On July 1, 1916, the British Army launched the "Big Push" that was supposed to bring an end to the horrific stalemate on the Western Front between British, French, and German forces. What resulted was one of the greatest single human catastrophes in the history of warfare. Scrambling out of trenches in the face of German machine guns and artillery fire, the Allied Powers lost over twenty thousand soldiers that first day, but this "battle" would drag on for another four deadly months. This chronicle traces the horrific confrontation between English, French, and German forces in a narrative account drawn from letters, diaries, and first-person testimonies. As the oral historian at the Imperial War Museum in London, the author has brought to light new material in this account of World War I's iconic contest.

Includes maps of: Western Front, 1915; Somme, 1916; Objectives on 1 JUL; Gommecourt; VIII Corps Attack on Serre and Beaumont Hamel; X Corps Attack on Thiepval; III Corps Attack on La Boisselle and Ovillers; XV Corps Attack on the Fricourt Salient; XIII Corps Attack on Montauban; French Sector; Situation at night, 1 JUL; Situation, 3 JUL; Situation, 8 JUL; Situation, 14 JUL; Longueval and Delville Wood; Pozieres; Guillemont and Ginchy; Plan for the Battle of Flers-Courcelette; Battle of Flers-Courcelette; Battle of Morval; Battle for Thiepval; Battle of the Transloy Ridges, 7-20 OCT; Butte de Warlencourt, 5 NOV; Battle of the Ancre, 13-19 NOV; End of the Battle.

The rocky road -- Armies and weapons -- Moving on up -- 1 July 1916 -- The morning after -- Creeping forward -- Stumbling to disaster -- From bad to worse -- You are not alone -- When push comes to shove -- Hammering on -- October attrition -- Last shake on the Ancre -- Assessment -- Life in the trenches -- British order of battle -- German order of battle.