The Somme - Peter Barton

Unique panoramas reveal new truths about the Battle of the Somme, in association with The Imperial War Museum

The Battle of the Somme began on 1 July 1916 with the bloodiest day in British military history. After four months it had etched itself deeply into the collective memories of a dozen nations as an enduring emblem of suffering and loss.

The landscape profile of Picardy has changed little over the decades. Here, more than in any other sector of the Western Front, the unique Imperial War Museum panorama collection offers the most complete 'then and now' impression available. In this volume over 50 extraordinary panoramas illustrate almost the entire battleground - views that are often starkly counterintuitive to pictures conjured by our mind's eye. They show us what no other photographs can: the view from the trench parapet, and a great deal more.

The symbolic and controversial first day is looked at afresh, with new research uncovering the perplexing choice of ordnance to counteract the German dugout threat, and the use and misuse of an extraordinary network of 'Russian Saps' installed during the two months prior to battle. These tunnels beneath no man's land often brought the British - unseen - to within 10 metres of the German trenches, yet over-secrecy and poor communication led to many being left unexploited. In the sectors where they were employed, however, success was dramatic.

Also included is a host of previously unpublished personal testimony, and a fresh look at several unseen and forgotten aspects of the battle such as the Royal Engineers' Push Pipes, Bored Mines and huge Livens Flame Projectors. Full of photographs, original mapping and plans, and specially commissioned drawings, here is the Somme as you have never seen it before.