THE BATTLE OF THE SOMME – First & Second Phase (Complete Edition – Volumes 1&2) (Annotated)
Enriched Edition. Eyewitness history of 1916's Allied offensive: tactics, air power, first tanksBy John Buchan
Length4h 47m
About this audiobook
John Buchan's The Battle of the Somme – First & Second Phase offers a contemporary account of the 1916 offensive, tracing its strategic aims, battlefield geography, troop movements, and shifting fortunes across its opening and subsequent operations. Written in lucid, disciplined prose, it blends military narrative with patriotic interpretation, standing within the wartime documentary tradition that sought both to inform the public and to dignify unprecedented sacrifice. Buchan, later Lord Tweedsmuir, was a Scottish novelist, historian, publisher, and public servant, best known today for The Thirty-Nine Steps. During the First World War he worked closely with British information services and wrote extensively on the conflict, bringing to this work both narrative skill and access to official perspectives. His historical imagination and imperial convictions shaped his effort to render the Somme intelligible as strategy, ordeal, and national test. This complete edition is recommended for readers interested in First World War historiography, contemporary military writing, and the cultural memory of the Western Front. Though modern scholarship may question some judgments, Buchan's account remains invaluable as a polished, immediate, and revealing wartime interpretation of one of history's defining battles.
This enriched edition has been carefully crafted to add value to your reading experience.
- A comprehensive Introduction outlines these selected works' unifying features, themes, or stylistic evolutions.
- A Historical Context section situates the works in their broader era—social currents, cultural trends, and key events that underpin their creation.
- A concise Synopsis (Selection) offers an accessible overview of the included texts, helping readers navigate plotlines and main ideas without revealing critical twists.
- A unified Analysis examines recurring motifs and stylistic hallmarks across the collection, tying the stories together while spotlighting the different work's strengths.
- Reflection questions inspire deeper contemplation of the author's overarching message, inviting readers to draw connections among different texts and relate them to modern contexts.
- Lastly, our hand‐picked Memorable Quotes distill pivotal lines and turning points, serving as touchstones for the collection's central themes.
Audiobook details
Rating★★★★ 4.5 (11)
Includes Amazon
GenreHistory
Length4 hrs 47 mins
Narrated byListen with 1,000+ voices
FormateBook with Audio
Publish dateMar 25, 2016
LanguageEnglish
Table of contents
1THE BATTLE OF THE SOMME – First & Second Phase (Complete Edition – Volumes 1&2) (Annotated)
2Introduction
3Historical Context
4Synopsis (Selection)
5THE BATTLE OF THE SOMME – First & Second Phase (Complete Edition – Volumes 1&2)
Show all chaptersShow less
6THE BATTLE OF THE SOMME FIRST PHASE
7THE BATTLE OF THE SOMME SECOND PHASE
8Analysis
9Reflection
10Memorable Quotes
Voices from the Trenches: 40 First World War NovelsJohn Buchan, D. H. Lawrence, H. C. McNeile, Henri Barbusse, Sapper, Ford Madox Ford, Thomas Nelson Page, A. P. Herbert, Zane Grey, E. Phillips Oppenheim, Elizabeth Von Arnim, Herbert W. McBride, Owen Wister, Robert W. Chambers, Frederic Manning, William John Locke, Edith Wharton, Hall Caine, Marie Belloc Lowndes, John Oxenham, Frances Hodgson Burnett, O. Douglas, J. Storer Clouston, Ring Lardner, William Le Queux, Herbert George Jenkins, Louis Tracy, Romain Rolland, Owen Johnson, Earl Derr Biggers, Stephen Hudson, Hesketh Prichard315h 15m$1.99
NO-MAN'S-LAND & Other Supernatural Stories (Mystery & Horror Series) (Annotated)John Buchan8h 8m4.0 (20)$2 · $0.00
THE THIRTY-NINE STEPS (Spy Thriller Classic) (Annotated)John Buchan5h 5m4.3 (1.5K)$2 · $0.00
MYSTERY & ESPIONAGE Ultimate Collection – Complete Richard Hannay, Dickson McCunn & Sir Edward Leithen Series in One Premium Edition (Annotated)John Buchan149h 42m4.4 (121)$2 · $0.00
THE THREE HOSTAGES (Mystery & Adventure Classic) (Annotated)John Buchan30h 31m3.9 (2.5K)$2 · $0.00
JOHN BUCHAN - Complete Short Stories Collection (Unabridged) (Annotated)John Buchan28h 47m$2 · $0.00
