The Battles of the Somme, 1916: Historiography and Annotated Bibliography

(Hardback)

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The important 1916 Anglo-French offensive comprising the battles of the Somme marked a change in the Allies' relationships, with the British beginning to play a more important role. From contemporaries to the present the Somme has also produced a number of controversies. Was the terrible bloodshed justified by the results Were the tactics used the best possible under the circumstances Was the new technology, especially the tank, used as effectively as possible This book shows the current state of historians' interpretations of the Somme. The initial section of the book presents the historical background of the offensive and lays out the major interpretative disputes about it. The section identifies scholars and works in each school of thought, enables readers to determine where a specific work fits in the spectrum of views, and provides cross references to the bibliography. The second section provides an annotated bibliography of more than 700 entries.

Reviews

No military library should be without this book or, if it is indeed representative of the series, of the entire series. It is fabulously useful for any student of The Somme, beginning as it does with a concise overview of the entire war leading up to this point, followed by a condensed account of the battle. In 17 short pages thereafter, the essential issues are presented under the headings of "Generalship and Strategy," "Tactics," "Technology," and "Conclusion: Who Won" All this is a brilliantly prepared synthesis; then follows the real meat--the annotated bibliography accommodating some 704 entries.-Parameters
The Annotated Bibliography is well presented and easy to use, with an impressive 704 entries....-French Review
The Battle of the Somme, July to November 1916, remains one of the bloodiest and most controversial events of WW I. This combined historiography and annotated bibliography seeks ot provide an overview of the historical literature about this campaign....Thsi source should be particularly valuable for scholars of WW I, and is recommended for academic libraries supporting military studies.-Choice
"The Annotated Bibliography is well presented and easy to use, with an impressive 704 entries...."-French Review
"The Battle of the Somme, July to November 1916, remains one of the bloodiest and most controversial events of WW I. This combined historiography and annotated bibliography seeks ot provide an overview of the historical literature about this campaign....Thsi source should be particularly valuable for scholars of WW I, and is recommended for academic libraries supporting military studies."-Choice
"No military library should be without this book or, if it is indeed representative of the series, of the entire series. It is fabulously useful for any student of The Somme, beginning as it does with a concise overview of the entire war leading up to this point, followed by a condensed account of the battle. In 17 short pages thereafter, the essential issues are presented under the headings of "Generalship and Strategy," "Tactics," "Technology," and "Conclusion: Who Won" All this is a brilliantly prepared synthesis; then follows the real meat--the annotated bibliography accommodating some 704 entries."-Parameters

Author Bio

FRED R. VAN HARTESVELDT is Professor of History at Fort Valley State College in Georgia. He is editor of the anthology, The 1918-1919 Pandemic of Influenza (1992) and the author of a number of reviews and articles.