The German Army on the Somme 1914 - 1916
Posted: Thu Jan 03, 2008 9:08 am
Hardback ISBN 1-84415-269-3 (Jack Sheldon, forwarded by Prof. Richard Holmes).
If you think the British attack at the Somme was a total disaster and a wasted effort then this book may go some way altering your view as well as making it clear why the attacks failed.
Written in the style of Lyn MacDonald it relies heavily upon contemporary written witness accounts and letters to describe the German experience from the time of their arrival in Picardy until the end of 1916.
The sections on Trench raids and the description of the state of the Imperial army at the end of the battle are particularly harrowing.
The accounts are all linked to identified areas on maps and this would make a very good companion during a tour of the area. Old names are even supplemented with their new ones to allow location on modern maps
The quality of the contemporary sources is very high so it would be well to remember that these documents survived the WW1 sensors and presumably the Nazi ones as well.
A similar work about the French army would also improve our understanding.
9 out of 10.
If you think the British attack at the Somme was a total disaster and a wasted effort then this book may go some way altering your view as well as making it clear why the attacks failed.
Written in the style of Lyn MacDonald it relies heavily upon contemporary written witness accounts and letters to describe the German experience from the time of their arrival in Picardy until the end of 1916.
The sections on Trench raids and the description of the state of the Imperial army at the end of the battle are particularly harrowing.
The accounts are all linked to identified areas on maps and this would make a very good companion during a tour of the area. Old names are even supplemented with their new ones to allow location on modern maps
The quality of the contemporary sources is very high so it would be well to remember that these documents survived the WW1 sensors and presumably the Nazi ones as well.
A similar work about the French army would also improve our understanding.
9 out of 10.