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Product Description
Product Description
The Somme is the epicenter for most people in the study of the First World War from a UK and Commonwealth perspective. Today the landscape and terrain are dedicated to the soldiers that fought and died there and Major and Mrs. Holt's Pocket Guide to the Somme has been put together to take you around the area.This book, part of a new series of guides, is designed conveniently in a small size, for those who have only limited time to visit, or who are simply interested in as an introduction to the historic battlefields, whether on the ground or from an armchair. They contain selections from the Holts' more detailed guides of the most popular and accessible sites plus hand tourist information, capturing the essential features of the Battles.The book contains many full color maps and photographs and detailed instructions on what to see and where to visit.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
11 of 11 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
The Somme needs little introduction to the military historian Great War enthusiast and many family historians as the events there around 90 years ago left a mark on French soil and in British history that can never be deleted.
It is a known fact that an ever increasing number of researchers, enthusiasts and casual trippers visit these areas each year, obviously some are more interested than others and it is the casual visitor or those with limited time, that these two splendid books are aimed.
Major and Mrs Holt produce the best guides to the battlefields one can wish to buy, they are without a doubt quality products and are invaluable to a wide range of readers. Despite this new volume being a fraction of the price and size of the more detailed Holts publications, it does not lack detail and therefore anyone contemplating a visit to this famous battlefield area would be advised to take a copy with them on tour.
In usual Holt's style,it is fully comprehensive and features excellent colour pictures and maps, excellent itineraries with map references and mileages together with a wealth of other up to date information and facts, it will make any visit to this area so much more enjoyable.
Its well done and thanks once again Major and Mrs Holt for your valuable contribution to this fascinating subject.
It is a known fact that an ever increasing number of researchers, enthusiasts and casual trippers visit these areas each year, obviously some are more interested than others and it is the casual visitor or those with limited time, that these two splendid books are aimed.
Major and Mrs Holt produce the best guides to the battlefields one can wish to buy, they are without a doubt quality products and are invaluable to a wide range of readers. Despite this new volume being a fraction of the price and size of the more detailed Holts publications, it does not lack detail and therefore anyone contemplating a visit to this famous battlefield area would be advised to take a copy with them on tour.
In usual Holt's style,it is fully comprehensive and features excellent colour pictures and maps, excellent itineraries with map references and mileages together with a wealth of other up to date information and facts, it will make any visit to this area so much more enjoyable.
Its well done and thanks once again Major and Mrs Holt for your valuable contribution to this fascinating subject.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
This small book is an excellent pocket guide to the museums, war cemeteries and battlefield locations of the Somme sector of the Western Front between 1916-18, containing just the right amount of detail to plan any visit lasting no more than three or four days. During my visit to this region in August 2010, I found it to be invaluable.
The Somme offensive of 1916 is described and the actions of all the participating formations detailed. A further section then relates the enormous German offensive of March 1918 (the "Kaiserschlacht" meant to deal a knock-out blow to the Allies following the freeing-up of hundreds of thousands of the Kaiser's troops on the Eastern Front after peace was made with the new Bolshevik regime in Russia) which basically fought over the same ground as the 1916 Somme battles until it was ground to a standstill by lack of supplies and allied counter-attacks, returning the front to stalemate.
The authors detail the most prominent and interesting sites to visit - the excellent museum under the market square in Albert which exits into an ornamental garden (painted wall mural and shell-damaged church tower featured on the book's cover), for example, is under no circumstances to be missed - and many of the minor memorials and lesser-known spots. Any visitor to this part of Europe will be aware that the landscape is littered with cemeteries and tens of thousands of war graves: German, French, British (especially in this sector), Australian, Canadian and a few American too: the flower of a generation scattered across the gently rolling fields under a sea of white gravestones. Monumental white stone structures on which thousands of names are carved impose themselves everywhere on the landscape; poignant reminders of the cost paid in lives for Europe's thankfully long-gone age of tribal warfare.
The Holts' book is a quality publication with good informative text, well laid out with many pages of excellent photographs. One minor criticism I would have of the pocket-guide is the lack of a large-scale map offering strategic perspective of where everything is in relation to the main road/town network. Reportedly such a regional map is included in the larger edition of the book, but if you buy the pocket-guide, you need to buy the map separately. Make sure you don't visit this region without it, so you can see at a glance where you are in relation to everything else. The book does however contain smaller maps of several localities, and these are useful and detailed once you're actually there.
Overall, very good as a serious and knowledgeable guide for a short visit, and buying and studying it before you go will save you a lot of time.
The Somme offensive of 1916 is described and the actions of all the participating formations detailed. A further section then relates the enormous German offensive of March 1918 (the "Kaiserschlacht" meant to deal a knock-out blow to the Allies following the freeing-up of hundreds of thousands of the Kaiser's troops on the Eastern Front after peace was made with the new Bolshevik regime in Russia) which basically fought over the same ground as the 1916 Somme battles until it was ground to a standstill by lack of supplies and allied counter-attacks, returning the front to stalemate.
The authors detail the most prominent and interesting sites to visit - the excellent museum under the market square in Albert which exits into an ornamental garden (painted wall mural and shell-damaged church tower featured on the book's cover), for example, is under no circumstances to be missed - and many of the minor memorials and lesser-known spots. Any visitor to this part of Europe will be aware that the landscape is littered with cemeteries and tens of thousands of war graves: German, French, British (especially in this sector), Australian, Canadian and a few American too: the flower of a generation scattered across the gently rolling fields under a sea of white gravestones. Monumental white stone structures on which thousands of names are carved impose themselves everywhere on the landscape; poignant reminders of the cost paid in lives for Europe's thankfully long-gone age of tribal warfare.
The Holts' book is a quality publication with good informative text, well laid out with many pages of excellent photographs. One minor criticism I would have of the pocket-guide is the lack of a large-scale map offering strategic perspective of where everything is in relation to the main road/town network. Reportedly such a regional map is included in the larger edition of the book, but if you buy the pocket-guide, you need to buy the map separately. Make sure you don't visit this region without it, so you can see at a glance where you are in relation to everything else. The book does however contain smaller maps of several localities, and these are useful and detailed once you're actually there.
Overall, very good as a serious and knowledgeable guide for a short visit, and buying and studying it before you go will save you a lot of time.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
excellent book
excellent with index to use as a reference book and ideal on the day to use for referral on site
Published 13 months ago by old biker
The Somme
An excellent book for the pocket on a limited visit to the Somme area and well illustarted.
Published on 26 April 2010 by Abigail Nobbs
Holts Pocket Guide to the Somme
Good small guide book excellent for taking with you
Directions good and distances accurate. Could do with some road maps particularly if you want to visit sites in a different... Read more
Directions good and distances accurate. Could do with some road maps particularly if you want to visit sites in a different... Read more
Published on 9 Mar 2009 by Caroline Brown
Somme Battlields Booklet
Excellent publication, nice handy size and hope to put it to good use in a field visit.
Published on 3 Mar 2009 by I. Draper
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