First day on the Somme
Encyclopedia
The first day on the Somme, 1 July 1916, was the opening day of the Battle of Albert
, which was the first phase of the British
and French
offensive that became known as the Battle of the Somme. The middle day of the middle year of the First World War
, it is remembered as the bloodiest day in the history of the British Army
when 57,470 men became casualties, of whom 19,240 were killed or died of wounds.
For many people, the first day has come to represent the futility and sacrifice of the war, with lines of infantry
being mowed down by German
machine gun
s. While the first day marked the beginning of four and a half months of attrition, it has always overshadowed the days that followed. The Battle of Albert continued until 13 July, the eve of the next major attack, the Battle of Bazentin Ridge
.
s from Lord Kitchener's New Army. Included were many of the famous Pals battalion
s that had formed in response to Kitchener's call for volunteers in August 1914. Heavy losses amongst these battalions led to a concentration of casualty notices in the communities from which they were formed.
The first day was unusual in that the British Army
contingent was almost entirely from the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
. Since early 1915 the Canadian divisions had been featuring prominently in British battles and as the struggle on the Somme wore on, the Anzacs and South Africa
ns were called upon but on the first day the only non-UK troops attacking on the British sector were small units from Bermuda
and Newfoundland
. (The South African Infantry Brigade and an Indian
cavalry
division were in reserve and Canadian artillery were involved in the bombardment.)
For Newfoundland, the first day of battle changed the course of the island's history. Because Newfoundland was still a colony of Great Britain at the time—Newfoundland did not become a part of the Canadian confederation until 1949—the Newfoundland Regiment was a part of the British Fourth Army at the Somme on July 1 rather than the Canadian Corps, which was assigned to another part of the Allied line on that day. The regiment was virtually wiped out during their failed attack at Beaumont-Hamel
, suffering a 90% casualty rate. Many Newfoundlanders believe that this sudden loss of their best and brightest youth ended Newfoundland's dream of eventual independence. After the war the Newfoundland government bought 40 acres (16 hectares) at the site of the battalion's attack and created the Newfoundland Memorial Park to commemorate the dead. Although the rest of Canada celebrates Canada Day
on July 1, it also remains Memorial Day
in Newfoundland and Labrador.
Little emphasis has been placed on the French contribution on the first day on the Somme. This is partly because the French attack, which was largely successful, was overshadowed by the disaster that befell the British divisions. Also the French at the time were still occupied with defending Verdun
. Nevertheless the French contribution on the Somme was substantial and it is significant that the only British successes of the first day came on the southern sector neighbouring the French XX Corps.
The British plan for the Somme offensive was to achieve a breakthrough that could be exploited by cavalry
. Once the German front was penetrated, a mobile force would sweep north towards Arras, rolling up the German line. However, the British had insufficient experience in trench warfare
to be prepared for the battle becoming attritional.
The Allies were confronted by three lines of German defences, the first two being complete while the third was still under construction. The approximate centre line of the battlefield was defined by the Roman road
that ran straight from Albert
in the west to Bapaume
in the east. The Somme River
ran east–west some 5 miles (8 km) south of the road.
The main attack was to be carried out by the Fourth Army
under the command of General Sir Henry Rawlinson. A diversionary attack was to be made on the northern flank by two divisions of General Edmund Allenby's Third Army
. When the breakthrough was achieved, the exploitation phase would be carried out by the three cavalry divisions of General Sir Hubert Gough's Reserve Army
. For all three men, the Somme would be their first battle in command of an army.
The main French effort would be carried out by the French Sixth Army of General Marie Émile Fayolle
. The southern-most French army on the Somme was the French Tenth Army of General Alfred Micheler which would play a small role in the battle. These two armies were part of the French Northern Army Group, commanded by General Ferdinand Foch
from 3 July 1916.
The natural division between the British and French forces would have been the wide marshland along the Somme River but instead the French commander-in-chief, General Joseph Joffre
, placed the French XX Corps north of the Somme alongside the southernmost Fourth Army unit (the British XIII Corps
) so that the British were unable to act independently.
The British and French on the Somme were confronted by the German Second Army
of General Fritz von Below
. The Germans became aware of preparations for an Allied offensive in April but were dismissive of the threat posed by the British forces, considering them of "limited combat value". However, by June the developments were sufficiently alarming for von Below to request permission to mount a preemptive attack to disrupt the Allied plans. However, on 4 June the Russians launched the Brusilov Offensive
and the Germans were required to send forces to the east to answer the growing crisis. Consequently few troops could be spared on the Somme; four divisions plus artillery were the only reinforcements provided.
Therefore, von Below had only six divisions manning the front and four and a half in reserve when the Allied offensive was launched by 13 British and six French divisions.
The plan called for eight days of heavy artillery bombardment. The Fourth Army had 1,010 field gun
s, 182 heavy guns and 245 howitzer
s plus an additional 100 French guns and howitzers. There were only six 15 inch guns on the battlefield. While this was a substantial increase on the artillery used in previous British battles, the array of tasks allotted and the length of front to be bombarded exceeded the capacity of the guns available. In addition to bombarding the enemy's trenches, the artillery had to cut the barbed wire
and neutralise the enemy guns via counter-battery fire.
In these seven days the British artillery would fire more than 1.5 million shells, exceeding the total number of shells fired by the British Army in the first twelve months of the war. A further quarter of a million shells would be fired on the day of the attack. Such was the intensity of this bombardment that it could be heard on Hampstead Heath
, three hundred miles away. While this weight of bombardment was new for the British, it was by no means a first. The French Second Battle of Artois
in May 1915 had been preceded by a six-day bombardment in which over 2.1 million shells were fired.
On the Somme, while British shell production had increased since the shell scandal of 1915, quality was poor and many shells failed to explode. Also the proportion of shrapnel to high explosive shells was high; shrapnel was virtually useless against entrenched positions and required accurate fuse settings in order to be effective in cutting wire.
When the British took over the Somme sector from the French, they had inherited a number of mine workings — the chalk soil of the Somme was ideal for tunnelling. Ten mines were prepared for the first day of the battle; three large mines in excess of 20 tons and seven smaller ones, around 5000 lb (2,268 kg) in size. The purpose of the mines was twofold; to destroy the German defences and to provide shelter in no man's land for the advancing infantry. When each mine blew, the infantry would rush forward to seize the crater.
The largest mines, each containing 24 tons of ammonal
, were on either side of the Albert-Bapaume road near La Boisselle, the Y Sap mine north of the road and the Lochnagar mine
to the south. The other large mine was beneath Hawthorn Ridge Redoubt
near Beaumont Hamel, containing 18 tons of explosives.
The mines were to be detonated 2 minutes prior to zero, at 7.28 am. The exception was the Hawthorn Ridge mine which was detonated 10 minutes before zero at 7.20am. One of the small mines, at Kasino Point
, was mistimed and blew late after the infantry attack had commenced.
At the time the Somme mines were the largest yet detonated during the war but they would be eclipsed by the 19 mines fired during the Battle of Messines
.
to be used by the infantry. The notes specified that battalions should advance in waves with two platoon
s per wave on a 400 yards (365.8 m) front which left about 5 yards (4.6 m) between each soldier. A battalion would therefore advance in eight waves (two per company) plus additional waves for the battalion HQ and stretcher bearers. The advance would be carried out at a steady walking pace of 50 yards (45.7 m) per minute.
Soldiers in the leading waves were required to carry about 70 lb (32 kg) of equipment; rifle
, bayonet
, ammunition, two grenade
s, entrenching tool
, empty sandbags, wire cutters, flares, etc. The later waves would also be burdened with the necessary paraphernalia for consolidating the captured trenches such as barbed wire & stakes.
Viewed with the benefit of hindsight, these tactics were clearly misjudged. The reasoning behind them was twofold. Firstly, it was felt that the intense artillery bombardment would destroy the German garrison so that all that was required of the infantry was to walk over and take possession of the objectives. Secondly, the basic tactical unit of maneuver in infantry units in 1916 was still the company of 100+ men, under the control of a single officer. Many of the New Army battalions had received little tactical training, and therefore little in the way of tactical acumen could be expected of the troops who had been in uniform for a relatively short period of time, and with little practical experience of offensive military operations.
Many commanders nonetheless approached the battle with great optimism. The pre-battle speech delivered to the 8th Battalion, King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry
— which would suffer 539 casualties on the first day — included:
Though these flawed tactics have been blamed for the failures of the first day, they were not universally adhered to by the attacking divisions. It was left to the individual commanders to decide on the method to be used. Many units moved out into no man's land
before zero hour so that they could rush the German trenches as soon as the barrage lifted. Whether a particular unit's attack succeeded or failed depended not so much on the infantry tactics but on how well the wire had been cut, the intensity of the German defensive barrage in no man's land and whether or not the defenders could swiftly bring their machine gun
s into action.
of General Sir Edmund Allenby
occupied the front-line to the north of Rawlinson's Fourth Army. The two armies met just south of the villages of Foncquevillers
(British-held) and Gommecourt
(German-held). At Gommecourt the German trenches curved around a chateau
and its parkland, creating a salient
that marked the most westerly point of German territory. General Haig instructed Allenby to mount a diversion to pin German forces to their trenches and attract artillery fire away from the main attack. The Third Army was also to capture Gommecourt thereby reducing the inconvenient salient.
