The Somme 1916: The Crucible of a British Army

[Crunchy]

Anyone read this book Chappell, Michael; The Somme 1916. Crucible of a British Army?

If so is it worth buying?

Thanks

Chris

[George Armstrong Custer]

Hi Chris,

I bought the limited signed leather-bound edition of this book when it first came out in 1995. In short, I like it and would recommend it. It's not a long book, but its large format allows a lot of text. More importantly, however, the author can write in a succinct and to the point manner which gives insightful summings up to the essentials. His central thesis is perhaps best summed up by the subtitle, which identifies the Somme in its entirety as having been: 'The Crucible of a British Army.' It's a view which Gary Sheffield has also subscribed to, of course, but frankly Chappell is a better, more cerebral writer. In his Introduction, Chappell identifies the shadow of the First Day of The Somme which hangs over all discussion of the Somme battles of 1916, writing:

There is one mental picture of the Somme fighting so harshly ingrained in our collective imagination that every reader must unconsciously be waiting to encounter it. It is perhaps as well to depart at once from a chronological sequence, and to place it at the head of this account as a reference point for what follows. Given its symbolic power, no sober attempt to understand these events can realistically be made until that scene has been faced.

Having dealt with the impact of the casualties of the First Day in chapter 2, Chappell moves on to discuss the policy background to the Somme and to look at it in its chronological entirety, before drawing his conclusions. In part, these are underpinned by two central pillars:

The first is that the German Army suffered in the Somme battles to such an extent that, although able to carry on the war for another two years and to take full advantage of the Russian collapse, it was never again the effective machine of early 1916. At the conclusion of the Somme fighting one German leader stated that "The German Army had been fought to a standstill and was utterly worn out." Another said, "We must save the men from a second Somme battle." The German Army's collapse of late 1918 had its beginnings in the pounding it took on the Somme. Attrition - the cynical trade-off in lives, materiel and wealth - proved to be a war-winning strategy.

Secondly, it must be claimed that however bloody the means and ghastly the cost, the Somme was the training ground of the British Army. Committed to the first battles with only a rudimentary knowledge of their trade, the survivors were forced to learn in the bitterest and most unforgiving schools of all. Artillerymen, infantrymen, sappers, machine gunners, fliers, and later tankmen: all gained the expertise in battle that they had not developed in their training. This expertise, particularly that of the gunners, was applied as a tactical doctrine which, as it took hold, brought professionalism to an army of amateurs, and enabled the British Army to fight its way through the war to play the major role in the victory of 1918. 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.

Chappell's book ends with a quote from a British junior officer, Captain Charles Carrington, who had fought on the Somme and knew whereof he spoke:

"The British Army learned its lesson the hard way, and during the middle part of the Somme battle and for the rest of the war, was the best army in the field."

I'd add that confirmation of Captain Carrington's view may be found in the observation of German Captain von Hentig of the German Guard Reserve Division: "The Somme was the muddy grave of the German field army."

The scope of Chappell's book may be deduced from the chapter headings:

Chapter One

Eighty Years On: Perception and Reality

Chapter Two

Prologue: Serre, 1 July 1916

Chapter Three

The Armies

Chapter Four

"One Policy, One Army, One Front"

Chapter Five

Bombardment and Barrage

Chapter Six

The Infantry Battle on 1 July: VII, VIII and X Corps

Chapter Seven

The Infantry Battle on 1 July: III, XV and XIII Corps

Chapter Eight

Maintaining the Pressure: 2 - 11 July 1916

Chapter Nine

The Attack on the Second Position: "The Battle of Bazentin Ridge"

Chapter Ten

Enter the Tank: "The Battle of Flers-Courcelette"

Chapter Eleven

British Infantry Tactics

Chapter Twelve

The Last Battles: From Morval to the Ancre

Chapter 13

Epilogue

Colour Plate Section

Appendix 1: Commanders & Principal Staff Officersof the BEF July-November 1916

Appendix 2: Order of Battle of British and Dominion Infantry present on the Somme 1916.

Appendix 3: Order of Battle of German Infantry present on the Somme 1916.

Appendix 4: British Artillery Weapons and Ammunition

The book is exceptionally well illustrated with photographs and maps throughout. The author is also a skilled military artist, and the book has an excellent colour section of his work - I give three examples below to give a flavour of their quality:

ISBN for the De luxe edition (250 copies) : 1 85915 012 8; and for the Standard edition: 1 85915 007 1.