GREENMANTLE (Spy Thriller) (Annotated)John Buchan11h 4m$2 · $0.00
THE 39 STEPS (Spy Thriller) (Annotated)John Buchan5h 5m$2 · $0.00
John Macnab (Annotated)John Buchan10h 7m4.4 (12)$2 · $0.00
The Collected Works of John Buchan (Illustrated) (Annotated)John Buchan199h 19m$2 · $0.00
THE GREAT WAR COLLECTION – The Battle of Jutland, The Battle of the Somme & Nelson's History of the War (9 Books in One Volume) (Annotated)John Buchan46h 54m$2 · $0.00
The Power-HouseJohn Buchan3h 38m3.6 (1.4K)$1 · $0.00
JOHN BUCHAN – Ultimate Collection: 28 Novels & 40+ Short Stories (Including Poems, War Writings, Essays, Biographies & Memoirs) - IllustratedJohn Buchan427h 29m4.2 (152)$2 · $0.00
Collected Supernatural StoriesJohn Buchan8h 31m4.1 (283)$1 · $0.00
John Buchan: 28 Novels & 40+ Short Stories (Illustrated)John Buchan427h 31m$1 · $0.00
The 39 StepsJohn Buchan4h 56m3.8 (72.3K)$1 · $0.00
Days to Remember: The British Empire in the Great WarJohn Buchan, Henry John Sir Newbolt5h 37m3.5 (33)$2 · $0.00
Salute to AdventurersJohn Buchan9h 56m3.9 (303)$2 · $0.00
JOHN BUCHAN Ultimate Collection: Spy Classics, Thrillers, Adventure Novels & Short Stories, Including Historical Works and Essays (Illustrated)John Buchan198h 57m4.5 (124)$1 · $0.00
The Gulag Archipelago Volume 3Aleksandr I. Solzhenitsyn21h 56m4.7 (8.9K)$46 · $0.00
Pearl of Great PriceJoseph Smith3h 8m4.7 (7.2K)$1.20 · $0.00
The Redeemer’s ReturnArthur W. Pink13h 18m4.7 (589)$20
The Happiest Man on EarthEddie Jaku3h 48m4.6 (178K)$7 · $0.00
MotherlandJulia Ioffe17h 52m4.7 (2.5K)$40 · $0.00
Where Cowards Go to DieBenjamin Sledge8h 42m4.7 (351)$20 · $0.00
The Bark Canoes and Skin Boats of North America (Annotated)Howard Irving Chapelle, Tappan Adney13h 9m4.8 (150)$1.99 · $0.00
RevolutionariesSanjeev Sanyal11h 23m4.6 (2.6K)$29 · $0.00
We Crossed a Bridge and It TrembledWendy Pearlman6h4.6 (5.2K)$24 · $0.00
Unbroken Bonds of BattleJohnny Joey Jones8h 31m4.6 (2.6K)$8 · $0.00
The Daughter of AuschwitzTova Friedman, Malcolm Brabant7h 54m4.6 (16.7K)$26 · $0.00
Lily's PromiseLily Ebert, Dov Forman8h 54m4.6 (16.1K)$29 · $0.00
Saving My EnemyBob Welch9h 11m4.6 (2.3K)$20
On Democracies and Death CultsDouglas Murray10h 38m4.6 (6.5K)$29 · $0.00
Across the RiverKent Babb11h 40m4.6 (927)$29 · $0.00
The Red Record (Annotated)Ida B. Wells-Barnett5h 19m4.8 (102)$1.99 · $0.00
Balcony Over Jerusalem: A Middle East Memoir - Israel, Palestine and BeyondJohn Lyons12h 37m4.6 (1.4K)$33 · $0.00
The Fire Next TimeJames Baldwin2h 25m4.6 (159.1K)$15
EnduranceAlfred Lansing6h 1m4.6 (40.8K)$20
BeyondStephen Walker15h 39m4.6 (3.2K)$33 · $0.00
You may also like
Churchill: The World CrisisWinston Churchill23h 49m4.4 (3.3K)$1 · $0.00
From Manassas to Appomattox: Memoirs of the Civil War in America (Illustrated Edition) (Annotated)James Longstreet24h 54m4.1 (1.9K)$1.99 · $0.00
Marked for DeathJames Hamilton-Paterson12h 13m4.2 (602)$23
Conversations with Major Dick WintersColonel Cole C. Kingseed USA, (Ret.)7h 38m4.5 (2K)$20
Their Finest Hour (Complete Edition)Winston Churchill28h 59m4.5 (7.6K)$1 · $0.00
Russia's Part in the World WarC. M. Shumsky-Solomonov1h 22m$2 · $0.00
World War I - 9 Book Collection (Annotated)John Buchan46h 57m$2 · $0.00
Days to Remember: The British Empire in the Great War (Illustrated) (Annotated)John Buchan, Henry Newbolt6h 31m3.5 (33)$1.99 · $0.00
The Story of the Great War, Volume 8 of 8Various18h 12m3.6 (12)$2.30
The Memoirs of Baron de Marbot, Volume IIIJean-Baptiste de Marbot11h 29m4.5 (62)$2.99 · $0.00
The British Campaign in France and Flanders, 1914Arthur Conan Doyle10h 57m3.9 (234)$2.30
Gallipoli Diary, Volume ISir Ian Hamilton10h 58m3.8 (308)$2.30
Sixty Squadron R.A.FA. J. L. Scott3h 31m3.7 (19)$2 · $0.00
In the Line of Battle: Soldiers' Stories of the WarVarious6h 16m3.2 (14)$2 · $0.00
The British Campaign in France and Flanders, 1915Arthur Conan Doyle8h 6m$2.30
The British Campaign in France and Flanders --January to July 1918Arthur Conan Doyle11h 30m$2.30
Gallipoli Diary (Annotated)Ian Hamilton21h 28m4.0 (173)$1.99 · $0.00
Slim, Master of WarDr Robert Lyman11h 42m4.2 (90)$9.99
THE WARFARE COLLECTION – Complete Military Works of Rudyard Kipling: Sea Warfare, The Irish Guards in the Great War, A Fleet in Being, America's Defenceless Coasts and many more (Annotated)Rudyard Kipling42h 7m$2 · $0.00
The Tank CorpsClough Williams-Ellis, Amabel Williams-Ellis9h 30m4.1 (18)$1 · $0.00