--- product_id: 5913426 title: "The Great War: July 1, 1916: The First Day of the Battle of the Somme" price: "199.36 DT" currency: TND in_stock: true reviews_count: 13 url: https://www.desertcart.tn/products/5913426-the-great-war-july-1-1916-the-first-day-battle store_origin: TN region: Tunisia --- # The Great War: July 1, 1916: The First Day of the Battle of the Somme **Price:** 199.36 DT **Availability:** ✅ In Stock ## Quick Answers - **What is this?** The Great War: July 1, 1916: The First Day of the Battle of the Somme - **How much does it cost?** 199.36 DT with free shipping - **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship - **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.tn](https://www.desertcart.tn/products/5913426-the-great-war-july-1-1916-the-first-day-battle) ## Best For - Customers looking for quality international products ## Why This Product - Free international shipping included - Worldwide delivery with tracking - 15-day hassle-free returns ## Description From “the heir to R. Crumb and Art Spiegelman” ( Economist ) comes a monumental, wordless depiction of the most infamous day of World War I. Launched on July 1, 1916, the Battle of the Somme has come to epitomize the madness of the First World War. Almost 20,000 British soldiers were killed and another 40,000 were wounded that first day, and there were more than one million casualties by the time the offensive halted. In The Great War , acclaimed cartoon journalist Joe Sacco depicts the events of that day in an extraordinary, 24-foot- long panorama: from General Douglas Haig and the massive artillery positions behind the trench lines to the legions of soldiers going “over the top” and getting cut down in no-man’s-land, to the tens of thousands of wounded soldiers retreating and the dead being buried en masse. Printed on fine accordion-fold paper and packaged in a deluxe slipcase with a 16-page booklet, The Great War is a landmark in Sacco’s illustrious career and allows us to see the War to End All Wars as we’ve never seen it before. 24 plates Review: Love the artwork and story. - love the artwork and the story Review: A Different Perspective on a Tragic and Costly Battle of the First World War. - Joe Sacco is a journalist and comic book artist. Born in Malta, he is now a citizen of the U.S. living in Portland, Oregon. He has gained a reputation for reporting on some of the world’s top hot spots in the manner of a comic book style. He has written books on the Bosnian War, the Gulf war and the Palestinian situation. This book, which I received a couple of weeks ago, is somewhat of a departure from his previous subjects. It is a continuous drawing of the battle as it develops from the evening of June 30th to the evening of July 1st, folded concertina style into 24 plates (or pages). Beginning with Haig leaving church that evening it then shows in the minutest detail how the preparations for the battle unfold. The initial bombardment by heavy guns, thousands of troops moving into position with horses, men, wagons and piles of munitions are all meticulously portrayed in line drawings. Night falls and leads to dawn as men take up their positions and prepare for the assault. When they start going over the top, Sacco correctly portrays the men with arms at the port as they expected little resistance. There then follow several pages of the battle … shells bursting … the men struggling to advance … falling, dying … dead. It ends with the return, the roll calls, advanced dressing stations and burial. His research of the subject was extensive. Having spent fifteen years in Australia before he moved to the States in 1978, he became fascinated by the Great War, especially of Gallipoli and the Dardanelles and it apparently never left him. He has amassed a large library on the war and he states in the forward that his inspiration for the work was influenced by the authors Martin Middlebrook and Lynn MacDonald among others. This is a fascinating work. Its approach is probably unlike anything we have seen in this field. Despite this, it must be taken for what it is. Without a proper understanding of the battle, the book can do little to inform one of the chaos and horror of that day. The depiction of the dead and dying soldiers cannot by definition be close to reality. One unfortunate note (for me) is that Sacco chose to include an extract from Adam Hochschild’s book "To End All Wars", which is a history of the pacifist/socialist movements during the First World War. Although he doesn’t distort the history, Hochschild trashes most of the British military hierarchy including, of course, Earl Haig. He dismisses the more recent reassessments of the Field Marshall and falls back on the old ‘butcher’ treatment. I would have thought an extract from Martin Middlebrook’s "First Day of the Somme" would have been more appropriate. Having said that, there is no doubt that The Great War by Joe Sacco will become an important and unique addition to the literature and iconography of this terrible war with which we will undoubtedly be bombarded in the coming five years. ## Technical Specifications | Specification | Value | |---------------|-------| | Best Sellers Rank | #676,012 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #440 in Biographies & History Graphic Novels #660 in World War I History (Books) #821 in Educational & Nonfiction