The First Day on the Somme

Author: Martin Middlebrook
Publisher: Pen and Sword
ISBN: 1473814243
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 344

Book Description
A history of the British Army’s experience at the Battle of the Somme in France during World War I. After an immense but useless bombardment, at 7:30 AM on July 1, 1916, the British Army went over the top and attacked the German trenches. It was the first day of the battle of the Somme, and on that day, the British suffered nearly 60,000 casualties, two for every yard of their front. With more than fifty times the daily losses at El Alamein and fifteen times the British casualties on D-day, July 1, 1916, was the blackest day in the history of the British Army. But, more than that, as Lloyd George recognized, it was a watershed in the history of the First World War. The Army that attacked on that day was the volunteer Army that had answered Kitchener’s call. It had gone into action confident of a decisive victory. But by sunset on the first day on the Somme, no one could any longer think of a war that might be won. Martin Middlebrook’s research has covered not just official and regimental histories and tours of the battlefields, but interviews with hundreds of survivors, both British and German. As to the action itself, he conveys the overall strategic view and the terrifying reality that it was for front-line soldiers. Praise for The First Day on the Somme “The soldiers receive the best service a historian can provide: their story is told in their own words.” —The Guardian (UK)

Major and Mrs. Front's Definitive Battlefield Guide to Western Front-North

Author: Tonie Holt
Publisher: Casemate Publishers
ISBN: 1526746840
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 539

Book Description
Following in their best-selling series of Battlefield Guides this is a companion volume to the Holts Western Front South Guide. Between the two, they cover the main WW1 Western Front battlefields. This book covers 15 of the most significant battles of the northern area from Nieuwport to just north of The Somme.Whether travelling on the ground or in the mind, the reader is carefully guided through the battlefields with a mixture of succinct military history, cameo memories and stories of VCs and other personalities, interspersed with references to the literature and poetry of the war.This guidebook is based on Tonie and Valmai Holt's 30 years experience of researching, guiding tours and writing about the area, with their unique blend of male and female points of view. It is written to the high standards that have come to be expected of these highly respected authors who are credited with pioneering the modern battlefield tour and whose guide books are referred to as 'The Bibles' . This new edition contains: Brief Historical Background and Summary of each battle, Opening Moves and What Happened, with appropriate quotations Sketch Map for each battle showing battle lines, routes etc and all points of interest described on each timed itinerary Large Sketch Map putting the battlefields (north and south) into perspective Memorials, Museums, Sites of Interest (bunkers, craters etc) War Grave Cemeteries Allied and German GPS Location for every recommended stop War Graves and Commemorative Associations Cameos about individual personalities Useful Tourist Information Where to stay and eat

Walking D-Day

Author: Paul Reed
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Normandy (France)
Languages : en
Pages : 0

Book Description

The Middlebrook Guide to the Somme Battlefields

Author: Martin Middlebrook
Publisher: Casemate Publishers
ISBN: 1783460490
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 623

Book Description
While best known as being the scene of the most terrible carnage in the WW1 the French department of the Somme has seen many other battles from Roman times to 1944. William the Conqueror launched his invasion from there; the French and English fought at Crecy in 1346; Henry Vs army marched through on their way to Agincourt in 1415; the Prussians came in 1870.The Great War saw three great battles and approximately half of the 400,000 who died on the Somme were British a terrible harvest, marked by 242 British cemeteries and over 50,000 lie in unmarked graves. These statistics explain in part why the area is visited year-on-year by ever increasing numbers of British and Commonwealth citizens. This evocative book written by the authors of the iconic First Day on the Somme is a thorough guide to the cemeteries, memorials and battlefields of the area, with the emphasis on the fighting of 1916 and 1918, with fascinating descriptions and anecdotes.

The Making of Tomb Raider

Author: Daryl Baxter
Publisher: White Owl
ISBN: 1399002066
Category : Games & Activities
Languages : en
Pages : 219

Book Description
Back in 1994 at the game company ‘CORE Design’ in Derby, Lara Croft was born. Through eighteen months of pure hard work from the team, Tomb Raider was released in 1996 and became the success that we see today; taking part in the mid-nineties celebrations of Brit-Pop and Girl Power. This is the story of the team who were involved in creating the first two games, then leaving the series to a new team in 1998. Lara Croft brought class, comedy, and a James Bondian role to the game, dreamt up by Toby Gard and helped to become a pitch with Paul Douglas. The game was a gamble, but because everyone at the company believed in it, it led to huge success for everyone, except for Toby and Paul. ‘The Making of Tomb Raider’ goes into detail of how Lara and the games were born, alongside why Toby Gard and Paul Douglas left before the sequel was released. Throughout eleven chapters of countless interviews, this book will tell you who was responsible for creating the first two games; from its levels, its music, the many voices of Lara Croft, and much more. The team also reveals all about the star of the second game; Winston the Butler, and how he came to be by Joss Charmet. Over twenty people were interviewed for this story; from the pitch for what would be Tomb Raider, alongside the challenges along the way, up until the release of Tomb Raider 2 in 1997...

