Somme 100th Anniversary

The 100th Anniversary of the most publically aware battle of WW1 - the battle of the Somme, will be on 1 July 2016 and every media form will be covering it from January onwards. The book has taken 20 years to mature from its first edition to this new 'Definitive' edition, the Seventh, each time being updated and expanded. It is a legacy that should be on every bookshelf.The book is based upon over 30 years of traveling and writing about battlefields by two people - Major and Mrs Holt - who are credited with having started the modern era of battlefield tours - and were awarded the Somme Centenary Medal for their work in 'opening the doors to the battlefields' with their books.This Guide Book is MORE than a guide book - Sir Martin Gilbert said, ' the Holts have raised the Guide Book to a new high level,' and ' the golden thread that runs through it (the previous Somme Guide) - is the focus that the Holts give to the stories of individuals'. It will therefore appeal both to General and to Specialist readers whether they travel to the battlefields or not.This is not merely a guide book, nor a history book, but it is brimming with human interest stories of veterans' experiences, tales of bravery, comradeship, natural terror, literary illusions to poets who experienced the battles (such a Owen & Sassoon, Seeger and Sorley) ...If you buy just one book about the Battle of the Somme, this is the one that you should have, written by those who know the area and the battlefield better even than the French themselves, and who tell its story from both humanistic and military standpoints

The Thiepval Memorial to the Missing was unveiled on 1 August 1932 and the pilgrimage to the Somme battlefields of France would be different this time. Generations to come would remember the Somme and would make much of this memorial to the dead. But on this day, and in this crowd, all minds were focused on but a single thought; of that name, that face, that voice which had once been dear to them and now was lost forever. This is just one commemoration of the life of Private David John Campbell Ireland of the 2nd Battalion of the Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders who fell here at the Somme on 31 October 1916.

One year ago, 'We're here because we're here' left a lasting impression on millions of people in the UK. A new book about the event is being released that records that remarkable day and details how it was produced by Turner Prize-winning artist Jeremy Deller, the National Theatre's Director, Rufus Norris and 14-18 NOW - the UK's arts programme for the First World War centenary. It was an event that reached 30 million people and humanised the great loss of life at the Battle of the Somme. 'We're here because we're here' saw some 1500 voluntary participants dressed in First World War uniform appear unexpectedly in locations across the UK. The project broke new ground in terms of its scale, breadth, reach and the number of partners and participants involved. The book includes over 100 colour photographs which show the soldiers in a number of everyday scenarios, and some more extraordinary - including waiting in train stations, engaging with drivers at a Salisbury roundabout and walking up Mount Snowdon. Many of the images show the public's interaction with the soldiers and their subsequent reactions to the event which left many people overwhelmed. The book includes sketches and notes from Jeremy Deller's notebook and a map of locations. The book also features an interview between Jeremy Deller and Jon Snow of Channel 4 News and more details about how the event was created and implemented on such a huge scale. 'We're here because we're here' was one of the largest arts participation projects ever staged in the UK, with hundreds of additional volunteers working behind the scenes. Jeremy Deller's new book acts as a superb record of this remarkable event.

* Revised edition with a new introduction published to coincide with the 100th Anniversary of the Somme * One of the great classic books to emerge on the Great War. * The First Day on the Somme covers in depth the most tragic and significant 24 hours of British military history. * Martin Middlebrook has an unparalleled reputation as a militar

This publication, SOMME THE BATTLE 100 YEARS ON, has been published by Pen & Sword Books Ltd, with the purpose of creating an awareness and an interest in theSomme battles of 1916. For nearly thirty years, Pen & Sword Books Ltd has published numerous titles covering various Pals battalions formed for the Big Push. They have also been fore-runners in setting up the Battleground Series guides, which are packed with then and now illustrations, using battle maps from the time and road maps of the sites today. They are all specifically designed to take the tourer safely through these now historic sites. Many more books have been written and published by Pen & Sword on the other battles of the First World War. Only a small portion relating to 1 July 1916 has been taken from each book appearing in this publication. Much more information can been gleaned from reading about the events of the Somme battles and the awful aftermath of the day through reading the books mentioned at the end of each extract.These publications would not have been possible without the skill and dedication of our authors who have painstakingly researched and written about the subjects that bring to light these historic events.

Rescuing from history the heroes on the front line whose bravery has been overlooked, and giving voice to their bereaved relatives at home, Hugh Sebag-Montefiore reveals the Battle of the Somme in all its glory and 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.

Ordered lines of heavily laden soldiers with rifles at 'high port' trudging through mud against uncut barbed wire under heavy machine gun fire is the enduring view of the Somme 1916. What makes Canada's Somme campaign so difficult to characterize was at times this was true, but so were times Canadians advanced at speed over dry ground through smashed German defenses. Over the course of 80 days, they encountered all types of weather, ground conditions, defenses, and defenders. They achieved stirring victories, and suffered staggering defeats. Thus, Canada's Somme experience was not a simple binary of either victory or defeat, but both and most combinations between. These battles do not lend themselves to grand narratives and sweeping accounts of triumph over great odds. This perspective contributes to the absence of detailed operational studies devoted to Canada's military contribution to the Somme campaign. Resulting in 24,029 casualties, the Somme was the second longest and costliest campaign of the Canadian Expeditionary Force. It represents a critical inflection point in the Dominion's conduct of the war as all spheres of its military effort were impacted by its effects. The corps, however, demonstrated sufficient potential that General Sir Douglas Haig assigned the Canadian Corps the crucial role of seizing Vimy Ridge during the next major British offensive. Nevertheless, Canada's campaign remains a neglected aspect of the Somme campaign with no study devoted to its course. This volume addresses this gap in the available literature by examining the Canadian experience at the operational and tactical level. Its primary focus is on how the Canadians fought and why they battled in the manner they did. Focusing on a single corps brings a perspective on aspects of the campaign that are washed out in the general narratives. This allows for a finer grain examination of diverse topics, such as operations, command and control, and tactics. The period the Canadians served also receives less coverage in general campaign accounts, and it witnessed a set of significant changes in operations as both sides adjusted their tactics. Illustrated with numerous maps and images, 'The Canadians on the Somme' is Bill Stewart's second book.