Graphic Novels | | Customer Reviews | 4.8 out of 5 stars 165 Reviews | ## Images ![The Great War: July 1, 1916: The First Day of the Battle of the Somme - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/61QhUL5ZcVL.jpg) ## Customer Reviews ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Love the artwork and story. *by D***T on January 7, 2025* love the artwork and the story ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ A Different Perspective on a Tragic and Costly Battle of the First World War. *by C***T on December 1, 2013* Joe Sacco is a journalist and comic book artist. Born in Malta, he is now a citizen of the U.S. living in Portland, Oregon. He has gained a reputation for reporting on some of the world’s top hot spots in the manner of a comic book style. He has written books on the Bosnian War, the Gulf war and the Palestinian situation. This book, which I received a couple of weeks ago, is somewhat of a departure from his previous subjects. It is a continuous drawing of the battle as it develops from the evening of June 30th to the evening of July 1st, folded concertina style into 24 plates (or pages). Beginning with Haig leaving church that evening it then shows in the minutest detail how the preparations for the battle unfold. The initial bombardment by heavy guns, thousands of troops moving into position with horses, men, wagons and piles of munitions are all meticulously portrayed in line drawings. Night falls and leads to dawn as men take up their positions and prepare for the assault. When they start going over the top, Sacco correctly portrays the men with arms at the port as they expected little resistance. There then follow several pages of the battle … shells bursting … the men struggling to advance … falling, dying … dead. It ends with the return, the roll calls, advanced dressing stations and burial. His research of the subject was extensive. Having spent fifteen years in Australia before he moved to the States in 1978, he became fascinated by the Great War, especially of Gallipoli and the Dardanelles and it apparently never left him. He has amassed a large library on the war and he states in the forward that his inspiration for the work was influenced by the authors Martin Middlebrook and Lynn MacDonald among others. This is a fascinating work. Its approach is probably unlike anything we have seen in this field. Despite this, it must be taken for what it is. Without a proper understanding of the battle, the book can do little to inform one of the chaos and horror of that day. The depiction of the dead and dying soldiers cannot by definition be close to reality. One unfortunate note (for me) is that Sacco chose to include an extract from Adam Hochschild’s book "To End All Wars", which is a history of the pacifist/socialist movements during the First World War. Although he doesn’t distort the history, Hochschild trashes most of the British military hierarchy including, of course, Earl Haig. He dismisses the more recent reassessments of the Field Marshall and falls back on the old ‘butcher’ treatment. I would have thought an extract from Martin Middlebrook’s "First Day of the Somme" would have been more appropriate. Having said that, there is no doubt that The Great War by Joe Sacco will become an important and unique addition to the literature and iconography of this terrible war with which we will undoubtedly be bombarded in the coming five years. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ This book is extraordinary!! *by R***C on March 18, 2014* I have never been to war. I don't know if any medium can represent what goes on in battle, but I certainly feel I have a better insight after this book. The author is inspired by the Bayeux Tapestry in creating a series of images that seek to present battle in many aspects, from the preparations behind the lines, to the horror of "over the top", to the survivors who returned and the burial details for those who didn't. This was a must for my WWI library. There are no words. The entire book is black and white line drawing. The only identifiable individual is Field Marshal Haig. It seems almost facetious to say that the book must be examined like a Where's Waldo book to find all of the details that the author has included. The book consists of a continuous accordion fold sheet that carries the battle through the first day. Each page is packed with the small events of war that were occurring at that day in the battle. ## Frequently Bought Together - The Great War: July 1, 1916: The First Day of the Battle of the Somme - War on Gaza - Palestine --- ## Why Shop on Desertcart? - 🛒 **Trusted by 1.3+ Million Shoppers** — Serving international shoppers since 2016 - 🌍 **Shop Globally** — Access 737+ million products across 21 categories - 💰 **No Hidden Fees** — All customs, duties, and taxes included in the price - 🔄 **15-Day Free Returns** — Hassle-free returns (30 days for PRO members) - 🔒 **Secure Payments** — Trusted payment options with buyer protection - ⭐ **TrustPilot Rated 4.5/5** — Based on 8,000+ happy customer reviews **Shop now:** [https://www.desertcart.tn/products/5913426-the-great-war-july-1-1916-the-first-day-battle](https://www.desertcart.tn/products/5913426-the-great-war-july-1-1916-the-first-day-battle) --- *Product available on Desertcart Tunisia* *Store origin: TN* *Last updated: 2026-07-13*