The Somme: 100 Years

July 1, 2016 marks an important anniversary; 100 years ago the Battle of the Somme began. Usually I try to pick somewhat lighter topics for this blog, but this is a something that is very close to my heart. It is one of the most tragic stories in human history, and it's one that many Americans know very little about. I am not going to get into the gritty details about tactical dispositions or strategic plans; those are available elsewhere online and I will post some sources at the end of this blog if you'd like to read more about the Somme or the war. Instead I want to give you a very brief overview of the first day, and I want to try to convey the horrors experienced by the British soldiers there.

Exhausted French soldiers of the 87th Infantry Regiment at Verdun

By 1916 the Western Front of the First World War had devolved into trench warfare, a slow, constant slugging match in which neither side could make significant gains. To change this, the leaders of Russia, Britain, and France agreed to a massive assault scheduled for the summer to overwhelm the defenses of the German Empire and end the war. However, before things could get going, the Germans launched their own massive assault against the French, beginning the Battle of Verdun in February 1916. This battle became a meat grinder which dragged on for months, badly weakening the French army. As a result the British, who had originally been planning to perform only a supporting role in the upcoming offensive, became the main attackers in an updated plan. 

Allied mine explodes under German positions on the day of the attack.

In brief, the plan was for 13 British divisions supported by 6 French divisions to capture a number of German forward positions which could later be used to launch further attacks. Preparations for the offensive were significant; the British alone fired over 1,500,000 artillery rounds at German positions and allied aircraft flew reconnaissance missions to map out in detail the German positions. Tunnels were dug and packed with explosives to be detonated on the day of the attack. The allied commanders believed that things would go off without a hitch. 

The morning of July 1st thousands of artillery shells were fired and the mines were detonated. Officers blew their whistles and men went over the top. 

British soldiers train to go "over the top". 

The British attack was a bloodbath. 

While it had some early successes, many of the German positions were too well prepared. German infantrymen had survived bombardments in deep bunkers and galleries. In some cases entire platoons were simply scythed down by machine gun fire seconds after they emerged from their trenches. Entire battalions were wiped out in minutes. In a few areas the British artillery had been more effective and the advancing infantry were able to capture German positions. However, in nearly every case the Germans counter-attacked and overran the now-defending British who had been isolated by their own or enemy artillery fire and cutoff without support. 

Irish troops advance.

In one case, the Devonshire Regiment lost 161 men killed. Some of the men had fallen in their own trenches, others in no-man's land, and some had died storming German positions. At the end of July 1 brief truces were called to bury bodies, and the Devonshire men were taken back to their own lines for burial. Three days later a wooden cross was erected where they were buried. It read simply "The Devonshires held this trench, the Devonshires hold it still." After the war a permanent marker was put up in the spot which read the same. 

At the end of the day, the gains made had been minimal. The French attacks were more successful for a variety of reasons I won't get into, but basically boil down to a combination of weaker targets, better artillery, and better command and organization. 

Opposing Trench Lines During the Battle

I think the best way to sum up the battle is in the following quote, made by a British Captain remembering the end of the first day. 

The trench was a horrible sight. The dead were stretched out on one side, one of top of each other six feet high. I thought at the time I should never get that peculiar disgusting smell of the vapor of warm human blood heated by the sun out of my nostrils. I would rather have smelt gas a hundred times. I can never describe that faint, sickening, horrible smell which several times nearly knocked me up altogether. 

19,240 British men gave their lives on that day, and altogether their casualties numbered some some 57,470. It was the deadliest single day in British military history. To put the numbers in context, the deadliest day in American history was the Battle of Antietam during the Civil War. On that day, both the Union and the Confederacy lost a combined total of around 7,650 men killed.

Not all of the British casualties were from the British Isles. The Royal Newfoundland Regiment from Canada sent 780 men into battle. Only 110 were alive and in fighting condition at the end of the day.

The Battle of the Somme dragged on until November of 1916, by which time the combined Allied losses were nearing 800,000. For this sacrifice, the British and French had managed to take 6 miles of territory. This equals out to something like 25 men killed, missing, or wounded for each foot of ground taken. 

In the end the Somme, most especially the first day, was a massive, tragic waste of lives which is usually summarized by even the most pro-British historians as "inconclusive". The trauma of the battle would remain in British minds for decades and continues to reverberate today. In all of Great Britain and Ireland, only 53 villages or towns lost no young men to the war. Despite early writers describing the battle as a hard-fought victory full of valiant sacrifice, the Somme has now become a byword for the futility of war.

Thiepval Memorial to the more than 70,000 missing French and British soldiers of the Somme

If you would like to learn more about the Somme, there are a number of great sources available. For details about the first day, Martin Middlebrooks' "The First Day on the Somme" is fantastic. For the larger battle check out Peter Hart's "The Somme". I haven't had a chance to pick this up but Hart has written extensively on the First World War and his prose is simple and easy to read while remaining interested and jam packed full of information. For a larger view of the war, check out John Keegan's "The First World War". 

I'm not sure what our next topic will be, but I will try to pick something a little lighter. See you next time!