world reviewer
Anthony Harrison
My interest in battlefields developed when I was around ten with the stories my grandfathers used to tell about fighting in and living through war, one in Britain and one in Germany. Though not disposed to be a soldier myself I have retained the interest in military strategy and the history of wars. As a side line to my main work as a GP I run small bespoke battlefield tours focusing mainly on pinpointing battles within the war politically as well as describing the actual event itself. I have found that there has been a resurgence in interest about battlefield history and many of the younger generation are accessing their past through these dramatic moments in history which goes against the battles fought in our schools today over history lessons. I hope in that during my fast upcoming retirement I am able to begin to write a book about my experiences touring battlefields juxtaposed with those who experienced the original event and hopefully inspire a few more inquiring minds.
Anthony Harrison's activity
- 09 May 2008
Anthony Harrison reviewed Nivelle Offensive, April 1917 in North East France, France
Continuing my reviews of great battlefields of the Great War’s Western Front I give you the Nivelle Offensive. After the blood baths at Verdun and the Somme the thinking from the top of the French Army was that an all out push on the German lines (the H…"
- 08 May 2008
Anthony Harrison reviewed Battle of Fromelles 19-20th July 1916 in North East France, France
This was just one field and chapter of the Somme, conducted on the 19th and 20th of July 1916 south of the Somme front about the town of Fromelles. Worth adding to this list for two reasons. The first relates to the current time: there had long been ru…"
- 07 May 2008
Anthony Harrison reviewed The Battle of Passchendaele in Flemish, Belgium
One tiny town, Passchendaele, Flanders, was at the centre of this battle, and by the end of it there was nothing worth wining left. One of the major battles of the Ypres campaign, Passchendaele is known to some as Third Ypres. It took place between Jun…"
- 06 May 2008
Anthony Harrison reviewed The Somme in North East France, France
The Somme is one of the most grim of all the grim battlefields on France’s Western Front. Fought between the first of July and November 1916, its most shocking moments were at the onset when wave after wave after wave of British and French troops went o…"
- 21 Aug 2007
Anthony Harrison reviewed Battlefield of Blenheim in Karlsruhe, Germany
This Battle was won by the Duke of Marlborough's strategic mind and his and his allied partners ability to function as one army. 30,000 French lives were lost and around 15,000 allied men were killed or injured making it a significant battle when it com…"
- 20 Aug 2007
- 17 Aug 2007
Anthony Harrison reviewed Battle of Waterloo Battlefield in Brussels, Belgium
The night of the 17th of June 1815 was wet and both Napoleon’s French Grande Army and the Allied Army of British, Dutch, Belgian, Prussian and German soldiers sat in the mud and rain on either sides of the plain where the battle of Waterloo was to take p…"
- 15 Aug 2007
Anthony Harrison reviewed The Gettysburg Battlefield in US East Coast, United States
This very famous battle of the American Civil War is remembered for it’s large numbers of casualties and is believed by many historians to have been the turning point in hostilities. The outcome, decided over the course of three days in July 1863 was t…"
- 09 Aug 2007
Anthony Harrison reviewed Location of the Battle of Dunbar in Scotland, United Kingdom
This battle was the last opportunity for the Scottish to defeat the English army under Oliver Cromwell, but it was squandered by intervention for the church. A memorial is on site besides the main cavalry action that turned the tide of the battle and th…"
Anthony Harrison reviewed Battlefield of Bannockburn in Scotland, United Kingdom
This was one of the major battles in the Scottish Wars of Independence and was where Robert Bruce secured his crown. The memorial to the battle which stands on the site is an abstract rotunda, yet graceful with it‘s flagpole. There is also a statue of …"
Anthony Harrison reviewed Battle, site of the Battle of Hastings in South East England, United Kingdom
Significant historically as the final battle for foreign rule of the British Isles, Saxon, King Harold II and William, Duke of Normandy met on a field six miles outside of Hastings on the 14th of October 1066 and though there was a reverberation of Saxon…"
- 07 Aug 2007
Anthony Harrison reviewed Location of the Battle of Agincourt in North East France, France
The story of Agincourt and King Henry’s plans to substantiate his claim on the French throne across a narrow muddy, recently tiled field with an army starved, march weary and suffering from sever dysentery is a powerful tale of true chivalry and bravery …"
