Somme 1916: From Both Sides of the Wire

A chilling new light is shed on the Battle of the Somme in this three-part series

Historian Peter Barton believes World War One's Battle of the Somme has been seen from the British point of view for far too long. In what promises to be an enthralling series, Peter delves into German archives to examine many of the myths surrounding the battle. German documents reveal a string of British blunders, not least that for months Germany had been intercepting phone calls so knew its enemy's battle plans. One German machine-gunner also writes of his bemusement at seeing the British troops walking slowly across No Man's Land to their deaths: 'If only they had run they would have overwhelmed us.'