The First Day on the Somme: 1 July 1916

by Martin Middlebrook

Book Overview

A thorough and detailed survey of the events of the first of July 1916 including not only official records and information gleaned from regimental histories but also using first hand accounts from... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0141390719
• ISBN13: 9780141390710
• Release Date: April 2001
• Publisher: Penguin Group
• Length: 365 Pages
• Weight: 1.10 lbs.

Customer Reviews

A terrific book

First Day on the Somme is a thorough and engrossing story of this critical WWI battle. The book does a wonderful job of laying out the background of the battle: the solider's motivations, the events that lead to the battle, and the positions of the two sides prior to the first day. This battle was a bloodbath, and you can't help but feel for the soldiers, so many of whom gave their lives in this single day of fighting. The book is also very readable. It somehow manages to be complete yet not get so bogged down in details as to become dry and boring. I strongly recommend this for any fan of military history who wants a readable tale.

May be the best book of it's kind.

I first read this book in the mid 70's and it still is one of the best books of it's kind ever written.The story tells of just one day in the first world war from both the British and German point of view.Individual personal stories are described which give a human dimension to the conflict that is often missing inhistories of the period.This book is highly recommended to anyone with an interest in the Battle of the Somme or the wider conflict.Both the before and after events are described so one is able to see the whole picture.A terrible picture emerges fromthese pages as would be expected but also an extraordinary story of endurance and fortitude asserts itself by the time you have finished the book.You cannot but be in awe of those who passed through this battle and survived to tell their story here.There are no good guys or bad guys in this story just ordinary men from all walks of life who found themselves in truly dire circumstances.Almost one million casualties-on both sides-were incurred during the whole period of the Somme from July to November 1916-sixty thousand in just this one day.Many of the soldiers have no known grave-seventy thousand of whom are remembered at the Thiepval memorial to the missing.As long as books like this are written the fallen are remembered from this battle and all others-indeed as Kipling wrote ...Their name liveth for evermore... Please note that I am 51 not 13 who prefers to remain anomynous.

Their Story.

Martin Middlebrook does in this book what many military historians fail to do, and that is to keep a lucid balance between the numerous oral histories of the veterans enclosed and his own story line of the events as they unfolded. He gives these men free range to tell their story and is never critical of them in his writing. His style I feel has been repeated since then by other writers, but he was really the first to recognize the importance of getting these men to talk before they passed away. This book is an excellent choice for both someone who wishes to know the history of that catastrophic day as well as those who enjoy hearing the veterans speak in their unvarnished language, the language of a generation which did not consider themselves as heroes, but rather as men doing their duty to their country. That is the main thing I take away from this book, though they were naive when they first went over the top, they quickly realized through the attrition and stagnation of their surroundings the utter futility of war and that the supreme sacrifice was to die for a country that did not honor them, yet sent over a million to their death. This day was the first time for the new army (Kitcheners Army) as they called the infinite number of men who willing volunteered, to really stretch their legs. The battle of Loos was the first but not on as grand a scale. Over 120,000 soldiers were destined to go over the top. Middlebrook stipulates several well written analytical points as to why this operation was not just an utter failure but the darkest day ever in British History. It is infuriating to read how divisions were to attack as simple diversions for the real assault, so thousands of men fell for no reason, simply offered as cannon fodder for the larger picture. The failure to capitalize on the mines going off was a particular logistical failure that cost many men their lives. The English would suffer 60,000 casualties of which 19,000 would be killed or die of their wounds. This is a very important book to read, and is widely unknown in America because we were involved for such a short time. I thank Mr. Middlebrook for bringing these men to life in this book, instead of listing them as statistics in the over all battle. This is an important message for future generations, especially the youngest ones. As they say the battlefields of the future will be much the same as those that our WWI ancestors fought upon.

The Best Book Ever On This Terrible Battle

I'm surprised that there was no readers review on this great book. I have read nearly all of Martin Middlebrook's books and this was the book that got me started. It was and still is the best account you'll have the pleasure to read covering the first day on the Somme. It's graphic, touching, sad and horrific, you can see the images of the men walking into the machine gun fire and being mown down. If you think that all WWI histories are boring accounts of figures and strategic movements this book will change your mind. Find a copy!

The best, most human war book I have ever read.

Martin Middlebrook gives the best account of one of the blodiest days in the history of the British Empire, July 1, 1916. He interviewed the survivors of that day, reconstructing the battle hour by hour. These old men who were once the "Flower of England's Manhood" reconstruct the day hour by hourfrom the pre dawn barrage to the end of the day when the shattered remnants of proud regiments and Pals' battalions crawled and limped back to their own trenches. Even knowing the outcome does not lessen the tension when one reads this. The World War One generation will soon pass from our world and into our memory. The youngest veterans of that war are nearing 100 years old. This book is a tribute to their humanity and spirit.