The Western Front

Richard Holmes, author of the popular books War Walks and War Walks II, turns his attention to the Western Front, the trench line stretching from the Swiss Frontier to the North Sea. Of the nine million British and Dominion soldiers who enlisted during the First World War, the majority served here. Of the 947,000 soldiers who were killed in action, most also died here. Major themes in the book include: Making The Front (the early days of the war and how the front was created), Feeding The Front (the expansion of the British Army and the difficult supply of men and munitions), Holding The Front (the French army and its defining battle, Verdun), Commanding The Front (the Somme), Enduring The Front (how the men coped with living and fighting on the front), Breaking The Front (attempts to break the trench). Richly detailed and authoritative, the book clarifies the complexities of the Western Front and Its context within the most bitter and bloody of wars.