Somme : Into the Breach / Hugh Sebag-Montefiore.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Sebag-Montefiore, Hugh, Author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

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

World War, 1914-1918--France--Personal narratives.

World War, 1914-1918.

World War, 1914-1918--Campaigns--France--Somme.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (680 pages) : illustrations, maps

Edition:

First Harvard University Press edition.

Place of Publication:

Cambridge, MA : Harvard University Press, [2016]

Language Note:

English

Summary:

The notion of battles as the irreducible building blocks of war demands a single verdict of each campaign--victory, defeat, stalemate. But this kind of accounting leaves no room to record the nuances and twists of actual conflict. In Somme: Into the Breach, the noted military historian Hugh Sebag-Montefiore shows that by turning our focus to stories of the front line--to acts of heroism and moments of both terror and triumph--we can counter, and even change, familiar narratives. Planned as a decisive strike but fought as a bloody battle of attrition, the Battle of the Somme claimed over a million dead or wounded in months of fighting that have long epitomized the tragedy and folly of World War I. Yet by focusing on the first-hand experiences and personal stories of both Allied and enemy soldiers, Hugh Sebag-Montefiore defies the customary framing of incompetent generals and senseless slaughter. In its place, eyewitness accounts relive scenes of extraordinary courage and sacrifice, as soldiers ordered "over the top" ventured into No Man's Land and enemy trenches, where they met a hail of machine-gun fire, thickets of barbed wire, and exploding shells. Rescuing from history the many forgotten heroes whose bravery has been overlooked, and giving voice to their bereaved relatives at home, Hugh Sebag-Montefiore reveals the Somme campaign in all its glory as well as its misery, helping us to realize that there are many meaningful ways to define a battle when seen through the eyes of those who lived it.-- Provided by publisher

Contents:

Frontmatter

Contents

List of Illustrations

List of Maps

Maps

Note to the Reader

1: Great Expectations

2: Paradise Lost

3: A Gentleman’s Agreement

4: The Build‑Up

5: Fatal Flaw

6: The First Blows

7: False Dawn

8: Hunter- Bunter’s Folly

9: Rattling the Cage

10: Neither Fish Nor Fowl

11: Achilles Heel

12: An Opportunity Missed

13: Of Moles and Men

14: Land of Hope and Glory

15: Bull’s Eye

16: The Attack

17: Repercussions

18: Can’t See the Wood for the Trees

19: Big Bang

20: Surrounded

21: Repulsed

22: A Terrible Mistake

23: Sacrifice of the Australians

24: The Charge

25: An Eye for an Eye

26: The Check

27: On Parole

28: Second Time Lucky

29: Counter-Attack

30: The Back Door

31: Butchers

32: The Human Factor

33: Shell- Shocked

34: Last Throw of the Dice

35: Bloodlust

36: The Caterpillars

37: Hard Times

38: Ambushed

39: Weather Permitting

Notes

Select Bibliography

Acknowledgements

Index

Notes:

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on online resource; title from PDF title page (publisher's Web site, viewed 23. Jul 2020)

ISBN:

0-674-97003-9

0-674-97001-2

OCLC:

952247277