The Battle of the Somme remains one of the most controversial battles in history. The British were determined to break the back of the German Army, but the Germans fought them every step of the way and hundreds of thousands of men died for the sake of just a few miles of ground. By the end of the battle the entire area was a landscape of endless corpses. The Somme has remained a byword for the futility of war ever since.

In this major new history of the war, Peter Hart describes how the battle looked from the point of view of those who fought it. Using never-heard-before interviews taken from the Imperial War Museum sound archives, excerpts from diaries, letters and memoirs, The Somme is a unique audio full of passion, courage and the tragedy of trench warfare.
Contains occasional strong language and some scenes described may he disturbing.

Tim Pigott-Smith is perhaps best known for his role in The jewel in the Crown , but he is an actor of wide range and experience on film, television and the stage, TV work includes North and South and Innocents . Films include The Remains of the Day, Bloody Sunday and Gangs of NewYork .