The task fell to the VII Corps of Lieutenant General
Sir T. d'Oyly Snow
. A gap of one mile (1.6 km) existed between the Gommecourt diversion and the northern edge of the main attack and preparations were made as obvious as possible in an effort to distract German attention away from the Fourth Army but this only made the task of VII Corps all the more difficult. The plan called for a pincer movement
, pinching out the base of the salient and capturing the garrison in a pocket. The northern pincer was the 46th (North Midland) Division
and the southern pincer was the 56th (1/1st London) Division, both Territorial Force
units.
The 56th Division had prepared jumping-off trenches in no man's land and when the attack commenced at 7.30am, progress was initially good. The first three German trenches were captured and a party pushed on towards the expected link-up point with the 46th Division, east of the village. Once a heavy German barrage descended on no man's land, it proved impossible for reinforcements to reach the captured positions or for a trench to be dug to form a defensive flank to the south. Finally the survivors were forced to withdraw.
In contrast the 46th Division's attack started badly and got worse. The German wire was uncut (the ground was littered with dud mortar
shells) and the smoke that was meant to aid the British only managed to hinder them. Furthermore the ground on this sector was particularly wet and muddy, making movement difficult. A few groups made it to the German trenches but not in sufficient numbers to hold them. The division's commander, Major General
E.J. Montagu-Stuart-Wortley
, was sacked for the failure.
's VIII Corps. Three divisions of VIII Corps would attack on the first day while the fourth, the 48th (South Midland) Division
, was holding the one-mile (1.6 km) gap between the Third and Fourth Armies.
The 31st Division
had the job of forming the defensive flank of the Fourth Army. This involved driving east to capture the village of Serre
and then turning north and consolidating. The 31st was the quintessential New Army division, made up entirely of Pals battalion
s such as the Accrington Pals
. Small groups reached Serre village and another party penetrated 1¼ miles but by the end of the day they had been killed or captured and the division was back at its start line, having suffered 3,600 casualties.
The 4th Division attacked between the Serre and Beaumont Hamel and managed to capture the German strongpoint known as Quadrilateral Redoubt. However as this proved to be the only gain on this sector it was subjected to intense German counter-attacks and the position was abandoned on the morning of 2 July by which time the division had suffered 4,700 casualties.
The 29th Division
, which had served with distinction at Gallipoli
, attacked towards Beaumont Hamel. Part of the division's attack was captured on film by Geoffrey Malins and has since provided some of the most enduring images of the war, including the detonation of the mine beneath Hawthorn Ridge Redoubt
which was blown at 7.20am. The British failed to completely seize the mine crater and the explosion alerted the defenders such that when the attack commenced, the infantry were mown down in no man's land without even reaching the German wire.
Another attempt was made mid-morning by two battalions from the 88th Brigade including the 1st Newfoundland Regiment. Because the communications trenches leading from the reserve line to the front line were blocked by dead bodies and unevacuated wounded from previous attacks, the Newfoundlanders
were ordered to climb out of the reserve trench, 200 metres behind their actual start line, and advance in plain sight of the enemy. The regiment took many casualties before they even reached their proper start line, but the real slaughter began as they bunched up in order to pass through gaps in the British wire, allowing German rifles and machine guns to concentrate their fire. The few soldiers that survived that gauntlet and made it across no man's land
were unable to pass through the thickets of German wire, which had been undamaged by the British barrage. The battalion suffered 684 casualties, 91% of its strength and the second worst battalion loss of the first day.
, attacking between the Ancre and Thiepval
against a position known as the Schwaben Redoubt
.
Ignoring the recommended tactics, the infantry had crawled into no man's land before zero hour and, with the aid of an effective smoke screen, were able to rush the German frontline when the barrage lifted. The advance briefly reached the German second line at Stuff Redoubt. However, once the German barrage descended on no man's land it was impossible to reinforce the captured position and, as the attacks on either side had failed, the men were subjected to counter-attacks from three directions. Having held out all day, the survivors retired in the evening.
Thiepval village, and the Leipzig Salient
to its south, were attacked by the 32nd Division
. Thiepval was a fortress that would haunt the British for most of the Somme fighting and the assault on the first day was an utter failure. Leipzig Salient was the one enduring success on the northern sector. Captured by the Glasgow Commercials Pals battalion, who had also crawled within 40 yards (36.6 m) of the German frontline before zero hour, it was held against German counter-attacks.
The villages of Ovillers and La Boisselle flanked the Albert-Bapaume road and marked the centre of the Fourth Army's front. It was here that the Reserve Army
cavalry
would advance if a breakthrough was achieved.
The 8th Division
, attacking Ovillers, had to cross the 750 yards (685.8 m) of no man's land and advance up Mash Valley which was a veritable killing ground. Despite the almost impossible task, the brigades did temporarily penetrate as far as the third trench of the German front-line system, and a small group did manage to capture a section of the German front-line trench and hold out until after 9am, but by midday the attack had failed.
Attacking along the axis of the Albert-Bapaume road was the 34th Division
which was aided by the blowing of the two largest mines on either side of La Boisselle. South of the village, some infantry from the Grimsby Chums
got into the Lochnager mine crater where they were pinned down. The Tyneside Scottish Brigade
attacked up Mash Valley and against La Boisselle itself, on a sector known as the Glory Hole
.
The Tyneside Irish Brigade
was the reserve brigade whose task was to follow through and capture the secondary objectives of Contalmaison
and Pozières
. At zero hour the brigade started its advance from the reserve position known as the Tara-Usna Line and had to advance one mile (1.6 km) over open ground before they even reached the British front-line. They were machine-gunned all the way but amazingly a small group, 50 men or so, made it all the way up Sausage Valley
, south of La Boisselle and almost to the edge of Contalmaison. The survivors were captured but they had the distinction of making the furthest advance of the day, about 4000 yards (3,657.6 m).
The 34th Division, by committing all three of its brigades to the attack on one of the toughest objectives, suffered the worst casualties
of any division on the day; 6,380 men killed, wounded or captured. This figure exceeded the next worst loss, that of the 29th Division
, by over 1,000 men. So badly devastated were the Tyneside brigades that they were withdrawn from the division until late August, replaced by brigades of the 37th Division.
lay in a bend in the front-line where it turned eastwards for two miles (3 km) before swinging south again to the Somme River. If the attacks by XV Corps on either side of Fricourt reached their objectives, the village would be isolated in a pocket so it was deemed unnecessary to make a frontal assault.
The 21st Division
advanced to the north of Fricourt. In an effort to protect the infantry from enfilade fire from the village, three mines, collectively known as the Triple Tambour mines, were blown beneath the Tambour salient on the northern edge of the village. The sole purpose of these mines was to raise a protective "lip" of earth that would obscure the view from the village but the benefit was minimal.
The 21st made some progress and penetrated to the rear of Fricourt. The 50th Brigade of the 17th (Northern) Division
held the front-line opposite the village. One battalion of this brigade, the 10th West Yorkshire Regiment, was required to advance close by Fricourt and suffered 710 casualties, the worst battalion losses of the day. A Company from the 7th Green Howards made an unplanned attack directly against the village and was annihilated. The battalion commander later said:
East of Fricourt, the village of Mametz
was captured by the 7th Division
though the line of objectives beyond the village were not reached. The loss of Mametz made the German position in Fricourt precarious so the garrison was withdrawn during the night and a patrol from the 17th Division took possession of the village early on 2 July.
The southern flank of the British line was held by XIII Corps
whose objective was the village of Montauban
. The two assault divisions — the 18th (Eastern)
and 30th Division
, both New Army formations — seized all their objectives at the cost of over 3,000 casualties each.
There were a number of reasons for the success on the southern flank. The 18th Division, despite being New Army, was impeccably trained by Maj.Gen. Ivor Maxse
, widely regarded as one of the finest British generals of the war. The German defences in the south were not as formidable as those north of the Albert-Bapaume road and lacked the terrain advantages. The British were also aided by support from the superior artillery of the neighbouring French army.
. The French possessed overwhelming superiority in artillery with 84 heavy batteries
to Germany's eight on this sector. They were also aided by a river mist which obscured the early stages of the battle.
North of the Somme, the French XX Corps had attacked with the British at 7.30am. Progress was good though not without difficulties; it took two attempts for the village of Curlu
on the Somme to be seized and the Germans resisted stubbornly in Faviere Wood. The French were only restrained from advancing further because the British had halted on their objectives around Montauban.
