The Somme: Heroism and Horror in the First World War
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | 4.29 (649 Votes) |
| Asin | : | 0805081275 |
| Format Type | : | paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 352 Pages |
| Publish Date | : | 2016-06-11 |
| Language | : | English |
DESCRIPTION:
"A Beautiful Tribute to all the Brave Men who Fought and Died" according to J. Groen. When I first saw that this book was released, I thought to myself - another book on the Somme, why? After reading this, I can answer that question, more than any book on that battle and even on the First World War, this is a beautiful book written about and for all the brave men who fought and died in that tragic battle. This book focuses on the men who fought and the men who died there. Thousands . William H. Haugland III said Excellent Book. The Battle of the Somme was horrific and the author captures that without being condescending or judgmental as a serious historian should be.. D. Owen said Well written analysis of hell on earth. This book is a fantastic account of The Somme. It is hard to relay information on any battle without letting the emotions get in the way. Gilbert does a good job of avoiding the emotions and gives an account of The Somme that is objective but not devoid of emotion. If the reader likes this book one would be wise to read "Through German Eyes" by Christopher Duffy. It presents the German view of the
Sir Martin Gilbert was knighted in 1995 "for services to British history and international relations." Among his many books are The First World War (0-8050-7617-4), The Second World War, (0-8050-7623-9) The Day the War Ended (1945) (0-8050-7527-5), and Churchill: A Life (0-8050-2396-8).
By the end of this first day of the Allied attack, the British army alone would lose 20,000 men; in the coming months, the fifteen-mile-long territory along the river would erupt into the epicenter of the Great War. In just 138 days, 310,000 men died.In this vivid, deeply researched account of one history's most destructive battles, historian Martin Gilbert tracks the Battle of the Somme through the experiences of footsoldiers (known to the British as the PBI, for Poor Bloody Infantry), generals, and everyone in between. From one of our most distinguished historians, an authoritative and vivid account of the devastating World War I battle that claimed more than 300,000 livesAt 7:30 am on July 1, 1916, the first Allied soldiers climbed out of their trenches along the Somme River in France and charged out into no-man's-land toward the barbed wire and machine guns at the German front lines. The Somme would mark a turning point in both the war and military history, as soldiers saw
From Publishers Weekly The four-month–long 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. (Many excellent, very detailed maps of both the battlefield and the resulting cemeteries are included.) Gilbert's approach tends to break up the narrative arc, but then the battle didn't have much of an arc anyway; there were attacks and counterattacks, bombardments and lulls, but the front lines scarcely moved before the fighting finally subsided in mutual exhaustion. All rights reserved. His superbly written, absorbing recreations of innumerable small life-and-death struggles makes the book a fitting commemoration of the tragedy. . From the impersonality of this mechanized slaughter, Gilbert, dean of First and Second World War historians, strives to rec