Somme is still on record as the largest number of deaths in any one day in any war. This book explores the myths of this infamous battle and explains the underlying causes of the conflict, as well as the use of mines, tunnels, gas and flame throwers by the British in combination with innovative tactics such as smoke. Covering the first day of the Somme, Andrew Robertshaw analyses the battle through November, explaining how British battle tactics developed as a result of the experience of the Somme. He provides an overview of the events along the entire frontline, examining the actions of two British Corps, VIII at Serre and XIII at Montauban, to determine why the Somme epitomised the proverbial double-edged sword.

Author Biography

Andrew Robertshaw is Director for Education at the National Army Museum and is currently working with Whitehall on their Household Cavalry museum project. He has presented numerous programmes on the First World War for the BBC and Channel 4; he is currently working on 'Finding the Fallen' for the Discovery Channel. In 1997 he published 'A Soldier's Life' (Heinemann/Penguin). He frequently lectures on battlefield archaeology and the First World War, and is Chair of 'No Man's Land', the European Group for First World War Archaeology. He lives in Surrey.