"The Battle of the Somme has an enduring legacy, the image of 'lions led by donkeys' established by Alan Clarke; of brave British soldiers sent to their deaths by incompetent generals. But as Christopher Duffy reveals in this groundbreaking study, this was never the Germany view; indeed, the Germans had great respect for the British forces. The evidence for this is both copious and unfamiliar, discovered in archived official papers, histories, memoirs and letters, and most revealingly of all in the results of the interrogation of British prisoners of war... This book is not another of the number of comprehensive histories of the Battle of the Somme. Instead it looks at aspects of the battle from the German point of view, showing in particular the Germans' perception of the British performance and mentality in the course of that long struggle"--Dust jacket.

Pt. 1. The men and the nations. Knowing the enemy -- The Imperial troops -- The British army -- The home fires -- pt. 2. To the Somme. The British in France, 1914-15 -- Designs and preparations -- pt. 3. The campaign. The catastrophe of 1 July -- The battle carried forward, 2-14 July -- The wasting battles, 15 July [to] 31 August -- The second impetus, September -- October, the Ancre Heights, Walencourt and le Transloy -- The final actions : Gough's Fifth Army and the last battles of the Ancre, 13-14 and 18-19 November -- pt. 4. Weapons and tactics. The British style of combat -- Weapons of close support -- Artillery -- Gas -- The tank -- The Royal Flying Corps -- The reckoning.