The First Day on the Somme
The First Day on the Somme
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Summary
On 1 July, 1916, a continuous line of British soldiers climbed out from the trenches of the Somme into No Man's Land and began to walk slowly towards dug-in German troops armed with machine-guns and defended by thick barbed wire. This is an account of the blackest day in the history of the British army.
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The First Day on the Somme by Martin Middlebrook
The soldiers receive the best service a historian can provide: their story is told in their own words - Guardian 'For some reason nothing seemed to happen to us at first; we strolled along as though walking in a park. Then, suddenly, we were in the midst of a storm of machine-gun bullets and I saw men beginning to twirl round and fall in all kinds of curious ways' On 1 July 1916, a continous line of British soldiers climbed out from the trenches of the Somme into No Man's Land and began to walk towards dug-in German troops armed with machine-guns. By the end of the day there were more than 60,000 British casualties - a third of them fatal. Martin Middlebrook's now-classic account of the blackest day in the history of the British army draws on official sources from the time, and on the words of hundreds of survivors: normal men, many of them volunteers, who found themselves thrown into a scene of unparalleled tragedy and horror.
The soldiers receive the best service a historian can provide: their story is told in their own words * Guardian *
A particularly vivid and personal narrative * Times Literary Supplement *
Pioneering and hauntingly eloquent -- Peter Parker * Spectator *
A particularly vivid and personal narrative * Times Literary Supplement *
Pioneering and hauntingly eloquent -- Peter Parker * Spectator *
Martin Middlebrook is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society and the author of many important books on military history including The Kaiser's Battle and The Falklands War 1982.
SKU | Unavailable |
ISBN 13 | 9780141981604 |
ISBN 10 | 0141981601 |
Title | The First Day on the Somme |
Author | Martin Middlebrook |
Condition | Unavailable |
Binding Type | Paperback |
Publisher | Penguin Books Ltd |
Year published | 2016-03-31 |
Number of pages | 464 |
Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
Note | Unavailable |