Somme

Into the Breach

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Somme

By: Hugh Sebag-Montefiore

Narrated by: Roy McMillan

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About this listen

Penguin presents Somme by Hugh Sebag-Montefiore, read by Roy McMillan.

No conflict better encapsulates all that went wrong on the Western Front than the Battle of the Somme in 1916. The tragic loss of life and stoic endurance by troops who walked towards their death is an iconic image which will be hard to ignore during the centennial year.

Despite this, this book shows the extent to which the Allied armies were in fact able repeatedly to break through the German front lines. The author has uncovered some remarkable stories, as yet unknown, of action and heroism in the face of battle. He weaves in these first-hand experiences, creating a remarkable portrait of life at the Front.

Military

World

War

Heartfelt

Scary

Inspiring

Thought-Provoking

United Kingdom

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Critic reviews

Magisterial, exemplary, heartbreaking. So original is the material, and so inventive is Sebag-Montefiore's approach . . . that this well-known tale is rendered strange again. Written with great style and sensitivity, superbly illustrated with many original plates and beautifully drawn maps, Sebag-Montefiore's brilliant new study will set the benchmark for a generation (Saul David)

Sebag-Montefiore tells it with gusto, a remarkable attention to detail . . . The sense of confusion, anxiety, uncertainty, and intrepid courage which characterized this disastrous campaign is captured more successfully than any other existing account (Richard Overy)

A beautifully crafted, blow-by-blow account with deep insight into the lives of these diverse young men

In his previous book, Dunkirk, one of Sebag-Montefiore's talents as a historian is never to lose sight of the variety of individual experience. It is impossible to read this book without being stuck afresh by the ripples of mourning and anxiety spreading out from the battlefield in France (Daniel Todman)

Hugh Sebag-Montefiore's heroes are the junior officers and the ordinary soldiers. Their voices emerge loud and clear in his pages . . . The best historians of the war have always made good use of the words written by the participants themselves, but few have done so as effectively as here (Nick Rennison)

The author's combination of thoughtful analysis with first-hand testimony from army soldiers, cameramen and diarists lends a gritty immediacy (Ian Thomson)

Comprehensive, authoritative and meticulously researched... [Of recent publications] it is the weightiest and best written (Simon Humphrey)

'A searing story. A meticulous military history and a deeply moving testimony to the extraordinary bravery of individual soldiers.' (About Dunkirk)

Sebag-Montefiore tells it with gusto, a remarkable attention to detail... The sense of confusion, anxiety, uncertainty, and intrepid courage which characterized this disastrous campaign is captured more successfully than any other existing account. (Richard Overy)

Several fine books have been written about "the miracle of Dunkirk", but none better than this. (About Dunkirk) (Andrew Roberts)

Most relevant

Definitely well worth a read. Excellent coverage of the whole period of the battle. I am a New Zealander living in London & Gallopoli is the defining WW1 battle for our nation. Fascinating to read of ANZAC contribution here, not an area I know well. Sadly it appears our Australian cousins were better at protecting their countrymen from British Military Justice than we were.

I don't think there is anyone from later generations will ever understand the sacrifice that was allowed to happen & the lack of Information received by those back home. The losses on the first day are of course the most obvious, but for what was achieved, all seem truly pointless.