Somme 100 App Review

100 years ago today, the Battle of the Somme was raging and showed no sign of slowing up. Advancements and retreats on both sides was getting the war nowhere but with so many problems in the world today, not much is being said about it on the news. 

I first heard about the Somme 100 App, creating by Dan Snow and The Royal British Legion, when he announced it on his YouTube channel on launch day. I downloaded it but didn't get a chance to have a proper look at it until a few days later and was pleasantly suprised at how much content and options there were. 

The first thing I love it the simple homepage - With a background that looks like old paper (I remember recreating this as a child with a used teabag), your attention is immediately caught by the bright red poppy, a system especially of the First World War. But it's the picture of the three men that really got me thinking, for it is them that lived through the days at the Somme, just normal men with families and lives back home, that were fighting the enemy to survive each day. I think they simple homepage really pays tribute to those men, and makes you realised that it could have just as likely been you or I that were there. 

For those who are learning about the Battle of the Somme for the first time, your first stop has to be there Battle Timeline. Here you will find key information about how the tension grew to start the war and then its split down into segments after that. For example, what happened on that first day or what happened at the Battle of Flers-Courcelette. You also have the option to read interviews and letters or listen to the soldiers themselves talk about their experience. This particular option really showed me just how much like me and my family they were. When you see a black and white photograph, of a man wearing uniform that you have never seen, it makes it difficult to relate to but as soon as you hear them speaking, you realise just how much alike you are. This is shown even more so in a video clip of a poem The Royal British Legion have commissioned. In this clip, word artist Molly Case is talking to the camera, in a pub and as she talks the camera pans around to show our generation down the pub with friends, wearing everyday clothes and showed that effect of the war on just the people in that pub. It is hard to explain the effect it has on you watching it, unless you have seen it, but it certainly made me cry! In this section, you can also watch video clips by Dan Snow, telling you information such as how the British Army was supplied or what was it like away from the front line. 

If like me, you want more of a breakdown of what happened Battle Timeline - Battle Day by Day is great, giving you the option to read about what is happening on a particular day. I love looking at each day, on the day before I get up each morning. Here, it means I have an insight into what those men were going through, 100 years ago, whilst I go to work or join my family for dinner and it makes me even more thankful for what they sacrificed. 

The Battle of the Somme section is more of an overview and is great for help with homework or finding out about a particular section of the battle. Here you can also find out the key events for each month of the Battle and see how it progressed. The Map of the Somme section is a great interactive learning resource and shows just how close England was to the battles. Here you can choose the date range you want to look at and see what was going on in a particular area. The information on the Pals Battalions are great, with information of when they formed, what regiments they were part of and any more stories or information known about them. Finding out about different villages and what happened in them throughout the war in another great aspect of this section, whilst towards the end of the date range, you can see all the memorials that were created which is a good tool if you are thinking about visiting any of them yourself. 

If you are looking for more of a birds eye view of what difference certain attacks made and on how important advancements were then the Animated Battle Maps are perfect for you. Here you can see exactly how the front line changed throughout the Battle of the Somme, whilst it also gives you an insight into just how close the British trenches were to the German trenches. 

The search section is an added bonus so that if you want to find a bit of information that you were previously looking at, you can be directed straight to it rather than having to go through all the sections to find it yourself and the useful links section gives you information on were you can find even more information. If you have an problems with the app or are not sure how to use it, be sure to check out the frequently asked question section on there, where they cover pretty much everything you need to know.

Overall, I think the app is a great idea for the modern world, making it seem much more of a personal journey you are learning about and is great for both kids and adults. Each section has just a small section of writing so that you can actually take the information in and to make sure you understand, the animations show you what they mean. I highly recommend you checking the app out because it has so many different media types that will give you much more of an understanding that reading any book will and I hope that maybe in the future, more apps like this will be available, if only to make sure we always remember those brave soldiers in any war.