South of the river the French I Colonial Corps and XXXV Corps attacked two hours after the main attack which granted them the benefit of surprise. In the centre the French pushed beyond their objectives and got close to the German second position. Over 4,000 German prisoners were taken while French casualties were relatively light by the standard of the day.
es were awarded to Robert Quigg
and Geoffrey Cather (posthumously) for recovering the wounded. Even Maj.-Gen. Ingouville-Williams, commander of the 34th Division
, participated in the search. Some of the wounded survived for up to a week in no man's land before being rescued.
The reaction of the Germans to the British attempts to recover the wounded varied from place to place. On 5 July at Beaumont Hamel two British medical officers approached the German trenches under a Red Cross flag and arranged an informal truce with their opposite number which lasted until the remaining wounded had been brought in. Elsewhere no such mercy was shown and anyone moving in no man's land was fired on.
The British Army's hospital system failed badly on 1 July. Prior to the battle General Rawlinson, preparing for the worst, had requested 18 ambulance trains to be provided to evacuate the wounded throughout the day. He was assured by the Quartermaster General, Lt.Gen. R.C. Maxwell, that the needs of the Fourth Army would be met. However, only three trains stood by during the day and these departed, partly filled, before the bulk of the wounded had been brought to the Casualty Clearing Station
s, which only had collective capacity for 9,500 cases. Consequently many wounded were left untended in the open. It was not until 4 July that the Fourth Army's medical services were brought under control. Such was the strain on the system that some of the wounded reached hospitals in England still wearing their original field dressings.
Due to the primitive battlefield communications, the extent of the catastrophe that befell the British Army on 1 July was not immediately known to the generals. At 7.30pm Rawlinson figured his casualties at 16,000. The figure rose to 40,000 by 3 July and the final tally of 60,000 was not determined until 6 July (though exact figures were not reached for some time).
As an example of how far from reality the limited information reaching the headquarters was, on the evening of 1 July, General Haig wrote in his diary:
VIII Corps had indeed left their trenches and over 14,000 men had become casualties. This statement of Haig's has been used repeatedly to portray him as being callous and indifferent to the plight of the soldiers under his command, though at the time he could only make an assessment based on the information given to him.
(VC), the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British
and Commonwealth
forces, for deeds on 1 July 1916.
Battle of Albert (1916)
The Battle of Albert, 1 July – 13 July 1916, was the opening phase of the British and French offensive that became the Battle of the Somme.-Haig's desire to break through versus Rawlinson's "bite and hold":...
, which was the first phase of the British
British Empire
The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height, it was the...
and French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
offensive that became known as the Battle of the Somme. The middle day of the middle year of the First World War
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, it is remembered as the bloodiest day in the history of the British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
when 57,470 men became casualties, of whom 19,240 were killed or died of wounds.
For many people, the first day has come to represent the futility and sacrifice of the war, with lines of infantry
Infantry
Infantrymen are soldiers who are specifically trained for the role of fighting on foot to engage the enemy face to face and have historically borne the brunt of the casualties of combat in wars. As the oldest branch of combat arms, they are the backbone of armies...
being mowed down by German
German Empire
The German Empire refers to Germany during the "Second Reich" period from the unification of Germany and proclamation of Wilhelm I as German Emperor on 18 January 1871, to 1918, when it became a federal republic after defeat in World War I and the abdication of the Emperor, Wilhelm II.The German...
machine gun
Machine gun
A machine gun is a fully automatic mounted or portable firearm, usually designed to fire rounds in quick succession from an ammunition belt or large-capacity magazine, typically at a rate of several hundred rounds per minute....
s. While the first day marked the beginning of four and a half months of attrition, it has always overshadowed the days that followed. The Battle of Albert continued until 13 July, the eve of the next major attack, the Battle of Bazentin Ridge
Battle of Bazentin Ridge
The Battle of Bazentin Ridge, launched by the British Fourth Army at dawn on 14 July 1916, marked the start of the second phase of the Battle of the Somme. Dismissed beforehand by one French commander as "an attack organized for amateurs by amateurs", it turned out to be "hugely successful" for...
.
Significance of the first day
The Somme was to be the first major offensive mounted by the British Expeditionary Force and the first battle to involve substantial numbers of battalionBattalion
A battalion is a military unit of around 300–1,200 soldiers usually consisting of between two and seven companies and typically commanded by either a Lieutenant Colonel or a Colonel...
s from Lord Kitchener's New Army. Included were many of the famous Pals battalion
Pals battalion
The Pals battalions of World War I were specially constituted units of the British Army comprising men who had enlisted together in local recruiting drives, with the promise that they would be able to serve alongside their friends, neighbours and work colleagues , rather than being arbitrarily...
s that had formed in response to Kitchener's call for volunteers in August 1914. Heavy losses amongst these battalions led to a concentration of casualty notices in the communities from which they were formed.
The first day was unusual in that the British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
contingent was almost entirely from the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was the formal name of the United Kingdom during the period when what is now the Republic of Ireland formed a part of it....
. Since early 1915 the Canadian divisions had been featuring prominently in British battles and as the struggle on the Somme wore on, the Anzacs and South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
ns were called upon but on the first day the only non-UK troops attacking on the British sector were small units from Bermuda
Bermuda
Bermuda is a British overseas territory in the North Atlantic Ocean. Located off the east coast of the United States, its nearest landmass is Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, about to the west-northwest. It is about south of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, and northeast of Miami, Florida...
and Newfoundland
Dominion of Newfoundland
The Dominion of Newfoundland was a British Dominion from 1907 to 1949 . The Dominion of Newfoundland was situated in northeastern North America along the Atlantic coast and comprised the island of Newfoundland and Labrador on the continental mainland...
. (The South African Infantry Brigade and an Indian
British Raj
British Raj was the British rule in the Indian subcontinent between 1858 and 1947; The term can also refer to the period of dominion...
cavalry
Cavalry
Cavalry or horsemen were soldiers or warriors who fought mounted on horseback. Cavalry were historically the third oldest and the most mobile of the combat arms...
division were in reserve and Canadian artillery were involved in the bombardment.)
For Newfoundland, the first day of battle changed the course of the island's history. Because Newfoundland was still a colony of Great Britain at the time—Newfoundland did not become a part of the Canadian confederation until 1949—the Newfoundland Regiment was a part of the British Fourth Army at the Somme on July 1 rather than the Canadian Corps, which was assigned to another part of the Allied line on that day. The regiment was virtually wiped out during their failed attack at Beaumont-Hamel
Beaumont-Hamel
Beaumont-Hamel is a commune in the Somme department in Picardy in northern France.During the First World War, Beaumont-Hamel was very close to the front lines and saw heavy combat, especially during the Battle of the Somme which was the largest Allied offensive of the entire war. By 1918 the...
, suffering a 90% casualty rate. Many Newfoundlanders believe that this sudden loss of their best and brightest youth ended Newfoundland's dream of eventual independence. After the war the Newfoundland government bought 40 acres (16 hectares) at the site of the battalion's attack and created the Newfoundland Memorial Park to commemorate the dead. Although the rest of Canada celebrates Canada Day
Canada Day
Canada Day , formerly Dominion Day , is the national day of Canada, a federal statutory holiday celebrating the anniversary of the July 1, 1867, enactment of the British North America Act , which united three British colonies into a single country, called Canada, within the British Empire...
on July 1, it also remains Memorial Day
Memorial Day (Newfoundland and Labrador)
Memorial Day is a day to commemorate the sacrifices of members of the armed forces of the Canadian province Newfoundland and Labrador in times of war, specifically since the First World War. It is observed concurrently with Canada's national holiday, Canada Day...
in Newfoundland and Labrador.
Little emphasis has been placed on the French contribution on the first day on the Somme. This is partly because the French attack, which was largely successful, was overshadowed by the disaster that befell the British divisions. Also the French at the time were still occupied with defending Verdun
Battle of Verdun
The Battle of Verdun was one of the major battles during the First World War on the Western Front. It was fought between the German and French armies, from 21 February – 18 December 1916, on hilly terrain north of the city of Verdun-sur-Meuse in north-eastern France...
. Nevertheless the French contribution on the Somme was substantial and it is significant that the only British successes of the first day came on the southern sector neighbouring the French XX Corps.
Plans
Cavalry
Cavalry or horsemen were soldiers or warriors who fought mounted on horseback. Cavalry were historically the third oldest and the most mobile of the combat arms...
. Once the German front was penetrated, a mobile force would sweep north towards Arras, rolling up the German line. However, the British had insufficient experience in trench warfare
Trench warfare
Trench warfare is a form of occupied fighting lines, consisting largely of trenches, in which troops are largely immune to the enemy's small arms fire and are substantially sheltered from artillery...
to be prepared for the battle becoming attritional.
