More than any other battle of the First World War, the battle of the Somme remains as the abiding memory of the appalling conditions, suffering and death of British manhood in the public consciousness. As the guns stopped their bombardment on the 1st of July, the waves of Allied troops walked toward the often still intact German lines. More than a million men in total would be killed, wounded or captured on both sides before the fighting subsided in November. Colonel Buchan wrote his volume study of the battle from an enviable position as a high ranking intelligence officer, having access to much of the detail from the allied side of the offensive. One of the finest British authors of the age, he also wrote copious numbers of books on the First World War, of particular note the 24 volume 'Nelson's" history

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