The World at War

Based mainly on personal observation The World at War is a graphic, straightforward history of the war on the Western Front, written by a correspondent of no ordinary ability; a man who describes himself as "a Briton by birth and an American by adoption." and is certainly not lacking in perspective. Through his vivid, accurate and illuminating narrative, our author draws his pictures with an eye to the diplomatic reasons behind the plans of war, the great sweep of armies as they manoeuvre for advantage, and the effect of the life and death decisions of Generals on the fighting man and on the civilian population.
Of the centre-piece at the Battle of the Somme, our author records that it came at 7:30 am. on July 1st, with a barely perceptible pause in the guns as the range leaped from the smoking first lines to a fire curtain behind them. A huge mine exploded under the bastion of La Boisselle; clouds of black smoke were released on "no man's land" for a screen. And a curving wave of troops twenty five miles long were over the parapets and charging the German lines. Yet the churned earth of the enemy front came to life in places but there was little loss generally as the British tore across the first lap and then machine guns and rifles burst from reserve trenches, the German guns came into action, and the real battle had started. The British army had marched to the Somme full of confidence. Each branch of the service had been trained patiently and thoroughly. At the first signal, every unit went in to win. Men showed bulldog courage; they put forth every ounce of weight they had, to break the German front. A huge machine had been assembled, but time and bitter losses were required before the various parts ran smoothly. Frontal attacks were inevitable; but the general tendency of the British was to advance too far on sections where an initial success was won. Sometimes big results were gained; sometimes thousands of lives were lost.