One hundred years ago this week, the British Army endured its bloodiest day – and the Battle of the Somme began. ... Would the slow-moving attackers reach the German front line before the defenders had emerged from deep dugouts and manned their machine-guns? In most .... It deserves to be read. read more
I have read a couple and been underwhelmed. No great strategist has ever taken up the topic. I think it is a hard story to tell. To me, in the end, the story is about an attack that overran its logistical support. read more
T aylor Downing’s Breakdown: The Crisis of Shell Shock on the Somme, 1916 (Little, Brown, £25) concentrates on the official response to the epidemic of shell shock, or combat stress, that occurred during the 140-day battle, the most intense and long-running fight in the British Army’s history. read more
On the first day of The Battle of the Somme the British suffered more than 57,500 casualties and by the time it ended, in November 1916, more than one million men had been wounded or killed. We've collected together the most insightful, harrowing and thought-provoking fiction and non-fiction books on one of the most notorious conflicts of the 20th century. read more