The Battle of Somme

The Battle of Somme

'Kitcheners army' was the idea of lord Kitchener, he of the poster

'Your country needs you.' It had been recruited throughout 1915 when

it began to dawn on the government that this was going to be a long

war.

The best and brightest young men of England and Ireland had rushed to

the colours; they had been trained and sent to France. Now on the 1st

of July 1916 this new army was going to have its first real test.

General Haigs plan was simple - based on his ideas that previous break

through plans had failed due to the lack of preparation, numbers or

determination. The plan was attack, attack, attack and more attack.

The big guns softened up the German lines throughout the previous

hours. At 7.30 am. On the fateful day eleven British divisions

advanced simultaneously against the German positions on the north bank

of the river Somme. Weight in numbers was going to tell, these

divisions were going to make the big break though. They were going to

smash the German trench line, get through to the open country behind

the lines and this was going to cause the entire German line to be

rolled back. The war would be over and these young men would win it.

One day was enough. By nightfall the greatest disaster day for the

Butish army had occurred. 20,000 were dead, 60,000 wounded; the German

lines were fixed in the same place. Eyewitnesses tell the story 'the

lines started in excellent order but just melted away.' 'Men fell in

ranks mostly before the first hundred yards of no mans land had been

crossed.' 'Whole sections seemed to fall. The advance rapidly crumbled

under a hail of shells and bullets' 'Men could be seen throwing up

their arms and collapsing, never to move again.' 'Badly wounded rolled

around in their agony.'

There are hundreds of such eyewitness accounts to this slaughter. The

cause is straightforward. The German machine gunners had sheltered in

their dugouts while the artillery bombarded them.