Scorched Earth

The Germans on the Somme, 1914–18

Gerhard Hirschfeld, Gerd Krumeich, Irina Renz

• Publisher: Pen & Sword Military
• Year: 2009
• Print ISBN:
  9781844159734
• eBook ISBN:
  9781781598603
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: Women in History
• Index: History

This book discusses in detail the experience of German warfare in the first World War, focusing specifically on the battle of the Somme. The Somme, together with other regions of northern France, had also lain under German domination. Its inhabitants had been rigorously suppressed and their possessions carted off as booty. Finally, during their 1917 withdrawal, the Germans had subjected the whole region to Operation Alberich, a retreat involving unparalleled brutality which left the population in occupation of a wilderness wrought by war (the "scorched earth policy"). A well-known, and well-researched account, the authors have combined their research skills to produce a book which includes private testimonies. Amongst these are many unknown or previously unpublished letters and diaries as well as numerous photographs.

Table of contents

• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Table of Contents
• Introduction - Total War – The Writing on the Wall at the Somme
• Chapter One - The Road to the Somme German War Policy 1914 – 1916
• Chapter Two - The German Occupation of Northern France
• Chapter Three - The Battle of the Somme 1916
• Chapter Four - Retreat and Destruction
• Chapter Five - Return to the Somme 1918
• Chapter Six - The German Memory of the Somme
• Chapter Seven - Museums and First World War Memorials on the Somme