This addition to the growing series of battlefield guides has been
written by Michael Stedman, author of Thiepval. Drawing upon the wealth
of material available in both national and local archives, documentary
evidence, personal reminiscence and British and German unit histories,
La Boiselle will add enormously to the experience of any visitor to this
extraordinary location on the Somme battlefield.
This distinctive volume has ample detail to satisfy the discerning
expert whilst retaining the accessible style which will ensure that
anyone new to these magnificently informative places will feel at home
with the text.
Apart from the historical detail, La Boiselle is illuminated by a
distinctive and detailed array of maps and aerial photographs which will
guide the reader both at home and in the field. To support the maps a
sequence of contemporary and comparison present-day photographs will
enable students to plan and execute a series of enjoyable, informative
and evocative tours through the locality. These walks will guide people
to little-known sections of still existent front-line and assembly
trenches, dug-outs, gun-pits and observation posts, past the memorials
and cemeteries, with an eye for detail as well as to the human and
personal experience of the conflict.
If you are researching the story of a family member who served or is
commemorated here, if you wish to deepen and illuminate a visit to a new
Western Front location, if you are a student of the battlefield and the
military tactics employed here, La Boiselle will add enormously to your
knowledge and understanding of this powerful place. In an unsentimental
manner, La Boiselle can transport you back across eight decades to
understand something of the experience of the Tommies and their German
counterparts who fought and died here during the Great War.
