Through German eyes : the British and the Somme 1916 / Christopher Duffy.

Collection type	Library
Author	Duffy, Christopher.;
Call Number	940.4272 D858
Document type	Monograph
Year	c2006.
Pagination	383 p., [8] p. of plates : ill., maps, ports. ; 24 cm.
Publisher	Weidenfeld & Nicolson,
Note	Includes index. Bibliography: p. 363-376. "The Battle of the Somme has an enduring legacy, the image of 'lions led by donkeys' established by Alan Clark; of brave British soldiers sent to their deaths by incompetent generals. But, as Christopher Duffy reveals in this groundbreaking study, this was never the German view; indeed, the Germans had great respect for the British forces. The evidence for this is both copious and unfamiliar, discovered in archived official papers, histories, memoirs and letters, and most revealingly of all in the results of the interrogation of British prisoners of war. The picture that emerges is a far cry from 'Blackadder'." "This book is not another of the number of comprehensive histories of the Battle of the Somme. Instead it looks at aspects of the battle from the German point of view, showing in particular the Germans' perception of the British performance and mentality in the course of that long struggle. From the German point of view, the battle was a disaster. And the fact that every British soldier taken priso ner still believed Britain would win the war gave German Intelligence teams a fair indication that their empire would go down to defeat."--BOOK JACKET.
Place made	London, [England]

Abstract

1. Knowing the enemy -- 2. The imperial troops -- 3. The British Army -- 4. The home fires -- 5. The British in France, 1914-15 -- 6. Designs and preparations -- 7. The catastrophe of 1 July -- 8. The battle carried forward, 2-14 July -- 9. The wasting ba ttles, 15 July-31 August -- 10. The second impetus, September -- 11. October - the Ancre Heights, Warlencourt and le Transloy -- 12. The final actions : Gough's fifth army and the last battles of the Ancre, 13-14 and 18-19 November -- 13. The British styl e of combat -- 14. Weapons of close support -- 15. Artillery -- 16. Gas -- 17. The tank -- 18. The royal flying corps -- The reckoning.