The Somme 1916: Crucible of a British Army

[roger]

Any comments on this book would be most welcome before I order it. The main attraction for me are the cplour plates but what is the text like?

All the best,

Roger

[George Armstrong Custer]

Hello Roger,

Yes, you are correct, this book has value on the basis of the color illustrations (and many b&w photographs) alone. However I would add that the text is also worthy of praise, providing a lucid and dispassionate account of the facts. The author is most certainly not of the John Laffin or Alan Clark 'butchers and bunglers' school of Great War historiography, but neither does he avoid apportioning blame where it is merited. Chappell points out that seeing the Somme as a hideous act of human folly casts a slur on the competence of the men who fought and the officers who led them, and 'by ignoring, or failing to recognise the handicaps they fought under, devalues their actual achievements in the Somme battles.' Chappell may be seen, therefore, as an adherent of the thinking regarding the 'learning curve' of the British Army into the superbly honed fighting machine of 1917/18, the groundwork of which was laid by the works of the late lamented John Terraine, and developed by the current generation of military historians such as Gary Sheffield, Robin Neilands, Paddy Griffith and Huw Strachan. Adopting this approach puts Chappell in damned good company in my view!

Explaining the book's subtitle, Chappell writes: The Somme 1916 was, beyond question, the greatest test of the British Army between 1914 and 1918. From a disastrous beginning it pursued a campaign which kept the enemy under extreme pressure, eventually forcing him to abandon much of the territory for which he had fought so tenaciously, and to revise his concept of defence. As iron emerges from the flame and heat of the crucible as steel, so the British Army emerged from the battlefields of the Somme transformed into a military machine the equal of any on earth. Confident in its new-found skills, it was fully aware of the awful realities of war, yet grimly determined to fight on to victory.'

I hope this gives you some flavor of the book. [bTW, the book was also available when first published in 1995 as a numbered and signed limited edition (of 150), bound in leather with a slipcase. ISBN for this De Luxe edition is: 1 85915 012 8; and the Standard edition: 1 85915 007 1]

Ciao,

GAC

[roger]

General Custer, or may I call you George.

Thanks very much for the review. I have sent for the book and after reading your review I'm glad I did. I'll let you know my impression when it gets here.

I have Michael Chappell's Osprey books so I've sampled some of his work before.

Thanks very much,

Roger.

[George Armstrong Custer]

You're welcome, roger. 'General' Custer? Well, I see I'm on the muster roll hereabouts as a private - and very proud I am too to consider myself a Gentleman Ranker! So George will do just fine. I look forward to your own appraisal of the Chappell book once you've had a chance to read it through.

Regards,

George

[QMan9193]

Mr Chappell's book on the Somme is superb, his plates are excellent, and have his old RSM's eye for detail that other artists just do not match. I believe being in the Army helped his paintings ten-fold.

[Guest Paul_9686]

I have several other books in the various Osprey series that Chappell's illustrated--the most recent acquisition being Martin Pegler's British Tommy 1914-18. I do believe that this book on the Somme will be the next addition to my small but growing collection of WWI books. Glad I found this discussion!

Yours,

Paul

[Guest Paul_9686]

Unfortunately, I just discovered that this Chappell book is not an Osprey paperbound title as I thought it was, but a hardcover--and a steeply-priced one, at that. Rats. I guess my next aquisition will be the Campaign series title, First Ypres 1914, instead.

Yours,

Paul

[roger]

Paul,

I've got the book now and I got it for about half the price

Have a look on www.abebooks.co.uk

You may find a reasonably priced copy.

[roger]

Paul,

Just had alook on abebooks and there is a copy for £15.

It's not in mint condition but for that price you can't go wrong.

Roger.

[Greenwoodman]

They come up reasonably often on eBay for around £10-£12 (if my failing memory serves me right). I got mine from there and its in good condition.

[Guest Paul_9686]

Terribly sorry, friends, but I've never ordered anything from Great Britain. I checked with Amazon.com, and the lowest price they had was $49.95 American--way far out of my price range. I honestly thought The Somme would be an Osprey Campaign book, not a hardcover in its own right.

Thanks, anyway.

Yours,

Paul

[Robert Dunlop]

It may be that the Somme is too complicated for an Osprey Campaign Series. It could be done but typically the focus would be on two or three major actions - say 1 July, 14 July and 17 September. The fascination of the Somme is the complex way in which it evolved. It would require a skillful writer to capture this in such a short book. An interesting challenge though.

Robert

[paul guthrie]

Paul even in Bush$ you can frequently do better with Amazon UK.