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Somme 1916: Success and Failure on the First Day of the Battle of the Somme
Much controversy has surrounded the Somme offensive relating to its justification and its impact upon the course of the war. General Sir Douglas Haig's policies have been the subject of considerable debate about whether the heavy losses sustained were worth the small gains that were achieved which appeared to have little strategic value. That was certainly the case on many sectors on 1 July 1916, where British soldiers were unable to cross No Man's Land and failed to reach, or penetrate into, the German trenches. In other sectors, however, breaches were made in the German lines culminating in the capture that day of Leipzig Redoubt, Mametz and Montauban. This book aims to highlight the failures and successes on that day and for the first time evaluate those factors that caused some divisions to succeed in capturing their objectives whilst others failed. An important new study, this book is certain to answer these questions as well as challenging the many myths and misconceptions surrounding the battle that have been propagated for the last 100 years.
- GenresNonfiction
320 pages, Hardcover
First published June 14, 2016
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
December 15, 2016
A useful account of the strategic considerations, build up and operations on the first day.
Good use is made of first person accounts/recollections, alongside the official histories (notably British and German) and divisional & regimental histories, to provide colour around the troops' movements, actions and difficulties from before zero hour and beyond.
Casualties - from local and personal experiences to the recorded losses - are described and noted. The constructing and exploding of mines, driving saps out from front-line trenches, the kit carried, the artillery barrages (pre-attack and jumping), the deadly counter-artillery fire and of course the German machine guns are all well covered. Other aspects including distance between no-man's land, quality and depth of defences and psychological state of the German defenders also add to the story.
The strategic background of supporting the French to alleviate pressure at Verdun is given good space, as is Haig's wish to delay the battle's commencement for a further six weeks to complete training, deploy more guns, ensure supply and to use new weapons such as the tank, are mentioned. So too is the shell shortages, and their quality when fired, right through to the difficulty of battlefield communications and dealing with casualties.
So why three stars?
Well the book is riddled with spelling and grammatical errors. I became so tired of seeing mis-spelt words, missing punctuation and poorly edited sentences.
Added this is the quality and number of maps. Yes each chapter has one but their quality is poor (badly copied I think from the British official history) and there is a need for more. The map at the start of each chapter covers the corps and divisional operations but then as we move into the chapter for each corps/divisional area battalions, trench names and features start to be described - some such as villages and redoubts are shown in grainy faint grey text - and the reader has little to connect him to the accounts of and descriptions by the privates, corporals, lieutenants, majors and others during the battle.
Much like the solders' visibility was lost to smoke and noise on the battlefield I also lost sight of them as I was unable to identify the trench being held against repeated attacks, or the wounded men lying outside the German wire pinned down by machine guns at point so and so.
Perhaps much like the Germans' spirited defence disrupted the first day of the Somme's operations the editor and publisher spoilt my reading of Mr Kendall's well-researched book.
Worth reading yes but still lies in the shadow of
The First Day on the Somme, 1 July 1916 by Martin Middlebrook
Good use is made of first person accounts/recollections, alongside the official histories (notably British and German) and divisional & regimental histories, to provide colour around the troops' movements, actions and difficulties from before zero hour and beyond.
Casualties - from local and personal experiences to the recorded losses - are described and noted. The constructing and exploding of mines, driving saps out from front-line trenches, the kit carried, the artillery barrages (pre-attack and jumping), the deadly counter-artillery fire and of course the German machine guns are all well covered. Other aspects including distance between no-man's land, quality and depth of defences and psychological state of the German defenders also add to the story.
The strategic background of supporting the French to alleviate pressure at Verdun is given good space, as is Haig's wish to delay the battle's commencement for a further six weeks to complete training, deploy more guns, ensure supply and to use new weapons such as the tank, are mentioned. So too is the shell shortages, and their quality when fired, right through to the difficulty of battlefield communications and dealing with casualties.
So why three stars?
Well the book is riddled with spelling and grammatical errors. I became so tired of seeing mis-spelt words, missing punctuation and poorly edited sentences.
Added this is the quality and number of maps. Yes each chapter has one but their quality is poor (badly copied I think from the British official history) and there is a need for more. The map at the start of each chapter covers the corps and divisional operations but then as we move into the chapter for each corps/divisional area battalions, trench names and features start to be described - some such as villages and redoubts are shown in grainy faint grey text - and the reader has little to connect him to the accounts of and descriptions by the privates, corporals, lieutenants, majors and others during the battle.
Much like the solders' visibility was lost to smoke and noise on the battlefield I also lost sight of them as I was unable to identify the trench being held against repeated attacks, or the wounded men lying outside the German wire pinned down by machine guns at point so and so.
Perhaps much like the Germans' spirited defence disrupted the first day of the Somme's operations the editor and publisher spoilt my reading of Mr Kendall's well-researched book.
Worth reading yes but still lies in the shadow of
The First Day on the Somme, 1 July 1916 by Martin MiddlebrookJune 15, 2016
Title: Somme 1916 – Success and Failure on the First Day of the Battle of the Somme
Author: Paul Kendall
ISBN: 978-1-84832-905-8
Publisher: Frontline Books
Year: 2015
Hardcover
Pages: 442
Photos/Maps: 31/6
The Somme and its effect upon the British Army has been written upon and studied at length. Kendall’s book is an excellent modern revisit to this seminal battle. His writing style is extremely engaging and his analysis clear and concise. He incorporates a myriad of first-hand accounts of individual experiences that add a level of intimacy to the narrative. His conclusion is balanced, and presents both sides of the ongoing debate surrounding the utility of the attack as well as the effectiveness of the Command staff with a historian’s eye. The production value of the book itself is outstanding.
www.themilitaryreviewer.blogspot.com
Author: Paul Kendall
ISBN: 978-1-84832-905-8
Publisher: Frontline Books
Year: 2015
Hardcover
Pages: 442
Photos/Maps: 31/6
The Somme and its effect upon the British Army has been written upon and studied at length. Kendall’s book is an excellent modern revisit to this seminal battle. His writing style is extremely engaging and his analysis clear and concise. He incorporates a myriad of first-hand accounts of individual experiences that add a level of intimacy to the narrative. His conclusion is balanced, and presents both sides of the ongoing debate surrounding the utility of the attack as well as the effectiveness of the Command staff with a historian’s eye. The production value of the book itself is outstanding.
www.themilitaryreviewer.blogspot.com
February 23, 2021
Comprehensive account of the battle, one that as close to my heart as my Grandfather served with 2/Middlesex and when over the top on the first day.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews