Product Description

Not restricted to the view of the front-line infantryman, this text also describes the experiences of the gunner, sapper, airman, medical officer, and nursing sister. The author explains how the Somme became scorched into the nation's heritage and into its historical consciousness, but with a distortion produced by a literary legacy as regrettable as it is understandable. In this book, Liddle takes issue with the judgement of some historians and with the commonly held verdict on the battle. Furthermore, in conclusion, he demonstrates how the morales of the British Expeditionary Force triumphantly survived such a long and demanding experience. The narrative draws extensiely on diaries, letters, reports, photographs and drawings from the Liddle Collection of the University of Leeds.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #726987 in Books
• Published on: 2000-08-24
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 192 pages

Customer Reviews

An Interesting Read
First published some years ago, Peter Liddle has drawn upon the vast material available in the archives. Told from the viewpoint of many who participated in the battles of 1916, it tries to give a balanced account of the terrible struggles endured by Kitcherner's Army. I do feel however, that this balance needs to be re-addressed. The British Generals responsible for conducting the long campaign on the Western Front 1914-1918 need to be given a fair hearing. Peter Liddle, like so many historians before him, and since, have maintained the belief that the generals of the British Army were grossly incompetant. What is needed is an updated account of the problems the British Generals had in trying to defeat the German Army from 1916 onwards in order to bring the war on the Western Front to an end. Nevertheless, although this book is a little dull in parts, it is a worthy addition to the huge material now available.