The First Day of the Somme

The First Day of the Somme

How One Morning in 1916 Changed a GenerationBy Jonathan Hayes
Michael Caine
Listen with Sir Michael Caine™ and 1,000+ voices
Length57m

About this audiobook

On the morning of July 1st, 1916, thousands of young soldiers climbed out of their trenches along the River Somme and began walking across a shattered landscape. Many believed the enemy ahead had already been destroyed. They were wrong. The First Day of the Somme tells the story of the bloodiest day in British military history through vivid, human perspectives—from the thunder of the artillery barrage to the first minute of machine-gun fire, and the quiet streets back home where telegrams began to arrive. This powerful narrative reveals how a single morning on the Western Front changed the course of the war—and erased a generation.

Audiobook details

GenreHistory
Length57 mins
Narrated byListen with 1,000+ voices
FormateBook with Audio
Publish dateMar 13, 2026
LanguageEnglish

Table of contents

1Chapter 1: Seven Days of Thunder
4Chapter 4: The Ridge Above the Somme.
2Chapter 2: The First Minute at the Somme
5Chapter 5: The Streets That Never Filled Again
3Chapter 3: The Chalk Ridge at Thiepval.

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