The Somme / Gary Sheffield.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Sheffield, Gary, 1961-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Somme, 1st Battle of the, France, 1916.

Strategy.

Physical Description:

xvi, 192 pages : illustrations, maps, plans ; 22 cm

Place of Publication:

London : Cassell, 2003.

Summary:

On 1 July 1916, the British and French armies began a major offensive against German positions in the area of the River Somme. While there were some gains, across most of the British front the attack was a disaster. On the first day alone the British sustained 60,000 casualties -- the greatest loss in a single day ever suffered by the British Army. During the course of the next four and a half months over one million British, German and French soldiers were lost. By the time the offensive ended in mid-November, the Allied front line had moved forward a mere seven miles. Yet the Somme was not an unmitigated catastrophe. It relieved pressure on the French at Verdun, and ground down the strength and morale of the German Army, while the British underwent a bloody but steep learning curve. The Somme was a human tragedy, but an essential precondition to the Allied victory in 1918. In this compelling new study Gary Sheffield discusses the strategy that led to the Somme offensive, describes the bloody course of the battle, and analyses the consequences. Illustrated throughout with rare photographs and numerous colour maps, The Somme is a valuable reassessment of one of the most infamous battles of the First World War.

Contents:

1 The Road to the Somme 1

2 The First Day on the Somme 41

3 The Second Phase: July 1916 75

4 Attrition and Attempted Breakthrough, August to September 1916 97

5 Morval to the Ancre 125

6 The Aftermath 151

Appendix A Order of Battle of the BEF on the Somme (Infantry Divisions) 170

Appendix B German Order of Battle 181.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 182-187) and index.

ISBN:

0304357049

OCLC:

50842878

Online:

Publisher description