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First Day of the Somme: The Complete Account of Britain's Worst-ever Military Disaster
A groundbreaking history of the first, horrific day of one of the most notorious, bloody offensives of all time, from its inept planning to its disastrous execution. It took several million bullets and roughly half an hour to destroy General Sir Douglas Haig's grand plans for the first day of the Somme, 1 July 1916. By day's end 19,240 British soldiers were dead, crumpled khaki bundles scattered across pasture studded with the scarlet of poppies and smouldering shell holes. A further 38,230 were wounded. This single sunny day remains Britain's worst-ever military disaster, both numerically and statistically more deadly than the infamous charge of the Light Brigade at Balaklava in 1854. Responsible were hundreds of German machineguns and artillery batteries waiting silently to deal death to the long-anticipated attack. Someone had blundered. Working back from the "butcher's bill" of mass casualties on the battlefield, to the inept planning in London's Whitehall, the author penetrates the "fog of war" to explain how and why this was a human disaster waiting to happen. Told fully from both the British and German perspectives for the first time, this book sheets home blame for the butchery (a total of almost 60 thousand casualties) directly to widespread British intelligence and command failure. It further finds the outcome was very definitely a German victory over a so-called British defeat, and, again for the first time, identifies how talented German commanders mostly outclassed their opposite numbers and inflicted the galling bloodletting. Taking that terrible first day of battle as his focus, Andrew Macdonald casts new and damning light on the true causes of the disaster. Published in time for the hundredth anniversary commemoration of the Battle of the Somme in July 2016, this is a major contribution to World War I history and an epic story of courage, misery and endurance in its own right.
- GenresHistoryMilitary History
480 pages, Paperback
First published September 6, 2016
67 people want to read
About the author
Andrew Macdonald
3 books10 followersAndrew Macdonald is a New Zealand-born author and military historian living in London. He holds a PhD (University of London) in First World War military history, which he completed around his career as a Reuters correspondent. His PhD is in the assessment of military effectiveness in the First World War, which is an all-too-brief way of saying that Macdonald is an expert in deciphering how and why battles unfold as they do.
He works full time as a writer and has been published twice by HarperCollins. His second book, Passchendaele: The Anatomy of a Tragedy has been released to critical acclaim, following in the footsteps of his well-received first book, On My Way to the Somme.
Macdonald's writing style is fluid and confident, and he can explain the most difficult concepts in an accessible and engaging manner. Macdonald’s reputation is that of a meticulous historian and journalist who leaves no stones unturned in pursuit of a story.
In the 1990s he interviewed a number of surviving First World War veterans, an experience he draws on to this day. Macdonald has spent thousands of hours researching the First World War, and frequently walks the ground on which the battles took place.
He works full time as a writer and has been published twice by HarperCollins. His second book, Passchendaele: The Anatomy of a Tragedy has been released to critical acclaim, following in the footsteps of his well-received first book, On My Way to the Somme.
Macdonald's writing style is fluid and confident, and he can explain the most difficult concepts in an accessible and engaging manner. Macdonald’s reputation is that of a meticulous historian and journalist who leaves no stones unturned in pursuit of a story.
In the 1990s he interviewed a number of surviving First World War veterans, an experience he draws on to this day. Macdonald has spent thousands of hours researching the First World War, and frequently walks the ground on which the battles took place.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
May 20, 2016
First Day Of The Somme – An Eye-opening Account
The New Zealand born, ex-journalist and Military Historian, Andrew Macdonald has researched and written a searing revisionist account of the worst military disaster in British history. What happened on the 1st July 1916 makes the infamous charge of the Light Brigade at Balaklava in 1854 look like a mere accident of history.
What is not disputed is that it took around several million or so bullets and around an hour to destroy the carefully laid plans of Sir Douglas Haig and his military planners. By the turn of the day 19,240 men had been killed in action and a further 35,493 were wounded and none of the first day objectives achieved.
The subject of the Somme over the years has attracted historians and writers alike to examine the battle that Macdonald rightly says ‘spluttered on until November’. With distance Macdonald has looked at the accounts not only from the British archives but also from the Germans, which makes this a far broader review of that day. All this researched from original documents, not only official war diaries but also soldiers dairies which helps to add another perspective.
Macdonald like many historians has borne the blame firmly at the feat of General Haig, as well as noting that the Somme disaster was born of many mothers. It must also be remembered that the Offensive came about due to French pressure for relief on Verdun, which is often forgotten but that is still no real excuse for what happened.
Haig wanted a surprise attack and Macdonald quite rightly looks at this, as well as the geography and the weather which all are important in any battle, but often overlooked. He also notes that the Germans who suffered after the bombardment were itching for revenge and their survival had been down to the competence of their officer.
