The Somme

The Somme PDF Author: Martin Gilbert
Publisher: Macmillan + ORM
ISBN: 1429966882
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 526

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Book Description
From one of our most distinguished historians, an authoritative and vivid account of the devastating World War I battle that claimed more than 300,000 lives At 7:30 am on July 1, 1916, the first Allied soldiers climbed out of their trenches along the Somme River in France and charged out into no-man's-land toward the barbed wire and machine guns at the German front lines. By the end of this first day of the Allied attack, the British army alone would lose 20,000 men; in the coming months, the fifteen-mile-long territory along the river would erupt into the epicenter of the Great War. The Somme would mark a turning point in both the war and military history, as soldiers saw the first appearance of tanks on the battlefield, the emergence of the air war as a devastating and decisive factor in battle, and more than one million casualties (among them a young Adolf Hitler, who took a fragment in the leg). In just 138 days, 310,000 men died. In this vivid, deeply researched account of one history's most destructive battles, historian Martin Gilbert tracks the Battle of the Somme through the experiences of footsoldiers (known to the British as the PBI, for Poor Bloody Infantry), generals, and everyone in between. Interwoven with photographs, journal entries, original maps, and documents from every stage and level of planning, The Somme is the most authoritative and affecting account of this bloody turning point in the Great War.

The Somme

The Somme PDF Author: Martin Gilbert
Publisher: Macmillan + ORM
ISBN: 1429966882
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 526

Get Book Here

Book Description
From one of our most distinguished historians, an authoritative and vivid account of the devastating World War I battle that claimed more than 300,000 lives At 7:30 am on July 1, 1916, the first Allied soldiers climbed out of their trenches along the Somme River in France and charged out into no-man's-land toward the barbed wire and machine guns at the German front lines. By the end of this first day of the Allied attack, the British army alone would lose 20,000 men; in the coming months, the fifteen-mile-long territory along the river would erupt into the epicenter of the Great War. The Somme would mark a turning point in both the war and military history, as soldiers saw the first appearance of tanks on the battlefield, the emergence of the air war as a devastating and decisive factor in battle, and more than one million casualties (among them a young Adolf Hitler, who took a fragment in the leg). In just 138 days, 310,000 men died. In this vivid, deeply researched account of one history's most destructive battles, historian Martin Gilbert tracks the Battle of the Somme through the experiences of footsoldiers (known to the British as the PBI, for Poor Bloody Infantry), generals, and everyone in between. Interwoven with photographs, journal entries, original maps, and documents from every stage and level of planning, The Somme is the most authoritative and affecting account of this bloody turning point in the Great War.

Somme

Somme PDF Author: Hugh Sebag-Montefiore
Publisher: Harvard University Press
ISBN: 0674545192
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 680

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Book Description
The notion of battles as the irreducible building blocks of war demands a single verdict of each campaign—victory, defeat, stalemate. But this kind of accounting leaves no room to record the nuances and twists of actual conflict. In Somme: Into the Breach, the noted military historian Hugh Sebag-Montefiore shows that by turning our focus to stories of the front line—to acts of heroism and moments of both terror and triumph—we can counter, and even change, familiar narratives. Planned as a decisive strike but fought as a bloody battle of attrition, the Battle of the Somme claimed over a million dead or wounded in months of fighting that have long epitomized the tragedy and folly of World War I. Yet by focusing on the first-hand experiences and personal stories of both Allied and enemy soldiers, Hugh Sebag-Montefiore defies the customary framing of incompetent generals and senseless slaughter. In its place, eyewitness accounts relive scenes of extraordinary courage and sacrifice, as soldiers ordered “over the top” ventured into No Man’s Land and enemy trenches, where they met a hail of machine-gun fire, thickets of barbed wire, and exploding shells. Rescuing from history the many forgotten heroes whose bravery has been overlooked, and giving voice to their bereaved relatives at home, Hugh Sebag-Montefiore reveals the Somme campaign in all its glory as well as its misery, helping us to realize that there are many meaningful ways to define a battle when seen through the eyes of those who lived it.

Somme 1916

Somme 1916 PDF Author: Gerald Gliddon
Publisher: The History Press
ISBN: 0752495356
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 644

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Book Description
Set out topographically, it covers everything from the famous battle sites of High Wood and Mametz Wood to obscure villages on the outlying flanks. The British first began to take the Somme sector over from the French Army in June 1915. From this time onwards they built up a very close bond with the local population, many of whom continued to live in local villages close to the front line. The author draws on the latest research and analysis, as well as the testimony of those who took part, to present all aspects of a battle that was to become a symbol of the horrors of the Great War.

The Forty-Third

The Forty-Third PDF Author: E. J. Colliver
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Soldiers
Languages : en
Pages : 312

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Book Description


VCs Handbook

VCs Handbook PDF Author: Gerald Gliddon
Publisher: The History Press
ISBN: 0750952830
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 256

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Book Description
On the Western Front during the First World War, 490 men won the British Empire's highest award for gallantry, the Victoria Cross. A companion for any visitor to the First World War battlefields in France and Flanders, this reference book lists every VC recipient from 1914 to 1918 in alphabetical order.

