1st July 1916 saw Britain and her Allies started an extensive offensive along a 25 mile part of the Western Front. The offensive happened to the north of the River Somme in rural France. Little villages are dotted all over the area along with the town of Albert. It was to be the battle that for lots of people, defined the horrors of the trench warfare of The First World War.
The Battle of the Somme lasted approximately four months with very little reward for Britain and her Allies. The casualties sustained by each side were horrific; the British Army sustained 420,000 killed and wounded, the French Army 200,000 and the Germans nearly half a million.
The German soldiers were well dug in and tactically held the high ground consequently it was evident a massive effort would be necessary to make inroads into their lines. The plan was to lay down an artillery bombardment for seven days in advance of the attack. In addition, various mines were laid beneath the German lines. It was predicted that the mines and artillery would cause such destruction, Britain and her Allies would merely need to move over no mans land and take the trenches. Tragically, this was far from the situation.
For 7 days prior to the attack, a fearsome barrage was laid down by Allied Forces firing 1.7m shells. Even so, the German trenches were dug deep into the earth delivering them with relative protection from the barrage. The mines did contribute to deaths as intended but in general, the Germans had enough time to make ready their defences once the artillery ceased and Britain and her Allies went over the top.
All along the line, the scenario was similar. Brave men went over the top and were killed prior to getting anywhere close to their objectives. At Beaumont Hamel, only 68 of the 1st Newfoundland Regiment, ended the day uninjured out of around 800 men. At La Boisselle, the Tyneside Irish was effectively destroyed as it endeavoured to advance more than 1 mile across open ground in full sight of German machine guns.
Nevertheless, there were some achievements. The French had made advances in the north and south of the lines. The 36th Ulster advanced on and took the Schwaben Redoubt and so becoming one of the few to accomplish their main objective. Unfortunately, running low on ammo, German counter attacks compelled the Ulstermen to pull back later that day.
The 1st day of the Somme had cost the British almost 54,000 casualties, 21,000 of those being killed. Nowadays, the site of the Schwaben Redoubt is marked by the Ulster Tower and in close proximity at Thiepval, the Memorial to the Missing commemorates the names of around 70,000 men who fought at the Battle of the Somme.
The Battle of the Somme lasted approximately four months with very little reward for Britain and her Allies. The casualties sustained by each side were horrific; the British Army sustained 420,000 killed and wounded, the French Army 200,000 and the Germans nearly half a million.
The German soldiers were well dug in and tactically held the high ground consequently it was evident a massive effort would be necessary to make inroads into their lines. The plan was to lay down an artillery bombardment for seven days in advance of the attack. In addition, various mines were laid beneath the German lines. It was predicted that the mines and artillery would cause such destruction, Britain and her Allies would merely need to move over no mans land and take the trenches. Tragically, this was far from the situation.
For 7 days prior to the attack, a fearsome barrage was laid down by Allied Forces firing 1.7m shells. Even so, the German trenches were dug deep into the earth delivering them with relative protection from the barrage. The mines did contribute to deaths as intended but in general, the Germans had enough time to make ready their defences once the artillery ceased and Britain and her Allies went over the top.
All along the line, the scenario was similar. Brave men went over the top and were killed prior to getting anywhere close to their objectives. At Beaumont Hamel, only 68 of the 1st Newfoundland Regiment, ended the day uninjured out of around 800 men. At La Boisselle, the Tyneside Irish was effectively destroyed as it endeavoured to advance more than 1 mile across open ground in full sight of German machine guns.
Nevertheless, there were some achievements. The French had made advances in the north and south of the lines. The 36th Ulster advanced on and took the Schwaben Redoubt and so becoming one of the few to accomplish their main objective. Unfortunately, running low on ammo, German counter attacks compelled the Ulstermen to pull back later that day.
The 1st day of the Somme had cost the British almost 54,000 casualties, 21,000 of those being killed. Nowadays, the site of the Schwaben Redoubt is marked by the Ulster Tower and in close proximity at Thiepval, the Memorial to the Missing commemorates the names of around 70,000 men who fought at the Battle of the Somme.
About the Author:
The futility of trench warfare in World War I are summed up by the first day of the Somme. Battle tactics had been left behind by advances in weapons technology and resulted in the deaths of countless men.. Unique version for reprint here: The Most Deadly Day in the British Army's History.