Biggles' Big Battle is a short story which was first published in The Modern Boy Issue 332, 16th June 1934. The story was subsequently gathered and published in 1935 in the Boys' Friend Library edition of Biggles Learns to Fly where it spanned chapters 17 and 18.
The original Modern Boy short story was divided into three sections with subtitles Ready for the "Show"!, I've Had About Enough!, and "Share This Amongst You!". The 1935 BFL edition split the story at the beginning of the third section and used the headings Ready for the "Show"! and "Share This Amongst You!". Subsequent editions such as Brockhampton, Armada and Red Fox retained the split and used the chapter headings The "Show" and Dirty Work. The Norman Wright edition reverted to the original format in The Modern Boy as one chapter, using the original title and subtitles.
Synopsis[]
169 Squadron, newly re-equipped with the Bristol Fighter, mounts several days of protracted ground attack operations in support of a British offensive. The aircrewmen are all exhausted. Biggles and Mark Way end up being shot down.
Plot[]
(may contain spoilers - click on expand to read)
Characters[]
- Biggles
- Mark Way
- Major Paynter
- Curtiss
- Captain Mapleton
Aircraft[]
- Bristol Fighter
Places[]
Visited[]
- 169 Squadron, St. Peille
- Section of the front
Mentioned[]
- Rouen
Editorial Changes[]
- In the original text, the British Tommy who throws a grenade into the dugout is Irish. This reference to him being Irish is removed in the editions from Brockhampton to Red Fox. It is not clear why this was done.
Other Research Notes[]
Incongruities[]
Chronology[]
(see also table at Timeline of the Biggles Stories)
- As with the previous story in the sequence, an April to May 1917 timeframe is appropriate. Historically, the Battle of Arras, a British offensive, took place from 9th April to 16th May and this could well have been the offensive 169 Sqn was supporting. Biggles notices tanks on the battlefield. After the Somme in 1916, Arras was the second time tanks were employed during the attack.
Publication History[]
- The Modern Boy, Issue 332, 16th June 1934
- Biggles Learns to Fly, Boy's Friend Library 1935 (as Chapter 17: Ready for the "Show"! and Chapter 18: "Share This Amongst You!")
- Biggles Learns to Fly, Brockhampton, 1955 (Chapter 11: The "Show" and Chapter 12: Dirty Work)
- Biggles Learns to Fly, Armada, 1963, and subsequent reprints (Chapter 11 and 12)
- Biggles Learns to Fly, Severn House, 1980
- Biggles Learns to Fly, Knight, 1986, and subsequent reprints
- Biggles Learns to Fly, Red Fox, 1992, and subsequent reprints (Chapter 12: The "Show" and Chapter 13: Dirty Work)
- Biggles Learns to Fly, Norman Wright, 2010