The Battle of the Somme epitomised the cruelty of the Western Front. 1 July 1916 witnessed the opening round of the British Army’s attempt to break through an eighteen-mile front of heavily defended German lines straddling the River Somme in northern France. Preceded by an artillery bombardment of over 1,500 big guns that lasted a week, the inexperienced members of Lord Kitchener’s New Army went ‘over the top’ and suffered the deadliest day in British military history.

On the first day, British losses alone totalled nearly 20,000 dead. In the next four and a half months of combat, over 350,000 British soldiers would become casualties to one of the most intense, lethal, and futile engagements in history.

• Published

  to coincide with the centenary of the battle on 1 July 2016.

• Fully

  illustrated with colour photographs of the battlefield today together with

  historical images from 1916.

• Major

  series of centinery commemoration events / TV shows planned for July 2016 will

  drive interest in the history of the battle.

• Reviews

  in the military and history press to include Military History Magazine and BBC History

  Magazine.

• Subject

  of the book is relevant to a large number of popular visitor attractions

  including: London: Imperial War Museum; National Army

  Museum, and the National Archives. Regions: almost every major city museum will

  be running a WW1 exhibitions during 2016.