The Allies were confronted by three lines of German defences, the first two being complete while the third was still under construction. The approximate centre line of the battlefield was defined by the Roman road
Roman road
The Roman roads were a vital part of the development of the Roman state, from about 500 BC through the expansion during the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire. Roman roads enabled the Romans to move armies and trade goods and to communicate. The Roman road system spanned more than 400,000 km...
that ran straight from Albert
Albert, Somme
Albert is a commune in the Somme department in Picardie in northern France.It is located about halfway between Amiens and Bapaume.-History:Albert was founded as a Roman outpost called Encre, in about 54 BC...
in the west to Bapaume
Bapaume
Bapaume is a commune and the seat of a canton in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region of France.-Geography:A farming and light industrial town located 10 miles south of Arras at the junction of the A1 autoroute and the N17 and N30 national roads its location is...
in the east. The Somme River
Somme River
The Somme is a river in Picardy, northern France. The name Somme comes from a Celtic word meaning tranquility. The department Somme was named after this river....
ran east–west some 5 miles (8 km) south of the road.
The main attack was to be carried out by the Fourth Army
British Fourth Army
The Fourth Army was a field army that formed part of the British Expeditionary Force during the First World War. The Fourth Army was formed on 5 February 1916 under the command of General Sir Henry Rawlinson to carry out the main British contribution to the Battle of the Somme.-History:The Fourth...
under the command of General Sir Henry Rawlinson. A diversionary attack was to be made on the northern flank by two divisions of General Edmund Allenby's Third Army
British Third Army
-First World War :The Third Army was part of the British Army during World War I and was formed in France on 13 July 1915. The battles it took part in on the Western Front included:*Battle of the Somme*Battle of Cambrai*Second Battle of Arras...
. When the breakthrough was achieved, the exploitation phase would be carried out by the three cavalry divisions of General Sir Hubert Gough's Reserve Army
British Reserve Army
The Reserve Army was a field army of the British Army during World War I and part of the British Expeditionary Force during the First World War...
. For all three men, the Somme would be their first battle in command of an army.
The main French effort would be carried out by the French Sixth Army of General Marie Émile Fayolle
Marie Émile Fayolle
Marie Émile Fayolle was a Marshal of France.Fayolle studied at the École polytechnique, where he graduated with the class of 1873. During his career he served in the artillery. From 1897 to 1908 he taught artillery at the École supérieure de Guerre...
. The southern-most French army on the Somme was the French Tenth Army of General Alfred Micheler which would play a small role in the battle. These two armies were part of the French Northern Army Group, commanded by General Ferdinand Foch
Ferdinand Foch
Ferdinand Foch , GCB, OM, DSO was a French soldier, war hero, military theorist, and writer credited with possessing "the most original and subtle mind in the French army" in the early 20th century. He served as general in the French army during World War I and was made Marshal of France in its...
from 3 July 1916.
The natural division between the British and French forces would have been the wide marshland along the Somme River but instead the French commander-in-chief, General Joseph Joffre
Joseph Joffre
Joseph Jacques Césaire Joffre OM was a French general during World War I. He is most known for regrouping the retreating allied armies to defeat the Germans at the strategically decisive First Battle of the Marne in 1914. His popularity led to his nickname Papa Joffre.-Biography:Joffre was born in...
, placed the French XX Corps north of the Somme alongside the southernmost Fourth Army unit (the British XIII Corps
XIII Corps (United Kingdom)
XIII Corps was a British infantry corps during World War I and World War II.-World War I:XIII Corps was formed in France on 15 November 1915 under Lieutenant-General Walter Congreve to be part of Fourth Army. It was first seriously engaged during the Battle of the Somme in 1916. On the First day on...
) so that the British were unable to act independently.
The British and French on the Somme were confronted by the German Second Army
German Second Army
The 2nd Army was a World War I and World War II field army.-First World War:The 2nd Army during World War I, fought on the Western Front and took part in the Schlieffen Plan offensive against France and Belgium in August 1914...
of General Fritz von Below
Fritz von Below
Fritz Wilhelm Theodor Karl von Below was a Prussian general in the German Army during the First World War.-Biography:...
. The Germans became aware of preparations for an Allied offensive in April but were dismissive of the threat posed by the British forces, considering them of "limited combat value". However, by June the developments were sufficiently alarming for von Below to request permission to mount a preemptive attack to disrupt the Allied plans. However, on 4 June the Russians launched the Brusilov Offensive
Brusilov Offensive
The Brusilov Offensive , also known as the June Advance, was the Russian Empire's greatest feat of arms during World War I, and among the most lethal battles in world history. Prof. Graydon A. Tunstall of the University of South Florida called the Brusilov Offensive of 1916 the worst crisis of...
and the Germans were required to send forces to the east to answer the growing crisis. Consequently few troops could be spared on the Somme; four divisions plus artillery were the only reinforcements provided.
Therefore, von Below had only six divisions manning the front and four and a half in reserve when the Allied offensive was launched by 13 British and six French divisions.
Artillery
Field gun
A field gun is an artillery piece. Originally the term referred to smaller guns that could accompany a field army on the march and when in combat could be moved about the battlefield in response to changing circumstances, as to opposed guns installed in a fort, or to siege cannon or mortars which...
s, 182 heavy guns and 245 howitzer
Howitzer
A howitzer is a type of artillery piece characterized by a relatively short barrel and the use of comparatively small propellant charges to propel projectiles at relatively high trajectories, with a steep angle of descent...
s plus an additional 100 French guns and howitzers. There were only six 15 inch guns on the battlefield. While this was a substantial increase on the artillery used in previous British battles, the array of tasks allotted and the length of front to be bombarded exceeded the capacity of the guns available. In addition to bombarding the enemy's trenches, the artillery had to cut the barbed wire
Barbed wire
Barbed wire, also known as barb wire , is a type of fencing wire constructed with sharp edges or points arranged at intervals along the strand. It is used to construct inexpensive fences and is used atop walls surrounding secured property...
and neutralise the enemy guns via counter-battery fire.
In these seven days the British artillery would fire more than 1.5 million shells, exceeding the total number of shells fired by the British Army in the first twelve months of the war. A further quarter of a million shells would be fired on the day of the attack. Such was the intensity of this bombardment that it could be heard on Hampstead Heath
Hampstead Heath
Hampstead Heath is a large, ancient London park, covering . This grassy public space sits astride a sandy ridge, one of the highest points in London, running from Hampstead to Highgate, which rests on a band of London clay...
, three hundred miles away. While this weight of bombardment was new for the British, it was by no means a first. The French Second Battle of Artois
Second Battle of Artois
The Second Battle of Artois, of which the British contribution was the Battle of Aubers Ridge, was a battle on the Western Front of the First World War, it was fought at the same time as the Second Battle of Ypres. Even though the French under General Philippe Pétain gained some initial victories,...
in May 1915 had been preceded by a six-day bombardment in which over 2.1 million shells were fired.
On the Somme, while British shell production had increased since the shell scandal of 1915, quality was poor and many shells failed to explode. Also the proportion of shrapnel to high explosive shells was high; shrapnel was virtually useless against entrenched positions and required accurate fuse settings in order to be effective in cutting wire.
Mining
The largest mines, each containing 24 tons of ammonal
Ammonal
Ammonal is an explosive made up of ammonium nitrate, trinitrotoluene , and aluminium powder.The ammonium nitrate functions as an oxidizer and aluminium as a power enhancer. To some extent the aluminium makes it more sensitive to detonation...
, were on either side of the Albert-Bapaume road near La Boisselle, the Y Sap mine north of the road and the Lochnagar mine
Lochnagar mine
The Lochnagar mine was an explosive-packed mine created by the Royal Engineer tunnelling companies, located south of the village of La Boisselle in the Somme département of France, which was detonated at 7:28 am on 1 July 1916, the first day of the Battle of the Somme...
to the south. The other large mine was beneath Hawthorn Ridge Redoubt
Hawthorn Ridge Redoubt
Hawthorn Ridge Redoubt was a German front-line fortification west of the village of Beaumont Hamel on the Somme. It was the scene of a number of costly attacks by British infantry during the Battle of the Somme in 1916...
near Beaumont Hamel, containing 18 tons of explosives.
The mines were to be detonated 2 minutes prior to zero, at 7.28 am. The exception was the Hawthorn Ridge mine which was detonated 10 minutes before zero at 7.20am. One of the small mines, at Kasino Point
Kasino Point
Kasino Point was the name given to a German machine gun post on the Somme battlefield in 1916. The machine gun post was destroyed by an underground mine on the first day of the Somme offensive....
, was mistimed and blew late after the infantry attack had commenced.
