The Somme: Herosim and Horror in the First World War

On July 1, 1916, Allied soldiers climbed out of trenches along the Somme River in France and advanced toward German lines. The British army lost 20,000 men on the first day alone. Over the following months, the fifteen-mile territory became the epicenter of World War I, claiming more than 300,000 lives in 138 days. The battle marked a turning point in military history, featuring the first tanks on a battlefield, the emergence of air warfare as a decisive factor, and over one million total casualties. Among the wounded was a young Adolf Hitler, who sustained a leg injury. Martin Gilbert's account follows the Battle of the Somme through the perspectives of footsoldiers (called the PBI, or Poor Bloody Infantry by the British), generals, and those at every level of command and planning. The narrative incorporates photographs, journal entries, original maps, and documents from all stages of the battle, presenting a deeply researched examination of this destructive turning point in the Great War.