Major & Mrs Holt's Definitive Battlefield Guide to the Somme

Author: Tonie Holt
Publisher: MAJOR & MRS HOLTS BATTLEFIELD
ISBN: 9781473866720
Category : Battlefields
Languages : en
Pages : 0

Book Description
* New full colour, excellent value guide from the unrivalled Battlefield touring experts * The culmination of 30 years research and touring by the authors * In tune with modern travelling all places recommended as visits have not just a photo (around 450 in all) but also GPS references for satnavs. * The book will help you discover how to find

Stalag Luft III

Author: Charles Messenger
Publisher: Greenhill Books
ISBN: 1784384496
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 150

Book Description
In early 1942 the Third Reich opened a maximum security prisoner-of-war camp in Lower Silesia for captured Allied airmen. Called Stalag Luft III, the camp soon came to contain some of the most inventive escapers ever known.The escapers were led by Squadron Leader Roger Bushell, codenamed 'Big X'. In March 1944, Bushell masterminded an attempt to smuggle hundreds of POWs down a tunnel built right under the noses of their guards. In fact, 76 Allied airmen clambered into the tunnel and only three made successful escapes.This remarkable breakout would be immortalized in the famous Hollywood film The Great Escape, in which the bravery of the men was rightly celebrated. Behind the scenes photographs from the film are included in this definitive pictorial work on the most famous POW camp of World War II.

Major & Mrs Holt's Definitive Battlefield Guide to the D-Day Normandy Landing Beaches: 75th Anniversary Edition with GPS References

Author: Tonie Holt
Publisher: Pen & Sword Military
ISBN: 9781526757906
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages :

Book Description
Already the best-selling English-language guide to the area, universally known as THE BIBLE, this is the 75th anniversary, completely revised, up-to-date, much expanded edition of the DEFINITIVE GUIDE TO THE D-DAY NORMANDY LANDING BEACHES. The third in the Holts' important series of Battlefield Guides (following the Somme and the Ypres Salient) it employs the same, highly acclaimed formula. Once again the cold facts are interlaced with anecdotes of bravery, humour, sadness and humanity. This new edition now contains: All the landing Beaches: JUNO, SWORD, GOLD, OMAHA, UTAH All the Airborne Operations: British and American Two Approach Routes; Six timed and measured Itineraries 21 in-text Itinerary maps, Battle maps & Diagrams Approx 400 recommended sites within the D-Day planned area of advance, all with photos, each with Latitude & Longitude references (New for this Edition) Over 400 coloured pictures, 352 pages Memorials / Museums / Batteries / Bunkers / Landing fields Allied and German War Cemeteries Historical background to the landings The Plans and what actually happened Information about Allied and German War Graves Associations Veterans and other commemorative associations Normandy tourist information: Where to stay / where to eat Cameos about personalities - VCs / MOHs / Poets / Photographers etc Packaged with the Battle Map of the Normandy Landing Beaches showing the sea Assault formations for UTAH, OMAHA, GOLD, JUNO and SWORD Beaches and the air Assault Formations round Ste M Eglise and Pegasus Bridge; the D-Day Objectives and the Ground Gained on D-Day.

Badges and Uniforms of the Royal Air Force

Author: Malcolm Hobart
Publisher: Leo Cooper Books
ISBN:
Category : Antiques & Collectibles
Languages : en
Pages : 152

Book Description
Throughout the relatively short yet highly distinguished history of the Royal Air Force there has been a tendency for the men and women of the Service to be overshadowed by the glamour of the aircraft.Nonetheless it is surprising that there has never before been a complete record of the uniforms and badges of the RAF and its predecessor, the Royal Flying Corps. Malcolm Hobart and Pen and Sword Books have cooperated to rectify this serious omission with this superbly colour illustrated and comprehensive collector's guide. Badges of rank and trade are all depicted not only for the flying arms but for ground staff. This valuable addition to our Collector series also covers the RAF Reserves and Auxiliary Service, Air Training Corps and the Royal Observer Corps.

For Every Sailor Afloat Every Soldier at the Front

Author: P. Doyle
Publisher: Uniform Press
ISBN: 9781913491536
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 144

Book Description
In 1914, Princess Mary, the only daughter of King George V, was just 17. Yet with the world war two months old, the young princess was destined to make her mark. She would send a Christmas gift to all those serving in uniform, 'afloat and at the front.' With great determination, she set about her task to provide her gift to all those on active ......