At the time the Somme mines were the largest yet detonated during the war but they would be eclipsed by the 19 mines fired during the Battle of Messines
Battle of Messines
The Battle of Messines was a battle of the Western front of the First World War. It began on 7 June 1917 when the British Second Army under the command of General Herbert Plumer launched an offensive near the village of Mesen in West Flanders, Belgium...
.
Infantry tactics
Prior to the battle Rawlinson's staff published the Fourth Army Tactical Notes, an instruction pamphlet setting out the recommended assault tacticsMilitary tactics
Military tactics, the science and art of organizing an army or an air force, are the techniques for using weapons or military units in combination for engaging and defeating an enemy in battle. Changes in philosophy and technology over time have been reflected in changes to military tactics. In...
to be used by the infantry. The notes specified that battalions should advance in waves with two platoon
Platoon
A platoon is a military unit typically composed of two to four sections or squads and containing 16 to 50 soldiers. Platoons are organized into a company, which typically consists of three, four or five platoons. A platoon is typically the smallest military unit led by a commissioned officer—the...
s per wave on a 400 yards (365.8 m) front which left about 5 yards (4.6 m) between each soldier. A battalion would therefore advance in eight waves (two per company) plus additional waves for the battalion HQ and stretcher bearers. The advance would be carried out at a steady walking pace of 50 yards (45.7 m) per minute.
Soldiers in the leading waves were required to carry about 70 lb (32 kg) of equipment; rifle
Rifle
A rifle is a firearm designed to be fired from the shoulder, with a barrel that has a helical groove or pattern of grooves cut into the barrel walls. The raised areas of the rifling are called "lands," which make contact with the projectile , imparting spin around an axis corresponding to the...
, bayonet
Bayonet
A bayonet is a knife, dagger, sword, or spike-shaped weapon designed to fit in, on, over or underneath the muzzle of a rifle, musket or similar weapon, effectively turning the gun into a spear...
, ammunition, two grenade
Grenade
A grenade is a small explosive device that is projected a safe distance away by its user. Soldiers called grenadiers specialize in the use of grenades. The term hand grenade refers any grenade designed to be hand thrown. Grenade Launchers are firearms designed to fire explosive projectile grenades...
s, entrenching tool
Entrenching tool
An entrenching tool or E-tool is a collapsible spade used by military forces for a variety of military purposes. Survivalists, freedivers, campers, hikers and other outdoors groups have found it to be indispensable in field use...
, empty sandbags, wire cutters, flares, etc. The later waves would also be burdened with the necessary paraphernalia for consolidating the captured trenches such as barbed wire & stakes.
Viewed with the benefit of hindsight, these tactics were clearly misjudged. The reasoning behind them was twofold. Firstly, it was felt that the intense artillery bombardment would destroy the German garrison so that all that was required of the infantry was to walk over and take possession of the objectives. Secondly, the basic tactical unit of maneuver in infantry units in 1916 was still the company of 100+ men, under the control of a single officer. Many of the New Army battalions had received little tactical training, and therefore little in the way of tactical acumen could be expected of the troops who had been in uniform for a relatively short period of time, and with little practical experience of offensive military operations.
Many commanders nonetheless approached the battle with great optimism. The pre-battle speech delivered to the 8th Battalion, King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry
King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry
The King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry was a regiment of the British Army. It officially existed from 1881 to 1968, but its predecessors go back to 1755. The regiment's traditions and history are now maintained by The Rifles.-The 51st Foot:...
— which would suffer 539 casualties on the first day — included:
- "When you go over the top, you can slope arms, light up your pipes and cigarettes, and march all the way to PozièresPozièresPozières is a commune in the Somme department in Picardie in northern France.-Geography:The commune is situated on the D929 road, some northeast of Amiens between Albert and Bapaume, on the Pozières ridge.-Population:-History:...
before meeting any live Germans."
Though these flawed tactics have been blamed for the failures of the first day, they were not universally adhered to by the attacking divisions. It was left to the individual commanders to decide on the method to be used. Many units moved out into no man's land
No man's land
No man's land is a term for land that is unoccupied or is under dispute between parties that leave it unoccupied due to fear or uncertainty. The term was originally used to define a contested territory or a dumping ground for refuse between fiefdoms...
before zero hour so that they could rush the German trenches as soon as the barrage lifted. Whether a particular unit's attack succeeded or failed depended not so much on the infantry tactics but on how well the wire had been cut, the intensity of the German defensive barrage in no man's land and whether or not the defenders could swiftly bring their machine gun
Machine gun
A machine gun is a fully automatic mounted or portable firearm, usually designed to fire rounds in quick succession from an ammunition belt or large-capacity magazine, typically at a rate of several hundred rounds per minute....
s into action.
Diversion at Gommecourt
The British Third ArmyBritish Third Army
-First World War :The Third Army was part of the British Army during World War I and was formed in France on 13 July 1915. The battles it took part in on the Western Front included:*Battle of the Somme*Battle of Cambrai*Second Battle of Arras...
of General Sir Edmund Allenby
Edmund Allenby, 1st Viscount Allenby
Field Marshal Edmund Henry Hynman Allenby, 1st Viscount Allenby GCB, GCMG, GCVO was a British soldier and administrator most famous for his role during the First World War, in which he led the Egyptian Expeditionary Force in the conquest of Palestine and Syria in 1917 and 1918.Allenby, nicknamed...
occupied the front-line to the north of Rawlinson's Fourth Army. The two armies met just south of the villages of Foncquevillers
Foncquevillers
Foncquevillers is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region of France.-Geography:A farming village situated south of Arras, at the junction of the D3, D6 and the D28 roads.-Population:-World War I:...
(British-held) and Gommecourt
Gommecourt, Pas-de-Calais
Gommecourt is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region of France.-Geography:A small farming village situated south of Arras, on the D6 road.-Population:-World War I:...
(German-held). At Gommecourt the German trenches curved around a chateau
Château
A château is a manor house or residence of the lord of the manor or a country house of nobility or gentry, with or without fortifications, originally—and still most frequently—in French-speaking regions...
and its parkland, creating a salient
Salients, re-entrants and pockets
A salient is a battlefield feature that projects into enemy territory. The salient is surrounded by the enemy on three sides, making the troops occupying the salient vulnerable. The enemy's line facing a salient is referred to as a re-entrant...
that marked the most westerly point of German territory. General Haig instructed Allenby to mount a diversion to pin German forces to their trenches and attract artillery fire away from the main attack. The Third Army was also to capture Gommecourt thereby reducing the inconvenient salient.
The task fell to the VII Corps of Lieutenant General
Lieutenant General
Lieutenant General is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages where the title of Lieutenant General was held by the second in command on the battlefield, who was normally subordinate to a Captain General....
Sir T. d'Oyly Snow
Thomas D'Oyly Snow
Lieutenant-General Sir Thomas D’Oyly Snow KCB, KCMG was a British General in the First World War who commanded during some of the major battles of the Western Front. He had two nicknames, ‘Slush’ and ‘Snowball’, both plays on 'Snow'.-Education and early military career:Snow was born on 5 May 1858...
. A gap of one mile (1.6 km) existed between the Gommecourt diversion and the northern edge of the main attack and preparations were made as obvious as possible in an effort to distract German attention away from the Fourth Army but this only made the task of VII Corps all the more difficult. The plan called for a pincer movement
Pincer movement
The pincer movement or double envelopment is a military maneuver. The flanks of the opponent are attacked simultaneously in a pinching motion after the opponent has advanced towards the center of an army which is responding by moving its outside forces to the enemy's flanks, in order to surround it...
, pinching out the base of the salient and capturing the garrison in a pocket. The northern pincer was the 46th (North Midland) Division
British 46th (North Midland) Division
- World War I :The British 46th Division was a 1st Line Territorial Force division. At the outbreak of the war, the 46th Division was commanded by Major General Hon. E.J. Montagu-Stuart-Wortley. Originally called the 'North Midland Division', it was redesignated as the 46th Division in 1915...
and the southern pincer was the 56th (1/1st London) Division, both Territorial Force
Territorial Force
The Territorial Force was the volunteer reserve component of the British Army from 1908 to 1920, when it became the Territorial Army.-Origins:...
units.
The 56th Division had prepared jumping-off trenches in no man's land and when the attack commenced at 7.30am, progress was initially good. The first three German trenches were captured and a party pushed on towards the expected link-up point with the 46th Division, east of the village. Once a heavy German barrage descended on no man's land, it proved impossible for reinforcements to reach the captured positions or for a trench to be dug to form a defensive flank to the south. Finally the survivors were forced to withdraw.
