Somme is still on record as the largest number of deaths in any one day in any war. This book explores the myths of this infamous battle and explains the underlying causes of the conflict, as well as the use of mines, tunnels, gas and flame throwers by the British in combination with innovative tactics such as smoke. Covering the first day of the Somme, Andrew Robertshaw analyses the battle through November, explaining how British battle tactics developed as a result of the experience of the Somme. He provides an overview of the events along the entire frontline, examining the actions of two British Corps, VIII at Serre and XIII at Montauban, to determine why the Somme epitomised the proverbial double-edged sword.
Somme is still on record as the largest number of deaths in any one day in any war. This book explores the myths of this infamous battle and explains the underlying causes of the conflict, as well as the use of mines, tunnels, gas and flame throwers by the British in combination with innovative tactics such as smoke. Covering the first day of the Somme, Andrew Robertshaw analyses the battle through November, explaining how British battle tactics developed as a result of the experience of the Somme. He provides an overview of the events along the entire frontline, examining the actions of two British Corps, VIII at Serre and XIII at Montauban, to determine why the Somme epitomised the proverbial double-edged sword.
Introduction
Chronology
Background to the Campaign
Opposing Plans
Opposing Commanders
Opposing Forces
The Campaign
Aftermath
The Battlefield Today
Bibliography
Index
Andrew Robertshaw is Director for Education at the
National Army Museum and is currently working with Whitehall on
their Household Cavalry museum project. He has presented numerous
programmes on the First World War for the BBC and Channel 4; he is
currently working on 'Finding the Fallen' for the Discovery
Channel. In 1997 he published A Soldier's Life (Heinemann/Penguin).
He frequently lectures on battlefield archaeology and the First
World War, and is Chair of 'No Man's Land', the European Group for
First World War Archaeology. He lives in Surrey.
Peter Dennis was born in 1950. Inspired by contemporary
magazines such as ‘Look and Learn’, he studied illustration at
Liverpool Art College. Peter has since contributed to hundreds of
books, predominantly on historical subjects. He is a keen wargamer
and modelmaker.
"This brief account of that day, the first of a battle that would drag on for several months, sets the Somme in its larger context of World War I history. It explains the reasons for the disaster and discusses the British and German successes of that day. The book includes orders of battle for the BEF, French, and German units engaged, brief bibliography, and a description of the battlefield today." --Thomas R. Kailbourn, Military Trader Magazine
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