Regards,

George

[Crunchy]

GAC,

Many thanks for your comprehensive reply. I really appreciate the effort you have gone to in answering my query.

Regards

Chris

[George Armstrong Custer]

You're very welcome, Chris! Here's some background on the author, Mike Chappell:

MichaelChappell

Best,

George

[Steven Broomfield]

So is this an Osprey Book? The artwork looks like Chappel's usual work for them (i.e. very good).

[George Armstrong Custer]

Yes, he's done a lot of excellent work for the Osprey series, Steve, but 'The Somme' was published by Windrow & Greene and is of a quite different format - illustrations apart - (though there might be a connection between the two publishing houses through Martin Windrow?)

ciao,

GAC

[Ozzie]

The artwork is exquisite, the more you look, the more you see.

Kim

[David Filsell]

Sadly, I understand that Martin Windrow is no longer involved in the ownership of Osprey. The Somme book was one of three or four similar books - all v. high quality in terms of texty and illustration by Windrow and Green. The Somme book is particularly good. Martin is now largely editing and writing I think. He wrote a terrific book about Dien Bien Fu a couple of years ago. When I asked him about French publication the printable piece of his reply was along the lines that the Frogs wouldn't dream of publishing a translation of a book about a French defeat written by a Brit. He added that they still regard Waterloo Station as an insult!

[George Armstrong Custer]

Thanks for that clarification on Martin Windrow, David. I like all his work, though haven't read his book on Dien Bien Phu (as an aside on that battle, I recall reading somewhere that it was the final graveyard for many former members of Hitler's Waffen SS, who fell there as members of the French Foreign Legion).

I agree with you that the Somme volume is the best of the short set of volumes of which it was part. A close runner, though, is 'Like Hungry Wolves - Culloden Moor 16 April 1746,' which latter title I also bought in the leather-bound limited edition of 250. I also have the 'Thin Red Line' volume in the standard open edition. I'm not sure I knew there was a fourth volume, and I certainly don't have it - what was it?

And yes, I can imagine that Windrow's comments on the likelihood of the Frogs publishing a book translated from the English on their dark moment at Dien Bien Phu would have been of the fruity variety - just as I imagine that there's more than a grain of truth in the Gallic umbrage still taken by some across the Channel over the name of Waterloo Station - after all, Waterloo was a French victory!

ciao,

GAC

[David Filsell]

GAC

Martin is certainly alive and well. After WW2 (extra time as John Terraine called it) the French Foreign Legion recruited a large number of ex German soldiers including the Waffen SS. I'm not an expert on the Legion but my understanding is that - in Clinton speak - "don't ask, don't tell" - was the rule. The strange thing is that the French have Austerlitz station, perhaps like the Americans they don't do irony!

[Steven Broomfield]

The Dien Bien Phu book - The last valley? If so, yes, it's excellent.

[auchonvillerssomme]

While cataloguing my collection I looked up values of this book, must be the only book where the signed numbered deluxe edition sells for less than the normal one!

[Rob Connolly]

I got my normal copy for £16 in Hay on Wye last year - it looks good at a brief skim, but I've still not read it properly.

[George Armstrong Custer]

A great buy at £16, Rob. And if the deluxe editions are to be found at knock-down prices then, for those who delight in a well-produced book for its own sake, they're well worth grabbing a copy of too.

George

[auchonvillerssomme]

I agree but even better buy at 6 quid with postage and the deluxe one goes for 30!

http://www.abebooks.co.uk/servlet/SearchResults?an=chappell&bt.x=0&bt.y=0&n=200000169&tn=somme

[Chris Foster]

Thanks for the heads up chaps.I've just bought the copy for £6

Regards

Chris

[squirrel]

I was fortunate enough to be given a first edition as a gift - excellent book.

[David Filsell]

Further to my comments about Martin Windrow, he has a (relatively) new book out about the French Foreign Legiopn in North Africe. It is quite excellent.

Regards

David

[Len Trim]

Hi,

and there was me thinking that I had nothing to read apart from the Official Histories! Now bought both the Somme and the Vietnam book for a total of £12.

Len