In contrast the 46th Division's attack started badly and got worse. The German wire was uncut (the ground was littered with dud mortar
Mortar (weapon)
A mortar is an indirect fire weapon that fires explosive projectiles known as bombs at low velocities, short ranges, and high-arcing ballistic trajectories. It is typically muzzle-loading and has a barrel length less than 15 times its caliber....
shells) and the smoke that was meant to aid the British only managed to hinder them. Furthermore the ground on this sector was particularly wet and muddy, making movement difficult. A few groups made it to the German trenches but not in sufficient numbers to hold them. The division's commander, Major General
Major General
Major general or major-general is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. A major general is a high-ranking officer, normally subordinate to the rank of lieutenant general and senior to the ranks of brigadier and brigadier general...
E.J. Montagu-Stuart-Wortley
Edward James Montagu-Stuart-Wortley
Major General Edward James Montagu-Stuart-Wortley CB, CMG, DSO, MVO was a British general during the First World War who is best remembered as the first British general to be dismissed during the Battle of the Somme...
, was sacked for the failure.
Serre & Beaumont Hamel
The northern flank of the Fourth Army's sector was held by Lt.Gen. Aylmer Hunter-WestonAylmer Hunter-Weston
Lieutenant-General Sir Aylmer Gould Hunter-Weston KCB DSO GStJ was a British Army general who served in World War I at Gallipoli and the Somme Offensive...
's VIII Corps. Three divisions of VIII Corps would attack on the first day while the fourth, the 48th (South Midland) Division
British 48th (South Midland) Division
The British 48th Division was a Territorial Force division. Originally called the 'South Midland Division', it was redesignated as the 48th Division in 1915.- 1914 - 1918 :...
, was holding the one-mile (1.6 km) gap between the Third and Fourth Armies.
The 31st Division
British 31st Division
The British 31st Division was a New Army division formed in April 1915 as part of the K4 Army Group and taken over by the War Office on 10 August 1915. Comprising mainly battalions from Yorkshire and Lancashire, the division was sent to Egypt in December 1915 before moving to France in March 1916...
had the job of forming the defensive flank of the Fourth Army. This involved driving east to capture the village of Serre
Serre
Serre may refer to:* Claude Serre , a French cartoonist* Jean-Pierre Serre , a French mathematician active in algebraic geometry, number theory and topology* Serre Chevalier, a major French ski resort in the southern part of the Alps...
and then turning north and consolidating. The 31st was the quintessential New Army division, made up entirely of Pals battalion
Pals battalion
The Pals battalions of World War I were specially constituted units of the British Army comprising men who had enlisted together in local recruiting drives, with the promise that they would be able to serve alongside their friends, neighbours and work colleagues , rather than being arbitrarily...
s such as the Accrington Pals
Accrington Pals
The Accrington Pals was a British First World War Pals battalion of Kitchener's Army raised in and around the town of Accrington in Lancashire. When the battalion was taken over by the British Army it was officially named the 11th Battalion, The East Lancashire Regiment.Recruiting was initiated by...
. Small groups reached Serre village and another party penetrated 1¼ miles but by the end of the day they had been killed or captured and the division was back at its start line, having suffered 3,600 casualties.
British 29th Division
The British 29th Division, known as the Incomparable Division, was a First World War regular army infantry division formed in early 1915 by combining various units that had been acting as garrisons about the British Empire. Under the command of Major General Aylmer Hunter-Weston, the division...
, which had served with distinction at Gallipoli
Battle of Gallipoli
The Gallipoli Campaign, also known as the Dardanelles Campaign or the Battle of Gallipoli, took place at the peninsula of Gallipoli in the Ottoman Empire between 25 April 1915 and 9 January 1916, during the First World War...
, attacked towards Beaumont Hamel. Part of the division's attack was captured on film by Geoffrey Malins and has since provided some of the most enduring images of the war, including the detonation of the mine beneath Hawthorn Ridge Redoubt
Hawthorn Ridge Redoubt
Hawthorn Ridge Redoubt was a German front-line fortification west of the village of Beaumont Hamel on the Somme. It was the scene of a number of costly attacks by British infantry during the Battle of the Somme in 1916...
which was blown at 7.20am. The British failed to completely seize the mine crater and the explosion alerted the defenders such that when the attack commenced, the infantry were mown down in no man's land without even reaching the German wire.
Another attempt was made mid-morning by two battalions from the 88th Brigade including the 1st Newfoundland Regiment. Because the communications trenches leading from the reserve line to the front line were blocked by dead bodies and unevacuated wounded from previous attacks, the Newfoundlanders
Dominion of Newfoundland
The Dominion of Newfoundland was a British Dominion from 1907 to 1949 . The Dominion of Newfoundland was situated in northeastern North America along the Atlantic coast and comprised the island of Newfoundland and Labrador on the continental mainland...
were ordered to climb out of the reserve trench, 200 metres behind their actual start line, and advance in plain sight of the enemy. The regiment took many casualties before they even reached their proper start line, but the real slaughter began as they bunched up in order to pass through gaps in the British wire, allowing German rifles and machine guns to concentrate their fire. The few soldiers that survived that gauntlet and made it across no man's land
No man's land
No man's land is a term for land that is unoccupied or is under dispute between parties that leave it unoccupied due to fear or uncertainty. The term was originally used to define a contested territory or a dumping ground for refuse between fiefdoms...
were unable to pass through the thickets of German wire, which had been undamaged by the British barrage. The battalion suffered 684 casualties, 91% of its strength and the second worst battalion loss of the first day.
Thiepval
The only significant first day success on the northern sector was made by the Northern Irishmen of the 36th (Ulster) DivisionBritish 36th (Ulster) Division
The 36th Division was a division of Lord Kitchener's New Army formed in September 1914. Originally called the Ulster Division, it was made up of members of the Ulster Volunteer Force, who formed thirteen additional battalions for three existing regiments: the Royal Irish Fusiliers, the Royal Irish...
, attacking between the Ancre and Thiepval
Thiepval
The Thiepval Memorial to the Missing of the Somme is a major war memorial to 72,191 missing British and South African men who died in the Battles of the Somme of the First World War between 1915 and 1918 who have no known grave...
against a position known as the Schwaben Redoubt
Schwaben Redoubt
The Schwaben Redoubt lies between the Thiepval Memorial and the Ulster tower. It was a German strongpoint on the western front in the First World War. Consisting of a mass of gun emplacements, trenches and tunnels, this warren of defensive works helped anchor the German line on the Somme until late...
.
Ignoring the recommended tactics, the infantry had crawled into no man's land before zero hour and, with the aid of an effective smoke screen, were able to rush the German frontline when the barrage lifted. The advance briefly reached the German second line at Stuff Redoubt. However, once the German barrage descended on no man's land it was impossible to reinforce the captured position and, as the attacks on either side had failed, the men were subjected to counter-attacks from three directions. Having held out all day, the survivors retired in the evening.
Thiepval village, and the Leipzig Salient
Leipzig salient
The Leipzig Salient lies South-West of the Thiepval Memorial. A grass path leads across the fields with trenches. A clumb of trees and bushes marks the location of center of the Leipzig-Redoubt, a strong point with a lot of magine guns....
to its south, were attacked by the 32nd Division
British 32nd Division
The British 32nd Division was a New Army division that was originally made up of battalions raised by public subscription or private patronage. The division was taken over by the British War Office in September 1915...
. Thiepval was a fortress that would haunt the British for most of the Somme fighting and the assault on the first day was an utter failure. Leipzig Salient was the one enduring success on the northern sector. Captured by the Glasgow Commercials Pals battalion, who had also crawled within 40 yards (36.6 m) of the German frontline before zero hour, it was held against German counter-attacks.
Ovillers & La Boisselle
British Reserve Army
The Reserve Army was a field army of the British Army during World War I and part of the British Expeditionary Force during the First World War...
cavalry
Cavalry
Cavalry or horsemen were soldiers or warriors who fought mounted on horseback. Cavalry were historically the third oldest and the most mobile of the combat arms...
would advance if a breakthrough was achieved.
The 8th Division
British 8th Infantry Division
The British Army's 8th Infantry Division was active in both the First World War and the Second World War.-History:The British 8th Division was a Regular Army division that was formed by combining battalions returning from outposts in the British Empire at the outbreak of the First World War....
, attacking Ovillers, had to cross the 750 yards (685.8 m) of no man's land and advance up Mash Valley which was a veritable killing ground. Despite the almost impossible task, the brigades did temporarily penetrate as far as the third trench of the German front-line system, and a small group did manage to capture a section of the German front-line trench and hold out until after 9am, but by midday the attack had failed.
