First Day of the Somme

Description

A groundbreaking history of the first, horrific day of one of the most notorious, bloody offensives of all time, from its inept planning to its disastrous execution. It took several million bullets and roughly half an hour to destroy General Sir Douglas Haig's grand plans for the first day of the Somme, 1 July 1916. By day's end 19,240 British soldiers were dead, crumpled khaki bundles scattered across pasture studded with the scarlet of poppies and smouldering shell holes. A further 38,230 were wounded. This single sunny day remains Britain's worst-ever military disaster, both numerically and statistically more deadly than the infamous charge of the Light Brigade at Balaklava in 1854. Responsible were hundreds of German machineguns and artillery batteries waiting silently to deal death to the long-anticipated attack. Someone had blundered. Working back from the "butcher's bill" of mass casualties on the battlefield, to the inept planning in London's Whitehall, the author penetrates the "fog of war" to explain how and why this was a human disaster waiting to happen. Told fully from both the British and German perspectives for the first time, this book sheets home blame for the butchery (a total of almost 60 thousand casualties) directly to widespread British intelligence and command failure. It further finds the outcome was very definitely a German victory over a so-called British defeat, and, again for the first time, identifies how talented German commanders mostly outclassed their opposite numbers and inflicted the galling bloodletting. Taking that terrible first day of battle as his focus, Andrew Macdonald casts new and damning light on the true causes of the disaster. Published in time for the hundredth anniversary commemoration of the Battle of the Somme in July 2016, this is a major contribution to World War I history and an epic story of courage, misery and endurance in its own right.

Get the book

Amazon.com

Search the book

eBay.com

Search the book

Other editions

• 

  First Day of the Somme

  • 2016-04-01
  • - pages
  • Paperback
  • HarperCollins

Similar books

• 

  National Geographic Guide to the Civil War National Battlefield Parks

  By Gary W. Gallagher, National Geographic Society, A. Wilson Greene

  Thirty-seven newly commissioned, easy-to-read maps lead readers to each Civil War battle site and are accompanied by discussions of what occurred during each confrontation. 10,000 first printing.

• 

  Civil War Sites in the Eastern Theater

  By Michael Gleason

  From Bailey's Store , continue south on Va . 663 for 5 miles to Stevensburg . There was a separate cavalry battle at Stevensburg in June 1863 during the Brandy Station action . USA Gen. Alfred Nattie Duffie , led a division that ...

• 

  Stories of Canadian Battlefields

  By Edward Butts

  Stories of Canadian Battlefields

• 

  Native Lands: The West of the American Indian 1982-1992

  By Andrew Hogarth

  University of Nebraska , Lincoln , 1978 . Howard , James H. THE WARRIOR WHO KILLED CUSTER . University of Nebraska , Lincoln , 1976 . Kadlecek , Edward and Mabell . TO KILL AN EAGLE : Indian Views on the Last Days of Crazy Horse .

• 

  Florida Civil War Heritage Trail

  "Includes a background essay on the history of the Civil War in Florida, a timeline of events, 31 sidebars on important Florida topics, issues and individuals of the period, and a selected bibliography.

• 

  25 Best Civil War Sites

  By Clint Johnson

  This guide brings history to life with richly detailed, engaging descriptions of the most important battle sites, museums, and reenactuments.

• 

  Touring Virginia's and West Virginia's Civil War Sites

  By Clint Johnson

  Touring Virginia's and West Virginia's Civil War Sites will take you to them. Included here are the sites where the first soldiers from North and South died.

• 

  The War Walk: A Journey Along the Western Front

  By Nigel H. Jones

  The War Walk: A Journey Along the Western Front

• 

  Civil War Battlefields and Landmarks: A Guide to the National Park Sites : with Official National Park Service Maps for...

  By Frank E. Vandiver

  Discusses Fort Sumter, Manassas, Harpers Ferry, Antietam, Richmond, Gettysburg, Appomattox Court House, Shiloh, Vicksburg, Chickamauga, and more.

• 

  Jeff Shaara's Civil War Battlefields: Discovering America's Hallowed Ground

  By Jeff Shaara

  A collection of narratives that describe ten Civil War battlefields including Vicksburg, Gettysburg, and Shiloh; along with historical footnotes about each site, photographs, and detailed maps.