Åbo Akademis bibliotek

This highly illustrated book covers the activities of the German Army on the River Somme throughout the long years of The Great War. The initial fighting in 1914 was against the French prior to the arrival of the British Army. The 1916 Allied Offensive eventually resulted in the German withdrawal but only at a terrible cost to both sides. The 1918 Kaiserschlacht saw the Germans return, albeit briefly. Each phase is covered from the German perspective using primary and secondary sources. In addition to the wealth of splendid/fully captioned photographs, there is an authoritative general text and a useful chronological order of events. Being arguably the most evocative area in British military history, much has been written on the Somme. What makes this splendid book so different is the author's successful attempt to view events through the eyes of our adversaries.