The Somme

by Peter Barton (I)

Unique panoramas reveal new truths about the Battle of the Somme, in association with The Imperial War Museum. The Battle of the Somme began on 1 July 1916 with the bloodiest day in British military history. After four months it had etched itself deeply into the collective memories of a dozen nations as an enduring emblem of suffering and loss. The landscape profile of Picardy has changed little over the decades. Here, more than in any other sector of the Western Front, the unique Imperial War Museum panorama collection offers the most complete 'then and now' impression available. In this volume, over 50 extraordinary panoramas illustrate almost the entire battleground - views that are often starkly counterintuitive to pictures conjured by our mind's eye. They show us what no other photographs the view from the trench parapet, and a great deal more. The symbolic and controversial first day is looked at afresh, with new research uncovering the perplexing choice of ordnance to counteract the German dugout threat, and the use and misuse of an extraordinary network of 'Russian Saps' installed during the two months prior to battle. These tunnels beneath no man's land often brought the British - unseen - to within 10 metres of the German trenches, yet over-secrecy and poor communication led to many being left unexploited. In the sectors where they were employed, however, success was dramatic. Also included is a host of previously unpublished personal testimony, and a fresh look at several unseen and forgotten aspects of the battle such as the Royal Engineers' Push Pipes, Bored Mines and huge Livens Flame Projectors. Full of photographs, original mapping and plans, and specially commissioned drawings, here is the Somme as you have never seen it before.

Genres: Military History, History, World War I

192 pages, Hardcover

First published October 26, 2006

About the author

Peter Barton is a historian, archaeologist and film-maker. He authored The Battlefields of the First World War after researching the forgotten Imperial War Museum panorama archive for eight years. His other books include The Somme, and Passchendaele.

He continues to lead an ongoing project to recover, interpret and publish all surviving battlefield panoramas - widely regarded as the 'missing link' for our full understanding of the First World War. He has since uncovered several equivalent unseen collections of panoramas in German archives, included here.

Barton has also led several major excavations on the Western Front, and produced the critically acclaimed documentary films The Underground War, The Soldiers' Pilgrimage and Conviction. He is co-secretary of the All Party Parliamentary War Graves and Battlefields Heritage Group.

Reviews

[Dimitri · Rating 3 out of 5]

Peter Barton's archeologic interests bring an original angle to the Somme story, paying tribute to the herculean mining efforts of the Royal Engineers that were to facilitate the infantry advance once the guns fell silent - providing the corps commanders made use of the opportunity. Herein lies the main theme of his battle analysis: good use of attack tunnels & trenches at right angles to the German lines was as vital to success as a fine-tuned co-operation between artillery firing wire-cutting schrapnel and the infantry. These were the only factors within the control of the British Army that could at least in part negate the enormous tactical advantage the high ground all along the Somme front as enjoyed by the Imperial Army. ...the difference between the northern & southern sector clearly shows the fundamental importance of putting effort into these considerations.

His sales pitch is the use of then-classified panoramas of No Man's Land and the enemy lines, often juxtaposed with panoramic photographs of the battlefield as it appeared in the early 2000's. Undeniably, these are an enormous help for your geographical orientation as the text moves over one sector after another towards the junction with the French. So are the maps, both original & commissioned for this book. Together, they make it a good primer for students of the Somme.

However, it's best to grab a few other books after this one. The infamous First Day takes up half the pages. It's a real shame the rest of the battle isn't explored as crystal clear. As the scene moves in mid-september from the relatively smooth gains in the southern sector to the deadlock in the north, the autumn weather starts to weaken the written cohesion along with the trenches.

There is little of the classic Haig-bashing and little sifdetracking towards his feud with Rawlingson. The conclusions drawn from the offensive, such as they are, give little support to the idea that a series of limited bite-and-hold attacks would've fared better under either man's direction.

I don't fully agree with that. If the Western Front as a whole taught us anything, it's that time and again the attackers bit off more than they could chew. However, I'll leave that dispute to the grand late Martin Gilbert (Somme: The Heroism And Horror Of War) vs. the revisionist team of Prior & Wilson (The Somme, re-released in time for the centennial!)

Speaking of which: Barton's worth taking along in the backseat for a drive to Thiepval and other monuments along the frontline.

[Errol Cavan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Peter Barton is to be congratulated in providing a partial account of the Battle of the Somme. The maps are excellent as are the panoramas, often justaposed to recent photographs of the same scene.
However, the disatrous first day predominates over the rest of what was a four month affair, and there is an annoying lack of proper references to the panoramas since thjey are not consecutive, some are not labelled with the number and rarely, when we are asked to view them, are we told the page on which they are to be found. Much time is wasted thereby.

The anti-Haig bias is not too pronounced (less so than in his TV series), but is there, nonetheless. Thus this book should be read in conjuction with others, such as that of Gary Sheffield

[Holly · Rating 2 out of 5]

Typos, poor printing and bad layout make you wonder if some publishers not only want print to die, but are excited by the death.