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The First Day on the Somme

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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 in
histories 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 from
these 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.

One problem with battle histories is that writers tend to overstate the horror and the gore. Martin Middlebrook did not face this temptation in 'The First Day on the Somme.' It could hardly be overstated.

This book was written in 1969-71, when Middlebrook was able to interview about 200 veterans of the battle. He follows the paths of 10 of them -- all Britons -- whose experiences were, even for that bloody day, extraordinary. He frankly ignores the French part of the assault, and quotes sparingly from the German defenders.

Fair enough. This is British history written for Britons, and, in 1971, still a vivid social and even political memory in the U.K. For my taste, he is far too lenient on the generals. The famous postwar description of the British Army -- 'lions led by donkeys' -- was cruel but entirely just.
Middlebrook does not mention it.

He is somewhat tougher on the politicians in London, though they get little attention.

Reading 'First Day' now, 90 years afterward, inspires other reflections: how deep class and religious divisions were in Britain, and how damaging.

Class affected how much a boy ate. The British fielded a 'Bantam Division' of men all under 5-foot-3. They fought well, to defend a society that didn't think they deserved to eat regularly.

In 1916 (and for a generation after), most people could not drive automobiles, or were unable to master the art if they tried. The technology was too unfamiliar to people who grew up with horses. It was a blunder with the darkest consequences to fight a mechanized war with leaders from the Horse Age.

The Somme saw 60,000 casualties in its first days. An entire generation of English youth was whipped out as they charged into a hail of led. This definitive account of the first day of the battle gives a wonderful introduction into the horrors of trench warefare in World War One and will make you understand why the war created so many pacisifists since the battles were full of meaningless slaughter. A very scholaraly account which includes much military detail and many maps and figures that makes one feel like they are an arm chair general at the Somme. A wonderful account of the epic battle.

The Somme saw 60,000 casualties in its first days. An entire generation of English youth was whipped out as they charged into a hail of led. This definitive account of the first day of the battle gives a wonderful introduction into the horrors of trench warefare in World War One and will make you understand why the war created so many pacisifists since the battles were full of meaningless slaughter. A very scholaraly account which includes much military detail and many maps and figures that makes one feel like they are an arm chair general at the Somme. A wonderful account of the epic battle.

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.

Martin Middlebrook has written a classic that will still be read well into the future. The way he settles on ten soldiers and follows their footsteps as they charged, were tossed back, and then simply wandered across the battlefield gives you a first-hand look at Britain's worst military fiasco. And these are the survivors--the majority of men in the attack were killed outright or terribly injured in the attack. Middlebrook avoids much commentary on the strategy involved, preferring to concentrate on just what happened next for each of his ten subjects. So you won't find much discussion of the bigger picture in this book. Just the PBI and the individual struggles all over the battlefield to simply survive, and never to triumph.

The First Day on the Somme, Martin Middlebrook, 1971, Penguin Books, ISBN 0-14-139071-9

The Great War of 1914-1918 included many battles that have become legendary, perhaps none more so than that of Verdun. A separate effort, aimed at alleviating the pressure the French were experiencing at Verdun, became known as the Battle of the Somme, July 1, 1916. The story of this bloodiest of all British battles has been admirably told by Martin Middlebrook.

This book is the tale of human courage of the men in the trenches, dimwitted thinking of generals, unfounded belief in the power of the artillery, and above all, the honor and devotion to duty of the single infantry private. It was believed that a week of artillery bombardment would pulverize the German defences, and allow the British to advance to their targets in parade formations.

This was not to be. The Germans had dug deep, and the amount of barbed wire was staggering. Moreover, the British expected their artillery to cut the German wires and create lanes along which to advance; they also sent out parties to cut holes in the perimeters and marked them with white strips. The artillery didn't manage to cut the wire nearly as well as was expected, and the infantry met huge tangled obstacles along the way.

The biggest blunders were General Rawlinson's decision to delay the onset of the attack after the artillery bombardment was over; the Germans had time to man their machine gun positions, which had survived the bombardment much better than expected, and this enabled them to scythe down thousands of men who walked towards their positions. The Germans couldn't believe it when they saw the British advance methodically and slowly, and the murderous cross-fire slaughtered the British.

Another unbelievable error was not to use the only breakthrough on the right flank to attack the Germans from the side and behind - as well as the decision not to use cavalry. It was the end of the era of the cavalry to be sure, but in this battle, the large cavalry contingent could have made a huge difference, had it been let to advance through a breach and cause havoc in the rear of the Germans. They could only wonder at this decision when their lines became thin and tenuously held, but the British never released the cavalry and thus lost the only chance of success at the Somme.

In a way this battle reminds me of Tarawa and the US Marines. There, too, the belief in the intense naval bombardment caused casualties when the Japanese re-manned their positions right after the bombardment lifted. Hundreds of Marines were killed as they waded ashore in the direct sight of Japanese with their machine guns and artillery.

The US did not lose 57,470 men in casualties as the British did, however. This single day cost the British more than any other day in any war, or indeed, months of other wars. The heartbreaking tale of innocence lost is a key part of this book as Middlebrook confidently relates the fates of men who joined up with their friends to form units such as the "Manchester Pals" and "Grimsby Chums". These men fought and died with their friends, and in the process, those who survived ceased to believe in their country which had sacrificed them.

This book is an excellent starting point if you want to read quality books on war. Middlebrook's series on the Bomber Command of WW2 is unrivalled, as is his book "Convoy" which tells the story of the bitter sea battles of the Atlantic through the eyes of men on one such journey.

Though its told as a "soldiers experience" of the battlefield, this clearly gives a higher level picture right from the British recruitment drive, to the strategy, gives an idea of trench warfare, difficutly and horror they undergo and how 20,000 soldiers lost their life mostly due to the poor attack plan forced upon them by the generals etc.

Children of those war veterans and thier families may like this more than anyone else.

As switching between individual soldiers view needs more focus and patience, I had to skim thru a few pages as quick as possible.

Overall, will benefit anyone interested in history, military history, warfare and specifically world war I.