What books would you guys recomend are best for doing research on the battle of the Somme?
I just ordered Twelve Days on the Somme by Sidney Rogerson .
I would also be interested in testimonies by soldiers
or books written by people that fought in the battle.
Any suggestion would be much help for me. Thanks
“Bloody victory” by William Philpot is a extremely good one.
You can also download british war diaries of some units here.
Thank you mate, those diaries helped me so much. Really apreciate the help!
No problem!
I am a bit interested to see on what exactly you are working on.
Currently doing mostly hand writting research (writen around 80 pages worth of research)
Mostly about the Durham light infantry 15th battalion, conscription and what it felt like, feelings amongst the troops , ways of transportation, the food they ate and lots of stuff like this. And ofcourse lots of reading about the first week of the battle of the Somme.
After i finish with all my research i’ll start writting a semi fictional story, based on true events following one of the soldiers from his 18th birthday , training , getting shipped to france , fighting in the battle of Loos and the Somme and the effects on his mental health. Im writting in Greek so the books i can find are quite limited but i try to translate as much stuff as possible.
Im not really planning on publishing anything , but if one day i get to finish it… i’ll print some copies and share it with friends and family so i can hear their opinnion.
It all kinda started one day, when i was talking with my girlfriend and we came up with the idea about writting a story of a soldier being so traumatized by the incoming barrage that he befriended an unexploded shell.
So i thought i’d give it a try. I’ve written some fiction in the past but this is the first time im writting about a war that actually happened , so im really trying not to mess up any of the facts and be as historically accurate as i can. (sorry for my english not being that great)