A01=Peter Hart
acclaimed historian
aerial combat
air war
aircrafts in the Great War
Albert Ball
Author_Peter Hart
Battle of Arras
British Army
Category=JWCM
Category=NHB
Category=NHD
Category=NHWR5
dominance of the Red Baron
eq_bestseller
eq_history
eq_isMigrated=1
eq_nobargain
eq_non-fiction
First World War
forthcoming
German Albatros scouts
military history
PASSCHENDAELE
Royal Flying Corps
testimonies from war pilots
the Great War
THE SOMME
Western Front
Product details
- ISBN 9781399643443
- Dimensions: 129 x 198mm
- Publication Date: 05 Nov 2026
- Publisher: Orion Publishing Co
- Publication City/Country: GB
- Product Form: Paperback
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From acclaimed military historian Peter Hart, discover a story of heroism and sacrifice in the skies over Arras, 1917
Readers say:
'A must for any military history or aviation buff. Excellent' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
'A truly worthy account of the sacrifices made by the brave men of the RFC' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
'An exciting and emotional journey' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
As the Allies embarked upon the Battle of Arras - a British offensive on the Western Front in April 1917 - they desperately needed accurate aerial reconnaissance photographs. But by this point in the First World War, pilots from the Royal Flying Club were flying obsolete planes.
The new German Albatros fighters massively outclassed them in every respect: speed, armament, ability to withstand punishment and manoeuvrability. Many of the RFC's pilots were straight out of flying school; as they took to the air, they were sitting targets for the experienced German aces.
Over the course of the air support operation that became known as 'Bloody April' the RFC suffered casualties of over a third. The average life expectancy of a new subaltern on the front line dropped to just eleven days. And yet they carried on flying, day after day, in the knowledge that - in the eyes of their commanders at least - their own lives meant nothing compared to the photographs they brought back, photographs that could save tens of thousands of soldiers on the ground.
In Bloody April, military historian Peter Hart tells the vital story of the air war over Arras with eyewitness accounts from the men who were actually there.
Peter Hart worked interviewing veterans as the Oral Historian of the Imperial War Museum since 1981. He is the author of several military history books on both world wars. His latest books are Footsloggers: An Infantry Battalion at War, 1939-45, Burning Steel; A Tank Regiment at War, 1939-45, and Chain of Fire: Campaigning in Egypt and the Sudan, 1882-1898. He is a tour guide to Gallipoli for both army and civilian groups and has appeared in numerous television programmes.
