What really happened on the first day of the Somme?
Much controversy has surrounded the Somme offensive relating to its justification and its impact upon the course of the war. General Sir Douglas Haig's policies have been the subject of considerable debate about whether the heavy losses sustain[...]

Martin Middlebrook's "The First Day on the Somme" is a compelling and intensely moving account of the blackest day in the history of the British army. On 1 July, 1916, a continuous line of British soldiers climbed out from the trenches of the Somme into No Man's Land and began to walk slowly towards[...]

The soldiers receive the best service a historian can provide: their story is told in their own words - Guardian 'For some reason nothing seemed to happen to us at first; we strolled along as though walking in a park. Then, suddenly, we were in the midst of a storm of machine-gun bullets and I saw [...]

Published in a new edition on the centenary of the seismic battle, this book provides the definitive account of the Somme and assigns responsibility to military and political leaders for its catastrophic outcome. "A magisterial piece of scholarship...It is a model of historical research and should d[...]

On 1 July 1916, Douglas Haig's army launched the 'Big Push' that was supposed finally to bring an end to the stalemate on the Western Front. What happened next was a human catastrophe: scrambling over the top into the face of the German machine guns and artillery fire, almost 20,000 British and Comm[...]

Geoff Dyer's classic "The Missing of the Somme" is part travelogue, part meditation on remembrance--and completely, unabashedly, unlike any other book about the First World War. Through visits to battlefields and memorials, he examines the way that photographs and film, poetry and prose determined--[...]

'This powerful and subtle play ...follows the experience of eight men who volunteer to serve in the 36th (Ulster) Division at the beginning of the First World War. It reaches a climax at the start of the terrible battle of the Somme on July 1, 1916, the actual anniversary of the battle of the Boyne [...]

'This powerful and subtle play . . . follows the experience of eight men who volunteer to serve in the 36th (Ulster) Division at the beginning of the First World War. It reaches a climax at the start of the terrible battle of the Somme on July 1, 1916, the actual anniversary of the battle of the Boy[...]

No conflict better encapsulates all that went wrong on the Western Front than the Battle of the Somme in 1916. The tragic loss of life and stoic endurance by troops who walked towards their death is an iconic image which will be hard to ignore during the centennial year. Despite this, this book show[...]

One of the bloodiest conflicts in military history, the Battle of the Somme raged from 1 July to 18 November 1916. It has come to signify for many the waste and bloodshed of the First World War as hundreds of thousands of men on all sides lost their lives fighting over small gains in land. If you wa[...]

The first day of the Somme has had more of a widespread emotional impact on the psyche of the British public than any other battle in history. The author attempts to understand the carnage, using the voices of the British and German soldiers who lived through that awful day.[...]

"Gilbert has unearthed fascinating details of the campaign . . . An unforgettable read." "The Philadelphia Inquirer"At 7:30 a.m. on July 1, 1916, the first Allied soldiers climbed out of their trenches along the Somme River in France and charged into no-man's-land, toward the barbed wire and machine[...]

Major and Mrs Holt's Battlefield Guide to the Somme is, without doubt, one of the bestselling guide books to the battlefields of the Somme. This latest up-dated edition, includes four recommended, timed itineraries representing one day's travelling. Every stop on route has an accompanying descriptio[...]