Attacking along the axis of the Albert-Bapaume road was the 34th Division
British 34th Division
The British 34th Division was a New Army division formed in April 1915 as part of the K4 Army Group. The division landed in France on January 1916 and spent the duration of the First World War in action on the Western Front....
which was aided by the blowing of the two largest mines on either side of La Boisselle. South of the village, some infantry from the Grimsby Chums
Grimsby Chums
The Grimsby Chums was a British First World War Pals battalion of Kitchener's Army raised in and around the town of Grimsby in Lincolnshire. When the battalion was taken over by the British Army it was officially named the 10th Battalion, The Lincolnshire Regiment...
got into the Lochnager mine crater where they were pinned down. The Tyneside Scottish Brigade
Tyneside Scottish Brigade
The Tyneside Scottish Brigade was raised in 1914 as part of Kitchener's Army. Officially numbered the 102nd Brigade, it contained four Pals battalions from Newcastle-on-Tyne.-Origins:...
attacked up Mash Valley and against La Boisselle itself, on a sector known as the Glory Hole
Glory hole
Glory hole may refer to:* Glory hole, surface depression produced block caving in underground mining* Glory hole , a type of underwater excavation* Glory hole * Glory hole, reheating furnace for glassblowing...
.
The Tyneside Irish Brigade
Tyneside Irish Brigade
The Tyneside Irish Brigade was a British First World War infantry brigade of Kitchener's Army, raised in 1914. Officially numbered the 103rd Brigade, it contained four Pals battalions from Newcastle-upon-Tyne, largely made up of men of Irish extraction...
was the reserve brigade whose task was to follow through and capture the secondary objectives of Contalmaison
Contalmaison
Contalmaison is a commune in the Somme department in Picardie in northern France.-Geography:Contalmaison is situated on the D147 and D20 crossroads, some northeast of Amiens.-History:...
and Pozières
Pozières
Pozières is a commune in the Somme department in Picardie in northern France.-Geography:The commune is situated on the D929 road, some northeast of Amiens between Albert and Bapaume, on the Pozières ridge.-Population:-History:...
. At zero hour the brigade started its advance from the reserve position known as the Tara-Usna Line and had to advance one mile (1.6 km) over open ground before they even reached the British front-line. They were machine-gunned all the way but amazingly a small group, 50 men or so, made it all the way up Sausage Valley
Sausage Valley
Sausage Valley was the name given by British soldiers during the First World War to a shallow valley south of the village of La Boisselle in the Somme département, France. Sausage Valley was so named because the Germans would fly an observation balloon, known as a "sausage", at the head of the valley...
, south of La Boisselle and almost to the edge of Contalmaison. The survivors were captured but they had the distinction of making the furthest advance of the day, about 4000 yards (3,657.6 m).
The 34th Division, by committing all three of its brigades to the attack on one of the toughest objectives, suffered the worst casualties
Casualty (person)
A casualty is a person who is the victim of an accident, injury, or trauma. The word casualties is most often used by the news media to describe deaths and injuries resulting from wars or disasters...
of any division on the day; 6,380 men killed, wounded or captured. This figure exceeded the next worst loss, that of the 29th Division
British 29th Division
The British 29th Division, known as the Incomparable Division, was a First World War regular army infantry division formed in early 1915 by combining various units that had been acting as garrisons about the British Empire. Under the command of Major General Aylmer Hunter-Weston, the division...
, by over 1,000 men. So badly devastated were the Tyneside brigades that they were withdrawn from the division until late August, replaced by brigades of the 37th Division.
Fricourt, Mametz & Montauban
The fortified village of FricourtFricourt
Fricourt is a commune in the Somme department in Picardie in northern France.-Geography:Fricourt is situated on the D147 and D64 junction, some northeast of Amiens.-History:...
lay in a bend in the front-line where it turned eastwards for two miles (3 km) before swinging south again to the Somme River. If the attacks by XV Corps on either side of Fricourt reached their objectives, the village would be isolated in a pocket so it was deemed unnecessary to make a frontal assault.
The 21st Division
British 21st Division
The British 21st Division was a New Army division raised in September 1914. The division moved to France in September 1915 and served on the Western Front for the duration of the First World War.The division's insignia was the "triple-seven".- Formation :...
advanced to the north of Fricourt. In an effort to protect the infantry from enfilade fire from the village, three mines, collectively known as the Triple Tambour mines, were blown beneath the Tambour salient on the northern edge of the village. The sole purpose of these mines was to raise a protective "lip" of earth that would obscure the view from the village but the benefit was minimal.
The 21st made some progress and penetrated to the rear of Fricourt. The 50th Brigade of the 17th (Northern) Division
British 17th (Northern) Division
The British 17th Division was a New Army division formed in September 1914 as part of the K2 Army Group. The division moved to France in July 1915 and spent the duration of the First World War in action on the Western Front.- Formation :...
held the front-line opposite the village. One battalion of this brigade, the 10th West Yorkshire Regiment, was required to advance close by Fricourt and suffered 710 casualties, the worst battalion losses of the day. A Company from the 7th Green Howards made an unplanned attack directly against the village and was annihilated. The battalion commander later said:
- I got a message to say that A Company on the right had assaulted at 8.20. ... I could only account for this by supposing that the company commander had gone mad.
Mametz, Somme
Mametz is a commune in the Somme department in Picardie in northern France.-Geography:Mametz is situated on the D64 road, some northeast of Amiens.-Population:-External links:*...
was captured by the 7th Division
British 7th Infantry Division
The 7th Infantry Division was established by Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, as part of the Anglo-Portuguese Army, for service in the Peninsula War and was active also during the First World War from 1914-1918/19 and also in 1938-39 in Palestine and Egypt.-Peninsula War:The 7th Division...
though the line of objectives beyond the village were not reached. The loss of Mametz made the German position in Fricourt precarious so the garrison was withdrawn during the night and a patrol from the 17th Division took possession of the village early on 2 July.
The southern flank of the British line was held by XIII Corps
XIII Corps (United Kingdom)
XIII Corps was a British infantry corps during World War I and World War II.-World War I:XIII Corps was formed in France on 15 November 1915 under Lieutenant-General Walter Congreve to be part of Fourth Army. It was first seriously engaged during the Battle of the Somme in 1916. On the First day on...
whose objective was the village of Montauban
Montauban-de-Picardie
Montauban-de-Picardie is a commune in the Somme department in Picardie in northern France.-Geography:The commune is situated on the D64 road, some northeast of Amiens.-First World War:...
. The two assault divisions — the 18th (Eastern)
British 18th (Eastern) Division
The British 18th Division was a New Army division formed in September 1914 as part of the K2 Army Group. The division landed in France on 25 May 1915 and spent the duration of the First World War in action on the Western Front, becoming one of the elite divisions of the British Army...
and 30th Division
British 30th Division
The British 30th Division was a New Army division that was originally made up of battalions raised by public subscription or private patronage. The division was taken over by the British War Office in August 1915 and moved to France in December...
, both New Army formations — seized all their objectives at the cost of over 3,000 casualties each.
There were a number of reasons for the success on the southern flank. The 18th Division, despite being New Army, was impeccably trained by Maj.Gen. Ivor Maxse
Ivor Maxse
General Sir Ivor Maxse, KCB, CVO, DSO, was a World War I general, best known for his innovative and effective training methods.-Early life:Maxse was educated at Mr...
, widely regarded as one of the finest British generals of the war. The German defences in the south were not as formidable as those north of the Albert-Bapaume road and lacked the terrain advantages. The British were also aided by support from the superior artillery of the neighbouring French army.
French sector
Unlike the British, the French divisions enjoyed complete success on the first day, even surpassing their objectives in places south of the Somme RiverSomme River
The Somme is a river in Picardy, northern France. The name Somme comes from a Celtic word meaning tranquility. The department Somme was named after this river....
. The French possessed overwhelming superiority in artillery with 84 heavy batteries
Artillery battery
In military organizations, an artillery battery is a unit of guns, mortars, rockets or missiles so grouped in order to facilitate better battlefield communication and command and control, as well as to provide dispersion for its constituent gunnery crews and their systems...
to Germany's eight on this sector. They were also aided by a river mist which obscured the early stages of the battle.
North of the Somme, the French XX Corps had attacked with the British at 7.30am. Progress was good though not without difficulties; it took two attempts for the village of Curlu
Curlu
Curlu is a commune in the Somme department in Picardie in northern France.-Geography:Curlu is situated on the D146 road, on the banks of the river Somme, some east of Amiens.-Population:-External links:*...
on the Somme to be seized and the Germans resisted stubbornly in Faviere Wood. The French were only restrained from advancing further because the British had halted on their objectives around Montauban.
South of the river the French I Colonial Corps and XXXV Corps attacked two hours after the main attack which granted them the benefit of surprise. In the centre the French pushed beyond their objectives and got close to the German second position. Over 4,000 German prisoners were taken while French casualties were relatively light by the standard of the day.
