Synopses & Reviews
Gilbert has unearthed fascinating details of the campaign . . . An unforgettable read.”The Philadelphia Inquirer At 7:30 a.m. on July 1, 1916, the first Allied soldiers climbed out of their trenches along the Somme River in France and charged into no-mans-land, toward the barbed wire and machine guns at the German front lines. In the months that followed, the fifteen-mile-long territory erupted into the epicenter of the Great War, marking a pivotal moment in both the war and military history as tanks first appeared on the battlefield and air war emerged as a devastating and decisive factor in battle. All told, there were more than one million casualties, with 310,000 men dead in just 138 days.
In this vivid account of one of historys most destructive battles, distinguished historian Martin Gilbert tracks the experiences of foot soldiers, generals, and everyone in between. With new photographs, journal entries, original maps, and military planning documents, The Somme is the most authoritative and affecting account of this bloody turning point in the Great War. Sir Martin Gilbert was knighted in 1995 for services to British history and international relations.” The author of an eight-volume biography of Winston Churchill, among his other books are Churchill: A Life, The First World War, The Second World War, and most recently The Somme. He lives in London, England. At 7:30 in the morning on July 1, 1916, tens of thousands of Allied soldiers advanced across no-man's land north and south of the Somme River in France toward the barbed wire and machine guns of the German front lines.
By the end of this first day of the Allied attack, the British army alone had lost 20,000 men. In the coming four and a half months, the fifteen-mile stretch of fields and villages along the Somme became the epicenter of the Great War. This desperate battle was a turning point in both the war and in military history, as the combatants saw the first appearance of tanks on the battlefield, the emergence of air war as a formidable factor in battle, and more than one million casualties (among them a young Adolf Hitler, who was wounded in the leg). In just 138 days of fighting, an average of more than 2,000 men per day were killed, 310,000 in all. The Allied forces alone lost nearly 150,000 men. And not one of the Allied objectives of the first day was reached.
In this researched account of one of history's longest and most destructive military confrontations, the distinguished historian Martin Gilbert tracks the Battle of the Somme through the experiences of foot soldiers (known to the British as the PBI, for Poor Bloody Infantry), generals, aviators, artillerymen, and nurses. Interwoven with outstanding photographs, journal entries, maps, and documents from every stage and level of planning, The Somme is an account of this bloody turning point in the Great War. "Ninety years ago, Allied soldiers clambered into no-man's land and charged the Germans at the Somme; 20,000 British soldiers would die in a single day, and 300,000 soldiers were lost on both sides in the next several months. A noteworthy historian offers what should be the definitive account."Library Journal "What is most moving in [Gilbert's] account is the way he punctuates each part of the narrative with the tale of a single soldier's experience, a short biography that captures a lost life in surviving words . . . Easily achieves his modest goal of 'perpetuating the memory of those who fought and those who fell.'"Robert Messenger, The Weekly Standard "Ninety years ago, Allied soldiers clambered into no-man's land and charged the Germans at the Somme; 20,000 British soldiers would die in a single day, and 300,000 soldiers were lost on both sides in the next several months. A noteworthy historian offers what should be the definitive account."Library Journal "The Great War is now viewed by many as a pointless, pitiless meat grinder that sacrificed a generation of men to no worthwhile moral purpose. If one accepts that premise, then the Battle of the Somme can serve as exhibit A. Ninety years ago, Allied (primarily British) and German troops began a five-month slugfest in northwest France. The battle, which saw the first widespread use of tanks, was contested by two million troops along a 30-mile front. When it was over, it had cost both sides a combined million casualties, with virtually no territorial gain. Gilbert, a renowned historian and biographer, utilizes the journals and memoirs of the participants to convey the savagery and horror of the battle, and he also effectively explains how the battle fit into the broader strategic objectives of the adversaries. At times, the relentless slaughter conveyed in Gilbert's narrative is mind numbing, but this is a masterful work that should be read by anyone who wishes to understand the futility of the 'war to end all wars.'"Jay Freeman, Booklist
"The four-monthlong battle of the Somme epitomized the futile bloodletting on the western front, with 19,000 advancing British soldiers killed by the Germans on the very first day. From the impersonality of this mechanized slaughter, Gilbert, dean of First and Second World War historians, strives to recover the pathos of personal experience by spotlighting the exploits and travails of various small units and individual soldiers, mostly on the British side. He brings them to life through firsthand accounts, reminiscences by comrades, poignant letters home and snatches of soldiers' poetry, always ending his vignettes with a notice of where the soldiers discussed lie buriedor at least memorialized, since the bodies of 73,000 of the dead were never identified. (Many excellent, very detailed maps of both the battlefield and the resulting cemeteries are included.) . . . His superbly written, absorbing recreations of innumerable small life-and-death struggles makes the book a fitting commemoration of the tragedy."Publishers Weekly
Synopsis
"Gilbert has unearthed fascinating details of the campaign . . . An unforgettable read."--The Philadelphia Inquirer At 7:30 a.m. on July 1, 1916, the first Allied soldiers climbed out of their trenches along the Somme River in France and charged into no-man's-land, toward the barbed wire and machine guns at the German front lines. In the months that followed, the fifteen-mile-long territory erupted into the epicenter of the Great War, marking a pivotal moment in both the war and military history as tanks first appeared on the battlefield and air war emerged as a devastating and decisive factor in battle. All told, there were more than one million casualties, with 310,000 men dead in just 138 days.
In this vivid account of one of history's most destructive battles, distinguished historian Martin Gilbert tracks the experiences of foot soldiers, generals, and everyone in between. With new photographs, journal entries, original maps, and military planning documents, The Somme is the most authoritative and affecting account of this bloody turning point in the Great War.
About the Author
Sir Martin Gilbert was knighted in 1995 "for services to British history and international relations." Among his many books are The First World War, The Second World War, The Day the War Ended, and Churchill: A Life. He lives in London, England.