The Somme is one of the most grim of all the grim battlefields on France’s Western Front. Fought between the first of July and November 1916, its most shocking moments were at the onset when wave after wave after wave of British and French troops went over the top only to be mown down by German machine guns. There were more than 65,000 British casualties on the first day, almost 20,000 were fatalities. The French suffered around 7,000 casualties and the Germans 8,000. It is breathtaking to even imagine that many men in the trenches along these 12 miles let alone to imagine more pouring in from the rear after knowing that was happening in no man’s land. Of all the impossible moments of battle to find yourself in over the black years of WW1 being there on the first day of the Somme must be one of the most horrific to deal with mentally as you waited your turn to go over the top and be gunned like those you follow. This was the bloodiest day in the history of British warfare. The fact that they managed to dig in and turn the tide on the Germans as they spent the next months in the mud and bodies is a testament to something, be it the stubbornness of generals or the bravery of men, but these days must have been like no others.

As well as the unimaginable casualties of this battle it has a place in the annals of history as one of the first battles to have been filmed and shown at home. What a sight to see in the cinema in Clapham.

The offensive was planned to draw some of the heat from Verdun where both sides were dug in and fighting for bloody inches and was an Allied push along a 12 mile front along the River Somme in an effort to break the German lines. In the end more men died here than in Verdun, something which seemed incredible at the time (the accepted number of men killed is in the vicinity of 146,000 with 600,000 removed from action.). The Germans has occupied the high ground by the river for many months by July and had dug extensive trenches and shelters, they also had notice of the attack, the whole field was bombarded by Allied artillery fire for five days straight prior to the offensive. As zero hour, 7:30am, approached, several large tunnel bombs were detonated, then in the final minute before the charge there was silence as the artillery took aim at new targets…

…in some places along the line men yelled and cheered as they rushed for the German front, in others men advanced in uniform lines at walking pace and along other sections men had crawled out early to get a head start into the German lines as soon as zero hour arrived and the guns silenced. It didn’t matter. The Germans weren’t destroyed by the artillery and were dug in and waiting in their bunkers (not enough of the British shelling was done with bunker busting shells.). Men reached the German front lines in some places but not with enough numbers to spread or defend themselves and in the first hours communication became confused as reports failed to reach back across no man’s land. Some reinforcements advanced from the reserve trenches because there was too much confusion at the front and some didn’t even make the front line itself.

After the blood bath of that first day the Allies took stock of the mess and tried to untangle it. No more fighting took place until the 3rd. In hindsight there were several gaps in the German lines but in the confusion opportunities were lost and German forces quietly re-took them. French forces were much more experienced and fared better. In the first ten days they had pushed forward around six miles and were waiting impatiently for the British and in some respects the battle was a success in that German generals called off offensives at Verdun.

By the start of August several small battles had taken place but it was looking unlikely that the Allies would be able to break the German line. By September the Allied line had caught up with the French forces and they could form the straight front line best suited to artillery strikes. The last big push towards a breakthrough was in mid September and was also the field debut of the tank, then a secret weapon. Tanks on these fields could flatten barbed wire and get their big guns closer to the action - must have been a sight on the first day. October saw the whole field turned into a muddy swamp as the heavens opened which hindered both sides. As November drew nearer similar offences to those undertaken on the first of July were again employed this time with more success, but by the 21st of November the Battle was over. The British has captured about a half a centimetre of land per man lost. Neither side won, both lost valuable forces, the Germans in experienced soldiers, the British in huge swathes.

On the 24th of February the German retreated to strengthen their line burning everything in their wake.

Today the Somme is not just fields of poppies but also graveyards upon graveyards punctuated by memorials, museums and preserved sections of field. Grim but worth contemplating for the contemplation.

Written by  Anthony Harrison.

Add comment

Comments, reviews and questions