Cover image features a black and white photo of a soldier’s face with his eyes cast downwards.
One hundred years after the Battle of the Somme, it is difficult to imagine that anything new could be added to the history of this conflict. Yet, Hugh Sebag-Montefiore has written a fantastically detailed reappraisal of the battle at a time when the focus has once again returned to the fields of France a century ago.
Sebag-Montefiore looks at what effect the Somme had on the rest of the First World War. What, if anything, was learned from the failures of the so-called “Big Push” and did this help with future battles? Did the Allies gain anything from what is often seen as an absolutely unjustifiable loss of life? These questions and many more are re-examined by the Historian.
Using previously unseen sources from the Red Cross files, as well as accounts from Australia, New Zealand and Germany, this work also gives us more personal experiences of the Somme. The bravery of the soldiers shines through in this history. The distress of their families at home is also given due consideration.
Beautifully detailed maps and a large number of plates add greatly to the richness of this account which took eight years of research and writing.
You can find further details of Somme : Into the Breach on our Main Catalogue.