'What the reader will longest remember are the words - heartbroken, blunt, angry - of the men who lived through the bloodbath' Daily Mail
The year 1916 was one of the great turning-points in British history: as the youthful hopes of a generation were crushed in a desperate struggle to survive, and traditional attitudes to authority were destroyed for ever. On paper, few battles have ever been so meticulously planned. This title tells this history.
'What the reader will longest remember are the words - heartbroken, blunt, angry - of the men who lived through the bloodbath' Daily Mail
The year 1916 was one of the great turning-points in British history: as the youthful hopes of a generation were crushed in a desperate struggle to survive, and traditional attitudes to authority were destroyed for ever. On paper, few battles have ever been so meticulously planned. This title tells this history.
'What the reader will longest remember are the words - heartbroken, blunt, angry - of the men who lived through the bloodbath' Daily Mail'There was hardly a household in the land'. writes Lyn Macdonald, 'there was no trade, occupation, profession or community, which was not represented in the thousands of innocent enthusiasts who made up the ranks of Kitchener's Army before the Battle of the Somme...'The year 1916 was one of the great turning-points in British history- as the youthful hopes of a generation were crushed in a desperate struggle to survive. On paper, few battles have ever been so meticulously planned. Yet while there were good political reasons to launch a joint offensive with a French Army demoralised by huge casualties at Verdun, the raw troops on the ground knew nothing of politics. A hundred and fifty thousand were killed in the punishing shellfire, the endless ordeal of attack and counter-attack; twice that number were wounded.Here, Lyn Macdonald lets the men who were there give their own testimony. Their stories are vivid, harrowing, sometimes terrifying - yet shot through with humour, immense courage and an astonishing spirit of resilience.
“Somme expresses the full range of meaning of the word 'grim'...I doubt if there are any better than this”
Somme expresses the full range of meaning of the word 'grim'...I doubt if there are any better than this -- John Terraine Daily Telegraph
A worthy addition to the literature of the Great War Daily Mail
Lyn Macdonald is one of the most highly regarded historians of the First World War. Her books tell the men's stories in their own words and cast a unique light on the experiences of the ordinary 'Tommy'. The Roses of No Man's Land, Somme and They Called it Passchendaele have been recently reissued by Penguin. She lives near Cambridge.
Reissued to mark the centenary of the outbreak of the First World War 'There was hardly a household in the land, there was no trade, occupation, profession or community, which was not represented in the thousands of innocent enthusiasts who made up the ranks of Kitchener's Army before the Battle of the Somme . . .' The Somme was one of the great turning-points, not just in the First World War, but in British history: the men of an entire generation were crushed in a desperate struggle to survive. On paper, few battles have ever been so meticulously planned. Yet the reality of launching a joint offensive with a French Army already broken by huge casualties saw young troops caught in a terrible quagmire of mud and munitions which none of them had been remotely prepared for. A hundred and fifty thousand were killed in the punishing shellfire, the endless ordeal of attack and counter-attack; and twice that number were wounded. Here, Lyn Macdonald lets the men who were there tell their stories. They are vivid, harrowing, sometimes terrifying - yet shot through with humour, and tales of immense courage and an astonishing spirit of resilience.
This item is eligible for free returns within 30 days of delivery. See our returns policy for further details.