What makes this history work is the way Macdonald has set his work out for the reader working from north to south and with clear explanations of the military formations on both sides that day, which makes things easier to understand. He also assesses the performance of the British and German forces that day which is incisive which aids understand of the outcomes of that day when set against the various objectives.
The First Day of the Somme was a disaster for all those who were fighting and had gone over the top that day and wiped out a generation of young men on all sides. Andrew Macdonald has written and researched an excellent book with deep analysis and The First Day of the Somme is a welcome addition to the canon of literature on the subject.
This book will be used by all those wishing to know more about 1st July 1916 for generations to come. I am very sure that it will become a standard work for all students of history now and in the future.
The New Zealand born, ex-journalist and Military Historian, Andrew Macdonald has researched and written a searing revisionist account of the worst military disaster in British history. What happened on the 1st July 1916 makes the infamous charge of the Light Brigade at Balaklava in 1854 look like a mere accident of history.
What is not disputed is that it took around several million or so bullets and around an hour to destroy the carefully laid plans of Sir Douglas Haig and his military planners. By the turn of the day 19,240 men had been killed in action and a further 35,493 were wounded and none of the first day objectives achieved.
The subject of the Somme over the years has attracted historians and writers alike to examine the battle that Macdonald rightly says ‘spluttered on until November’. With distance Macdonald has looked at the accounts not only from the British archives but also from the Germans, which makes this a far broader review of that day. All this researched from original documents, not only official war diaries but also soldiers dairies which helps to add another perspective.
Macdonald like many historians has borne the blame firmly at the feat of General Haig, as well as noting that the Somme disaster was born of many mothers. It must also be remembered that the Offensive came about due to French pressure for relief on Verdun, which is often forgotten but that is still no real excuse for what happened.
Haig wanted a surprise attack and Macdonald quite rightly looks at this, as well as the geography and the weather which all are important in any battle, but often overlooked. He also notes that the Germans who suffered after the bombardment were itching for revenge and their survival had been down to the competence of their officer.
What makes this history work is the way Macdonald has set his work out for the reader working from north to south and with clear explanations of the military formations on both sides that day, which makes things easier to understand. He also assesses the performance of the British and German forces that day which is incisive which aids understand of the outcomes of that day when set against the various objectives.
The First Day of the Somme was a disaster for all those who were fighting and had gone over the top that day and wiped out a generation of young men on all sides. Andrew Macdonald has written and researched an excellent book with deep analysis and The First Day of the Somme is a welcome addition to the canon of literature on the subject.
This book will be used by all those wishing to know more about 1st July 1916 for generations to come. I am very sure that it will become a standard work for all students of history now and in the future.
May 16, 2016
An excellent new history of the first day of the battle of the Somme on 1 July 1916.
Andrew Macdonald takes us on a sector by sector review of exactly what happened on the 1st July, but also pinpoints the failures of the previous week. Macdonald also look carefully into the efforts by each of the British commanders and their military backgrounds. Most interesting is a similar look at the German commanders who opposed them and how they each reacted to events in their sector. It is fascinating to read short diary excerpts from front line soldiers on both sides. These bring realism to the whole book.
On a day which ended with 19,240 British soldiers dead and 35,493 wounded, what did go wrong to lead to the worst losses in British military history? There is no one answer, but a combination of many. Poor artillery did not knock out the German lines or wire to the extent that was expected, and the British did not realise just how deeply and well the German lines had been constructed, so that many German troops were deep underground, safe from the bombardment above. As suddenly, after several days of bombardment, the shelling moved beyond the German front line all the German had to do was emerge from their bunkers and set up their machine guns to mow down the advancing ranks of British soldiers clearly visible in front of them. They had been expecting them for nearly a week - there was no element of surprise.
In one place there Germans had even put up a sign that said "Come on" two days before the attack launched. The Germans could see the mass reinforcement of the lines and the troop movements, but because they mainly had control of higher ground and had planned overlapping fire from their machine guns, rank after rank of British soldiers were gunned down. Where the British did reach the German line, small groups were often cut off from supplies of bullets and grenades and by the end of the day could no longer hold their positions.
It is a sad history, few emerge from it with any glory, but it is a book we need to read to fully understand the sacrifice of our forefathers.
Andrew Macdonald takes us on a sector by sector review of exactly what happened on the 1st July, but also pinpoints the failures of the previous week. Macdonald also look carefully into the efforts by each of the British commanders and their military backgrounds. Most interesting is a similar look at the German commanders who opposed them and how they each reacted to events in their sector. It is fascinating to read short diary excerpts from front line soldiers on both sides. These bring realism to the whole book.
