ISBN: 0 1400 5278 X PB 431 pp Published by Penguin.
Anyone who has even a passing interest in the Great War will know how influential the author was in awakening awareness in the subject by his writing "First Day on the Somme" . It has become The book that you would take with you on your first visit to that tragic area. I would argue also that if you have never been to the battlefields of 21st March 1918 and intend to undertake a visit, this book is required reading. Indeed I found the book of greater help than the first, but of course this is subjective. Martin Middlebrook describes the tactics of sides, the German offensive tactics and the British defensive plans. The expectations of the High Commands, of the massive throw of the dice for the German army and the hopes for the defence zones of the British. He has also relied on many personal recollections of individual soldiers of both sides as well as using contemporary documents to bring this massive offensive to life .He meticulously explains why the offensive was undertaken , how unprepared the British were for an offensive of this magnitude and why the German attacks were so successful on that first day . The author writes an in depth analysis of that fateful day giving the ground lost and the casualties sustained by both the British and German armies. The severity and magnitude of the day’s offensive was not exceeded until May 10th 1940 when the German armies attacked France, Belgium and Holland. The extent of the British reverses were so great that they placed a huge strain on Anglo French relations such was the embarrassment felt in some quarters . In an engrossing aftermath Martin writes of the eventual firming of the allies defence, the weakening the German efforts and eventual end to the battle on April 5th .The German , French and British armies had all sustained huge casualties , the British alone had lost 75,000 prisoners .
Although the Germans had inflicted a heavy defeat upon the Allies they had not achieved their objectives The book contains the Orders of Battle for the German Infantry Divisions, British Infantry and Cavalry Divisions, the Royal Flying Corps Order of Battle for March 21st. Senior Officer casualties and Victoria Cross awards on that fateful day .The book contains many photographs, maps of the campaign as well as diagrams of British defences and the famous Manchester Hill Redoubt. I believe this to be a very important book, explaining perhaps for the first time in a very readable style the importance of this great offensive which caused such anxiety to the allies. If you are going to the St Quentin area researching the March offensive, this is the book for you.
Reviewer: Maurice Johnson
