. Battlefields of the World War, western and southern fronts; a study in military geography . greatbattles of the Sommeduring the World Warwere but episodes in thelatest chapter of thatlong, historic struggle. But it is not merely inits military aspects thatthe strategic position ofthe Somme area becomesapparent. In its economic and cultural relations it has alwaysbeen little influenced by the lands to the east and west, butprofoundly affected by the products and peoples of FrenchFlanders, Belgium, Holland, and even England to the north,and similarly by those of the Paris region to the south;
. Battlefields of the World War, western and southern fronts; a study in military geography . greatbattles of the Sommeduring the World Warwere but episodes in thelatest chapter of thatlong, historic struggle. But it is not merely inits military aspects thatthe strategic position ofthe Somme area becomesapparent. In its economic and cultural relations it has alwaysbeen little influenced by the lands to the east and west, butprofoundly affected by the products and peoples of FrenchFlanders, Belgium, Holland, and even England to the north,and similarly by those of the Paris region to the south; forit was the gateway through which peoples and products movedfrom one of these regions to the other, and both areas eagerlylooked to it for the rich harvests gathered from its fertileplain. In manufactures it was now the Paris district, now theAnglo-Flemish, which predominated in pushing the sale of itsraw materials to the factories of Picardy and Artois or whichinvaded the towns and villages of the plain in the form of coloniesof artisans or individual workmen who brought with them the. Fig. 27—Location of the Somme battlefieldat the natural gateway (between the Artois andArdennes barriers) connecting Flanders withthe Paris region. STRATEGIC POSITION 93 industries of their respective lands. The monotonous surfaceof the Somme country, interposing few obstacles to readymigration, favored economic penetration from both north aridsouth; and the quiet struggles for economic and culturalcontrol which inevitably resulted from the geographic situa-tion were but preludes to those clashes of arms by which itwas sought to crown the work of peaceful penetration by fullpolitical control. The strategic position of the Somme battlefield becomes evenmore apparent when one considers the great lines of movement across the region, the principalroads, canals, and railways. Onfirst thought one might supposethat the nearness of the sea onthe west would result in a princi-pal movement of people a
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Keywords: ., boo, bookcentury1900, bookdecade1920, booksubjectworldwar19141918
