Military historian Peter Barton begins by focusing on the events leading up to the offensive, including what the British got wrong and how much the Germans knew about British plans through the interrogation of prisoners.

Peter Barton examines the second phase of the battle, from mid-July to mid-September 1916. He reveals how an Allied advance that should have taken weeks lasted for months and the new tactics the Germans developed to respond.

Peter Barton concludes his history of the battle in the final months of the campaign. He shows how a German tactical revolution frustrated the Allied advance.