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Somme Mud (Paperback)
$13.58 - Save $0.71 (4%) - RRP $14.29 Free delivery worldwide (to United States and
all these other countries) Usually dispatched within 24 hours | |Short Description for Somme MudWritten from the perspective of an ordinary 'Tommy', this book is a testament to the human spirit, for out of the mud that threatened to suck out a man's soul rises a compelling story of humanity and friendship.
Full description- Publisher: Bantam Books (Transworld Publishers a division of the Random House Group)
- Published: 09 October 2008
- Format: Paperback 432 pages
- See: Full bibliographic data
- Categories: Biography: Historical, Political & Military | Autobiography: Historical, Political & Military | Battles & Campaigns | European History | Military History | First World War
- ISBN 13: 9780553819137 ISBN 10: 0553819135
- Sales rank: 20,355
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Reviews for Somme Mud
He's was NOT a Tommy
Being an amateur military historian and having read many books on WW1 I have to say that this is the best book about the war from the level of the average infantryman.
But I take offence that he is called a "Tommy". Plenty of UK soldiers have their histories and fought very well of the western front but this fellow was an 18YO Australian volunteer who was part of the 45th battalion which went into Messines Ridge with 560 men and officers and came out with 22 left.
I have recently covered the US marines in Pelieu and the exploits of the infamous Chesty Puller there who destroyed his own regiment by the constant command of "attack!! attack!! attack!! and you can see the WW1 parallels here where the 45 remnants of the 45th were ordered to attack 2 German pillboxes resulting in only 22 surviving. This sort of barbaric order was the hallmark of WW1 and unfortunately had not totally died out by WW2, and especially so in the Eastern Front and in the Pacific.
Necessary war is bad enough but the first job of an officer is to look after his men then to attempt to achieve his orders often given by staff officers in comfortable and safe bunkers who only have an eye on their next promotion or their next medal (like MacArthur's "Medal of Honour"..what a joke and an insult to every US serviceman)l
The only good thing about the WW1 Australian casualties is that we never again allowed the British to have our troops massacred as they did and then claim a British victory. But then we allowed MacArthur to do it in WW2 and claim an American victory.
I cannot recommend this book too highly as an insight into what those poor sods all had to endure and on both sides. Not for weak stomachs. by Kerry O Boustead
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