Review as featured in

Classic Military Vehicle

 "This is a fine addition to the historiography of American and Australian troops in World War I. Those readers interested in Americans fighting under British command will greatly appreciate Blair’s detailed focus in this book."

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Argunners

While little of detail has been written on this desperately fought battle since the publication of the Australian official history and the corresponding American volume, The Battle for Bellicourt Tunnel presents a straightforward, fair and balanced account, that while generally following Bean's views, provides added emphasis to the part played by the American II Corps and the German defenders.

The Battle of Bellicourt Tunnel: Tommies, Diggers and Doughboys on the Hindenburg Line, 1918 fills a void in the historiography of the Great War in providing a succinct, one volume account of a little known and severe action that rehabilitates the efforts of the doughboys of the American II Corps, highlights the extent of the German defence, and shows the fractures appearing in the battle experienced but depleted and exhausted Australian Corps. It is a story worth reading.

Australian Army Journal

A scholarly and forensic account...this is a quality book with some impressive research which questions conventional wisdom. For me, that makes it an important contribution to First World War literature.

Burton Mail

The author finds that this battle's disappointing results arose from an underestimation of the fighting qualities and stamina of opposing German forces and an overestimation of the abilities of raw American infantry.

The Listening Post, Pacific Coast Branch of The Western Front Association

The Battle of Bellicourt Tunnel is a commendably succinct and sharp account of a 'British' battle fought by American, Australian and British divisions.

Stand To! Western Front Association

This is a detailed and very well researched account of a significant but often overlooked battle on the Western Front and a valuable examination of one of the last German successes of the war, and of one of the first attempts at coalition warfare involved the up and coming Americans.

History of War

The book is an outstanding account of this battle... The author has performed a great service to historians and this book will no doubt become the foremost authority on the effects of the coalition and the battle they fought.

Dr Stuart C Blank MilitaryArchiveResearch.com

In 1918 the British Expeditionary Force fought a series of victorious battles on the Western Front that ultimately led to the defeat of the German army. That the British did so as part of a coalition and the role of Australian "Diggers" and US "Doughboys" is often forgotten. The Bellicourt Tunnel attack, fought in the fading autumn light, was very much an inter-Allied affair and marked a unique moment in the Allied armies' endeavours.

Britain at War Magazine

The Battle of Bellicourt Tunnel was a unique moment for the British and was the first time such a sizeable force of American troops was involved in fighting for a British Army. This book reappraises the entire battle, challenges received wisdom and sheds new light on events as the Germans fought the Americans to a standstill and forced the Australians to employ all their hard earned skills and wartime experience for the next three days to salvage a potentially disastrous situation.

The author takes the reader through the entire course of events, with good research and sound reasoning, and finally concludes by rejecting the long-held given explanation for the mission's failure. This is very well written and extremely well researched and is one of those books which is well worth reading. 10/10.

Mark Marsay

This is very well written and extremely well researched and is one of those books which is well worth reading. Highly Recommended 10/10

Great War Magazine

Professor Gary Sheffield's endorsement of the book calls it a distinguished contribution to the military history of the First World War. It is - I welcome this book and enjoyed it.

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