The First Day on the Somme

by Martin Middlebrook

Overview

A history of the British Army’s experience at the Battle of the Somme in France during World War I.

After an immense but useless bombardment, at 7:30 AM on July 1, 1916, the British Army went over the top and attacked the German trenches. It was the first day of the battle of the Somme, and on that day, the British suffered nearly 60,000 casualties, two for every yard of their front. With more than fifty times the daily losses at El Alamein and fifteen times the British casualties on D-day, July 1, 1916, was the blackest day in the history of the British Army. But, more than that, as Lloyd George recognized, it was a watershed in the history of the First World War. The Army that attacked on that day was the volunteer Army that had answered Kitchener’s call. It had gone into action confident of a decisive victory. But by sunset on the first day on the Somme, no one could any longer think of a war that might be won.

Martin Middlebrook’s research has covered not just official and regimental histories and tours of the battlefields, but interviews with hundreds of survivors, both British and German. As to the action itself, he conveys the overall strategic view and the terrifying reality that it was for front-line soldiers.

Praise for The First Day on the Somme

“The soldiers receive the best service a historian can provide: their story is told in their own words.” —The Guardian (UK)

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781473814240
Publisher:	Pen & Sword Books Limited
Publication date:	01/31/2020
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	352
Sales rank:	871,212
File size:	17 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

Martin Middlebrook has written many other books that deal with important turning-points in the two world wars, including The First Day on the Somme, Kaiser's Battle, The Peenemünde Raid, The Somme Battlefields (with Mary Middlebrook) and The Nuremberg Raid 30-31st March 1944 (all republished and in print with Pen & Sword).

Martin Middlebrook is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society and lives near Boston, Lincolnshire

Table of Contents

List of Maps vi

List of Plates vii

Abbreviations ix

The Men xi

Author's Preface to Replica Edition xiii

Introduction xv

1 The Men 1

2 The Western Front 29

3 The Somme and the Germans 53

4 The Plan 67

5 The Preparations 80

6 The Last Few Hours 107

7 Zero Hour 122

8 Review at 8.30 A.M. 146

9 The Morning 159

10 Review at Noon 193

11 The Afternoon 205

12 Review at Dusk 226

13 The Night 236

14 The Aftermath 244

15 The Cost 262

16 An Analysis 272

17 The Years that Followed 293

Appendix 1 Order of Battle of British Infantry Units 317

Appendix 2 Order of Battle of German Divisions Facing the British Attack 325

Appendix 3 Senior Officer Casualties 326

Appendix 4 Victoria Cross Winners of 1 July 1916 329

Appendix 5 Battalions Suffering More than 500 Casualties 330

Appendix 6 A Tour of the Somme Battlefield 332

Acknowledgements 342

Bibliography 356

Index 357

Editorial Reviews

A particularly vivid and personal narrative.

Times Literary Supplement

"The soldiers receive the best service a historian can provide: their story is told in their own words." —Guardian


"A particularly vivid and personal narrative." —Times Literary Supplement


"Pioneering and hauntingly eloquent." —Peter Parker, Spectator

From the Publisher

I’ve used a host of Battlefield Guides during my many trips to Civil War battlefields. This guide ranks right up there with some of the best I’ve seen. There’s plenty of information within it’s pages to help make a visit to the Somme quite detailed. With all the “as is now” photos it will be easy to pick out important land marks as they look today. Things change, especially over one hundred years!! I enjoyed how the authors presented each section with historical context, units that participated in action in the area one is in, and some of the notable figures that were involved. The text is well written, and matches with the pictures perfectly. I like this book a great deal, and would be an essential piece to my travel kit when going over there!! Even if I never make a trip to the battlefield, this book will be a good jump off point to further my interest in WWI in general, and this battle in particular. I would recommend it to anyone interested in the War to end all wars or anyone traveling to visit the field over there

IPMS

Ground-breaking work that shows the human tragedy of the disastrous attack of the British Army on July 1, 1916.

1916. Ground-breaking work that shows the human tragedy of the disastrous attack of the British Army on Ju