Attack: An Infantry Subaltern’s Impressions of July 1st, 1916: A Memoir of the First Day on the Somme

by Edward G.D. Liveing

Edward George Downing Liveing (1895-1963) was an author and historian. His works include: Attack: An Infantry Subaltern's Impression of July 1st, 1916 (1918), The House of Harrild, 1801-1948 (1949), Adventure in Publishing (1949), Pioneers of Petrol (1959) and A Century of Insurance (1961). "The attack on the fortified village of Gommecourt, which Mr. Liveing describes in these pages with such power and colour, was a part of the first great allied attack on July 1, 1916, which began the battle of the Somme. That battle, so far as it concerns our own troops, may be divided into two sectors: one, to the south of the Ancre River, a sector of advance, the other, to the north of the Ancre River, a containing sector, in which no advance was possible. Gommecourt itself, which made a slight but important salient in the enemy line in the containing sector, was the most northern point attacked in that first day's fighting. "

Genres: History, World War I

66 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 26, 2009

About the author

See also Dr. Edward Liveing, for the early work on 'Megrims'.

Edward George Downing Liveing (1895-1963), was an author and historian.

During WWI he served in France, Palestine, and Egypt. After the war he was regional director for the BBC.

He was the grandson of Edward Liveing, 1832-1919

Reviews

[Jon Nakapalau · Rating 5 out of 5]

Subaltern Edward G.D. Liveing takes you into the trenches the day of the British attack on the Somme. You wake up in the morning only to learn that one of the men who served under you has just had the back of his neck blown away by shrapnel...you spend a good part of the day on the side of the road to your destination, just looking at the sky...wondering if it is the last time you will see it...you 'go over'. ‘Hell's foundations quiver…’ yet ever forward...through smoke as machine gun bullets rake the ground on all sides around you and shrapnel rains down hot metal on you. Highest recommendation!

[Brantley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Since I have neglected reading much on WWI, I though that brief memoirs and stories would be an interesting start to learning about the topic. This, my first on the Great War, provides a gripping account of the author's experience in an attack across no-man's-land to take a well fortified German trench. Although the ending does drag on slightly, the account is fascinating and definitely worth the hour or so it takes to read.

[Rob Adams · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good first-hand account of the first battle say at the Somme. Vividly written.