Somme Mud

Australian.

Its the end of the 1916 winter and the conditions are almost unbelievable. We live in a world of Somme mud. We sleep in it, work in it, fight in it, wade in it and many of us die in it. We see it, feel it, eat it and curse it, but we cant escape it, not even by dying."" Private Edward Lynch was just 18 when he enlisted in the army. When he returned to Australia almost three years later, he wrote SOMME MUD, a vivid account of the horrific realities of trench warfare from an ordinary infantrymans point of view: the traumatised soldiers and ravaged landscapes, the curious mixture of hatred, empathy and admiration for the equally naive enemy soldiers, the disillusionment and the camaraderie. Lynchs candour and down-to-earth wit make SOMME MUD engaging for any reader, while archival photographs, a full glossary and editor Will Davies explanatory chapter introductions make this edition an illuminating text for students. As well as a memoir of one mans experience of war, SOMME MUD is an evocative record of the language and attitudes of early twentieth century Australia.

"Gilbert has unearthed fascinating details of the campaign . . . An unforgettable read."—The Philadelphia Inquirer At 7:30 a.m. on July 1, 1916, the first Allied soldiers climbed out of their trenches along the Somme River in France and charged into no-man's-land, toward the barbed wire and machine guns at the German front lines. In the months that followed, the fifteen-mile-long territory erupted into the epicenter of the Great War, marking a pivotal moment in both the war and military history as tanks first appeared on the battlefield and air war emerged as a devastating and decisive factor in battle. All told, there were more than one million casualties, with 310,000 men dead in just 138 days. In this vivid account of one of history's most destructive battles, distinguished historian Martin Gilbert tracks the experiences of foot soldiers, generals, and everyone in between. With new photographs, journal entries, original maps, and military planning documents, The Somme is the most authoritative and affecting account of this bloody turning point in the Great War.