The Somme

The Darkest Hour on the Western Front

Ranked #51 in World War I

On July 1, 1916, the British Army launched the "Big Push" that was supposed to bring an end to the horrific stalemate on the Western Front between British, French and German forces. What resulted was one of the greatest single human catastrophes in twentieth century warfare: scrambling out of trenches in the face of German machine guns and artillery fire, the British lost over twenty thousand soldiers during the first day. This "battle" would drag on for another four bloody months.Expertly weaving together letters, diaries, and other first-person accounts, Peter Hart gives us a compelling... more

Similar Books

If you like The Somme, check out these similar top-rated books:


Learn: What makes Shortform summaries the best in the world?