Cambrai

Cambrai PDF Author: Jack Horsfall
Publisher: Casemate Publishers
ISBN: 0850526329
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 177

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Book Description
Cambrai is most well known for the tank battle which took place in 1917. Although initially successful it soon became disastrous, and, as on other occasions throughout the War, the area changed hands many times. Illustrated with then and now pictures, this book unravels the history of the area for those either visiting or exploring it from their armchairs.

In Pursuit of Hitler

In Pursuit of Hitler PDF Author: Andrew Rawson
Publisher: Pen and Sword
ISBN: 1844155617
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 290

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Book Description
This book is a chronology of the Rise and Fall of the Third Reich and the famous victory drive of the Seventh Army. It starts at the WormsÍ Rhine bridgehead and moves quickly onto Aschaffenburg, before describing the Hammelburg Raid to release US POWs. The seizure of Nuremberg was hugely symbolic and this beautiful city was the scene both of the infamous Nazi Rallies and of course the War Crimes Tribunals. The road to Munich, always worth visiting (bierfest or no bierfest!) is via the Danube crossings and the book takes in the liberation of the appalling Dachau Concentration Camp and the battle at the SS Barracks. Munich was the center of HitlerÍs early life and represented his power base. He was imprisoned here and wrote Mein Kampf. The book climaxes with the approach to the Alps and the superb EagleÍs Nest, so popular with tourists.

Battle for the Escaut 1940

Battle for the Escaut 1940 PDF Author: Jerry Murland
Publisher: Pen and Sword
ISBN: 1473852617
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 177

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Book Description
On 10 May 1940 the British Expeditionary Force (BEF), under the command of Lord Gort, moved forward from the Franco-Belgian border and took up positions along a 20-mile sector off the River Dyle, to await the arrival of the German Army Group B. Their expected stay was considerably shorter than planned as the German Army Group A pushed its way through the Ardennes and crossed the Meuse at Sedan, scattering the French before them. Little did the men of the BEF realize that the orders to retire would result in their evacuation from Dunkirk and other channel ports. The line of the River Escaut was seen as the last real opportunity for the Allied armies to halt the advancing German Army, but the jigsaw of defense was tenuous and the allied hold on the river was undone by the weight of opposing German forces and the speed of the armored ÔBlitzkriegÕ thrust further south. As far as the BEF were concerned, the Battle for the Escaut took place on a 30-mile sector from Oudenaarde to BlŽharies and involved units in a sometimes desperate defense, during which two Victoria Crosses were awarded. This book takes the battlefield tourist from Oudenaarde to Hollain in a series of tours that retrace the footsteps of the BEF. With the help of local historians, the author has pinpointed crucial actions and answered some of the myriad questions associated with this important phase of the France and Flanders campaign of 1940.

Operation Goodwood

Operation Goodwood PDF Author: Ian Daglish
Publisher: Pen and Sword
ISBN: 1526788284
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 194

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Book Description
Operation GOODWOOD is the story of the largest armoured battle fought in the campaign for north west Europe. Over a thousand British and Canadian tanks were employed as three British armoured divisions pushed forward down a narrow corridor in an attempt to achieve a clean penetration of the German lines. The clash between two very different armies resulted in a number of local battles, which are studied in detail. Close to Caen, this battlefield is particularly accessible to cross-channel visitors. This Battleground book guides visitors around the tanks battlefield, showing what remains and what has changed, using copious present-day images alongside previously unpublished1944 pictures, including detailed aerial photography of the battle in progress

Ypres 1914: Langemarck

Ypres 1914: Langemarck PDF Author: Nigel Cave
Publisher: Pen and Sword
ISBN: 1781591997
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 210

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Book Description
These three Battleground Europe books on Ypres 1914 mark the centenary of the final major battle of the 1914 campaign on the Western Front. Although fought over a relatively small area and short time span, the fighting was even more than usually chaotic and the stakes were extremely high. Authors Nigel Cave and Jack Sheldon combine their respective expertise to tell the story of the men – British, French, Indian and German - who fought over the unremarkable undulating ground that was to become firmly placed in British national conscience ever afterwards.??When, in October 1914, the newly created German Fourth Army attacked west to seize crossings over the Yser, prior to sweeping south in an attempt to surround the BEF, two things prevented it. To the north, it was the efforts of the Belgian army, reinforced by French troops, coupled with controlled flooding of the polders but, further south, the truly heroic defence of Langemarck, for three days by the BEF and then by the French army, was of decisive importance. The village stood as a bulwark against any further advance to the river or the town of Ypres. Here the German regiments bled to death in the face of resolute Allied defence and any remaining hope of forcing a decision in the west turned to dust.