The 16th (Irish) and 36th (Ulster) Divisions at the Battle of Wijtschate - Messines Ridge, 1917

Published by the Royal Dublin Fusliers Association in Dublin in 2007, 292 pages. Paperback (N8296)

This book is a fascinating and immensley detailed account of the 16th (Irish) and 36th (Ulster) divisions during the battle of Messines Ridge...

At 3.10 am on the 7th of June 1917, soldiers from Ireland re-took the German occupied Flemish village of Wijtschate, which the soldiers called 'Whitesheet'. This engagement was the last time that Loyalist Ulstermen and Irish Nationalists fought side by side in large numbers against a common enemy, and during the battle the two Divisions took all their objectives in one of the most successful large-scale operations of the Great War....

This book is fully illustrated throughout with lots of colour photographs and maps, and is a tour guide to the battlefield where the two Irish divisions fought, as well as the billet areas where the men of the divisions prepared for the attack. It describes the battle in immense detail, and is widely regarded as one of the definitive accounts of this particular engagement.

From the rear side cover: During the afternoon of 7 June 1917, Field companies of Royal Engineers attached to both Irish divisions worked together to consolidate their gains. Major Boyle of the 150th Field Company RE attached to the Ulster Division didn't miss the political significance of his men working together with men from the 16th (Irish) Division's Munster Fusiliers.

He subsequently wrote: Number one Section I found had not been able to start work owing to hostile shelling. Lieut. Thorne was just starting them in conjunction with 16th Division Royal Munster Fusiliers. So Ulster and the South of Ireland consolidate a position. The Orange and Green working together and blended well.

The condition of the book is generally very good. The cover has one or two very minor scuffs and some light wear along the edges and corners, but the spine is tight and intact, and all pages are clean, intact, unblemished and tightly bound.