Aftermath
As night fell — and there were only six hours of darkness in July — many survivors began to make their way back to the British trenches and stretcher-bearers went out in search of the wounded. Some bearers continued to operate the following day, despite the risks. Two Victoria CrossVictoria Cross
The Victoria Cross is the highest military decoration awarded for valour "in the face of the enemy" to members of the armed forces of various Commonwealth countries, and previous British Empire territories....
es were awarded to Robert Quigg
Robert Quigg
Robert Quigg VC was a recipient of the Victoria Cross for his bravery in the Battle of the Somme in the First World War.-Youth:...
and Geoffrey Cather (posthumously) for recovering the wounded. Even Maj.-Gen. Ingouville-Williams, commander of the 34th Division
British 34th Division
The British 34th Division was a New Army division formed in April 1915 as part of the K4 Army Group. The division landed in France on January 1916 and spent the duration of the First World War in action on the Western Front....
, participated in the search. Some of the wounded survived for up to a week in no man's land before being rescued.
The reaction of the Germans to the British attempts to recover the wounded varied from place to place. On 5 July at Beaumont Hamel two British medical officers approached the German trenches under a Red Cross flag and arranged an informal truce with their opposite number which lasted until the remaining wounded had been brought in. Elsewhere no such mercy was shown and anyone moving in no man's land was fired on.
The British Army's hospital system failed badly on 1 July. Prior to the battle General Rawlinson, preparing for the worst, had requested 18 ambulance trains to be provided to evacuate the wounded throughout the day. He was assured by the Quartermaster General, Lt.Gen. R.C. Maxwell, that the needs of the Fourth Army would be met. However, only three trains stood by during the day and these departed, partly filled, before the bulk of the wounded had been brought to the Casualty Clearing Station
Casualty Clearing Station
A Casualty Clearing Station is the name used by the British Army and the armies of other Commonwealth nations to describe a medical facility behind the front lines that is used to treat wounded soldiers. A CCS would usually be located just outside of the range of enemy artillery and often near...
s, which only had collective capacity for 9,500 cases. Consequently many wounded were left untended in the open. It was not until 4 July that the Fourth Army's medical services were brought under control. Such was the strain on the system that some of the wounded reached hospitals in England still wearing their original field dressings.
Due to the primitive battlefield communications, the extent of the catastrophe that befell the British Army on 1 July was not immediately known to the generals. At 7.30pm Rawlinson figured his casualties at 16,000. The figure rose to 40,000 by 3 July and the final tally of 60,000 was not determined until 6 July (though exact figures were not reached for some time).
As an example of how far from reality the limited information reaching the headquarters was, on the evening of 1 July, General Haig wrote in his diary:
- North of the Ancre, VIII Corps said they began well, but as the day progressed, their troops were forced back in to the German front line, except two battalions which occupied Serre Village, and were, it is said, cut off. I am inclined to believe from further reports that few of VIII Corps left their trenches.
VIII Corps had indeed left their trenches and over 14,000 men had become casualties. This statement of Haig's has been used repeatedly to portray him as being callous and indifferent to the plight of the soldiers under his command, though at the time he could only make an assessment based on the information given to him.
Decorations
The following were awarded the Victoria CrossVictoria Cross
The Victoria Cross is the highest military decoration awarded for valour "in the face of the enemy" to members of the armed forces of various Commonwealth countries, and previous British Empire territories....
(VC), the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and Commonwealth
Commonwealth of Nations
The Commonwealth of Nations, normally referred to as the Commonwealth and formerly known as the British Commonwealth, is an intergovernmental organisation of fifty-four independent member states...
forces, for deeds on 1 July 1916.
- Eric Norman Frankland BellEric Norman Frankland BellEric Norman Frankland Bell VC was born Enniskillen, County Fermanagh, Ireland and was a British recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.-Background:Bell was born on 28...
, 9th Battalion Royal Inniskilling FusiliersRoyal Inniskilling FusiliersThe Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers was a Irish infantry regiment of the British Army formed in 1881 by the amalgamation of the 27th Regiment of Foot and the 108th Regiment of Foot...
at ThiepvalThiepvalThe Thiepval Memorial to the Missing of the Somme is a major war memorial to 72,191 missing British and South African men who died in the Battles of the Somme of the First World War between 1915 and 1918 who have no known grave... - Geoffrey St. George Shillington CatherGeoffrey St. George Shillington CatherLieutenant Geoffrey St. George Shillington Cather VC was born in the Streatham Hill area of south-west London. He was an English recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth...
, 9th Battalion Royal Irish FusiliersRoyal Irish FusiliersThe Royal Irish Fusiliers was an Irish infantry regiment of the British Army, formed by the amalgamation of the 87th Regiment of Foot and the 89th Regiment of Foot in 1881. The regiment's first title in 1881 was Princess Victoria's , changed in 1920 to The Royal Irish Fusiliers...
at HamelBattle of HamelThe Battle of Hamel was a successful attack launched by the Australian Corps of the Australian Imperial Force and several American units against German positions in and around the town of Hamel in northern France during World War I.... - John Leslie GreenJohn Leslie GreenJohn Leslie Green VC was an English recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.-Early life:...
, Royal Army Medical CorpsRoyal Army Medical CorpsThe Royal Army Medical Corps is a specialist corps in the British Army which provides medical services to all British Army personnel and their families in war and in peace...
(att'd 1/5th Bn Sherwood ForestersSherwood ForestersThe Sherwood Foresters was formed during the Childers Reforms in 1881 from the amalgamation of the 45th Regiment of Foot and the 95th Regiment of Foot...
) at FoncquevillersFoncquevillersFoncquevillers is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region of France.-Geography:A farming village situated south of Arras, at the junction of the D3, D6 and the D28 roads.-Population:-World War I:... - Stewart Walter Loudoun-ShandStewart Walter Loudoun-ShandMajor Stewart Walter Loudoun-Shand VC was an English recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces....
, 10th Battalion Alexandra, Princess of Wales's Own (Yorkshire Regiment) at FricourtFricourtFricourt is a commune in the Somme department in Picardie in northern France.-Geography:Fricourt is situated on the D147 and D64 junction, some northeast of Amiens.-History:... - William Frederick McFadzeanWilliam Frederick McFadzeanWilliam Frederick "Billy" McFadzean VC was born in Lurgan, County Armagh. From Ulster, he was a Northern Irish recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.-Details:McFadzean...
, 14th Battalion Royal Irish Rifles at Thiepval WoodThiepvalThe Thiepval Memorial to the Missing of the Somme is a major war memorial to 72,191 missing British and South African men who died in the Battles of the Somme of the First World War between 1915 and 1918 who have no known grave... - Robert QuiggRobert QuiggRobert Quigg VC was a recipient of the Victoria Cross for his bravery in the Battle of the Somme in the First World War.-Youth:...
, 12th Battalion Royal Irish Rifles at HamelBattle of HamelThe Battle of Hamel was a successful attack launched by the Australian Corps of the Australian Imperial Force and several American units against German positions in and around the town of Hamel in northern France during World War I.... - Walter Potter RitchieWalter Potter RitchieWalter Potter Ritchie VC was a Scottish recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces....
, 2nd Battalion Seaforth Highlanders (Ross-shire Buffs, Duke of Albany's)Seaforth HighlandersThe Seaforth Highlanders was a historic regiment of the British Army associated with large areas of the northern Highlands of Scotland. The Seaforth Highlanders have varied in size from two battalions to seventeen battalions during the Great War...
at Beaumont Hamel - George SandersGeorge Sanders (VC)George Sanders VC MC was an English recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces....
, 1/7th Battalion West Yorkshire Regiment (The Prince of Wales's Own)West Yorkshire Regiment (The Prince of Wales's Own)The West Yorkshire Regiment was an infantry regiment of the British Army. In 1958 it amalgamated with The East Yorkshire Regiment to form The Prince of Wales's Own Regiment of Yorkshire...
at ThiepvalThiepvalThe Thiepval Memorial to the Missing of the Somme is a major war memorial to 72,191 missing British and South African men who died in the Battles of the Somme of the First World War between 1915 and 1918 who have no known grave... - James Youll TurnbullJames Youll TurnbullJames Youll Turnbull VC was a Scottish recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces....
, 17th Battalion Highland Light InfantryHighland Light InfantryThe Highland Light Infantry was a regiment of the British Army from 1881 to 1959. In 1923 the regimental title was expanded to the Highland Light Infantry ...
at AuthuilleAuthuilleAuthuille is a commune in the Somme department in Picardie in northern France....
See also
- Battle of Albert (1916)Battle of Albert (1916)The Battle of Albert, 1 July – 13 July 1916, was the opening phase of the British and French offensive that became the Battle of the Somme.-Haig's desire to break through versus Rawlinson's "bite and hold":...
- Battle of the Somme
- Wilfred NevillWilfred NevillBorn on 14th July 1894, Wilfred Nevill went to school at Dover College where he distinguished himself as a scholar and a games player. He was Head Boy, played in the 1st XV for Rugby, the 1st XI for Hockey, the 1st Running team and was Captain of the Cricket XI...