On a day which ended with 19,240 British soldiers dead and 35,493 wounded, what did go wrong to lead to the worst losses in British military history? There is no one answer, but a combination of many. Poor artillery did not knock out the German lines or wire to the extent that was expected, and the British did not realise just how deeply and well the German lines had been constructed, so that many German troops were deep underground, safe from the bombardment above. As suddenly, after several days of bombardment, the shelling moved beyond the German front line all the German had to do was emerge from their bunkers and set up their machine guns to mow down the advancing ranks of British soldiers clearly visible in front of them. They had been expecting them for nearly a week - there was no element of surprise.
In one place there Germans had even put up a sign that said "Come on" two days before the attack launched. The Germans could see the mass reinforcement of the lines and the troop movements, but because they mainly had control of higher ground and had planned overlapping fire from their machine guns, rank after rank of British soldiers were gunned down. Where the British did reach the German line, small groups were often cut off from supplies of bullets and grenades and by the end of the day could no longer hold their positions.
It is a sad history, few emerge from it with any glory, but it is a book we need to read to fully understand the sacrifice of our forefathers.
December 5, 2017
The British started 1 July 1916 with a gigantic offensive at the Somme against the Germans in WW I. At the end of the day, they had accomplished a very few objectives at the cost of 19,000 dead and another 32,000 wounded marking the worst catastrophe in British military history. This is the story of the first day of the Somme.
The author has done exhaustive research which is both the strength and weakness of the book. He quotes again and again from various diaries and letters of soldiers at the battle on both German and British sides, which was interesting and humanized the battle. He also gets way too caught up in the minutiae of number of artillery guns per footage of front, etc., which often causes him to get bogged down in boring details that might be interesting to military historians or excel spreadsheet pros, but virtually no one else.
He does a really good job of remembering the human cost of war as he writes, which is no mean feet when one is dealing with such massive death and destruction. As Lenin (or was it Stalin) once said, “one person who dies is a catastrophe, one million is a statistic.”
One sentence captured the mess which Gen Haig (overall commander) made of the Somme offensive: “Haig’s first day of the Somme was, on sum of parts, an abysmal tactical failure accompanied by industrial-scale casualties.”
Do tell.
Did the British learn from the first day? No, the battle of the Somme dragged on more or less for four more months with a final butcher’s bill of more than one million casualties on both sides, and for what? Not much. No breakthrough was made, the sides were little changed after the battle finally ground to a halt in November.
An interesting book, exhaustively researched, but too prone to get bogged down in details and minutiae.
The author has done exhaustive research which is both the strength and weakness of the book. He quotes again and again from various diaries and letters of soldiers at the battle on both German and British sides, which was interesting and humanized the battle. He also gets way too caught up in the minutiae of number of artillery guns per footage of front, etc., which often causes him to get bogged down in boring details that might be interesting to military historians or excel spreadsheet pros, but virtually no one else.
He does a really good job of remembering the human cost of war as he writes, which is no mean feet when one is dealing with such massive death and destruction. As Lenin (or was it Stalin) once said, “one person who dies is a catastrophe, one million is a statistic.”
One sentence captured the mess which Gen Haig (overall commander) made of the Somme offensive: “Haig’s first day of the Somme was, on sum of parts, an abysmal tactical failure accompanied by industrial-scale casualties.”
Do tell.
Did the British learn from the first day? No, the battle of the Somme dragged on more or less for four more months with a final butcher’s bill of more than one million casualties on both sides, and for what? Not much. No breakthrough was made, the sides were little changed after the battle finally ground to a halt in November.
An interesting book, exhaustively researched, but too prone to get bogged down in details and minutiae.
February 5, 2023
I liked the many direct quotes from diaries of the soldiers who actually fought in the battle. Vivid descriptions of what like was like in the trenches and actual combat
The difficulty is flipping back to the maps to try to find places the author is referring to. It's a slow process. It's also a complex series of smaller battles which can be difficult to keep straight. Still, I feel I'm honoring the men who fought by listening to their stories which the author folds well into the narrative of the battle.
The difficulty is flipping back to the maps to try to find places the author is referring to. It's a slow process. It's also a complex series of smaller battles which can be difficult to keep straight. Still, I feel I'm honoring the men who fought by listening to their stories which the author folds well into the narrative of the battle.
October 8, 2025
Fantastic in depth book looking at both sides of the line during this harrowing first day of the battle.
Unlike the many revisionists we see today (looking at you Western Front Association), Macdonald is not shy on where to place the blame for this disastrous day and rightfully lays it down where it belongs, right at the feet of the British high command, most notably with General Sir Douglas Haig.
Highly recommended for anyone wanting the most detailed and up to date look at this first bloody day of the Somme.
Unlike the many revisionists we see today (looking at you Western Front Association), Macdonald is not shy on where to place the blame for this disastrous day and rightfully lays it down where it belongs, right at the feet of the British high command, most notably with General Sir Douglas Haig.
Highly recommended for anyone wanting the most detailed and up to date look at this first bloody day of the Somme.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews