied armies, generals and political leaders. With revolution tearing Russia apart and mutiny brewing in the ranks of the French Army, these offensives, which were designed to take Germany out of the war, came close to destroying the Allies ' capacity to fight it.
