The battle of the Somme began on 1, July 1916. Commander in chief of BEF and planner of the offensive was Sir Douglas Haig. British suffered on the first day 19,240 killed, 57,470 injured and 2,152 missing in action.
Sir Douglas Haig
The battle front was around 24Km long, a narrow strap. The casualties in number afflicted in a single day to British was worst in record during The First World War.
Austrians and Russians lost more soldiers captured in a single day. British losses were the killed and the injured. Hitler conquered the whole France in the same number of casualties as British suffered on the first day of the battle of the Somme. In the siege battle of Port Arthur during Russo-Japanese War Japanese suffered more than 60,000 killed and injured but Russians surrendered enduring 7 months. The British failed to get any real estate meaningful in the battle.
UK has never been warlike despite the size of her Empire but her soldiers and officers had never been underrated by others. After the War the people hated to remember the day. Some scholars told that 15,000 was lost a day on average throughout the First World War, so the number of the day matched with four days in total.
However, without abnormal matters this must never happen. Soldiers engaged were Kitchener army. Most of them joined it as volunteers organised in pals. A pal was sometimes an occupational unit such as securities brokers in London or tram car men in Glasgow, and eventually may be cricket league members.
Except that they were Kitchener army there were no other important points worth speaking of. If this caused the casualties on the Somme it is a tragedy. This tragedy did not cause any sensation even during the War and soon was forgotten. Not far from the battle front horse shows were carried out as usual.
Haig succeeded French to become commander in chief of BEF and maintained this office until armistice day. Now stood his bronze statue in France though he was one of the most incompetent commanders whom the War created.
However, he was a strategist of some kind so that he pointed out the importance of the western front throughout his tenure. On the other hand he never cared about why the western front was still despite his tactics.
In December, 1915 Haig had talks with Joffre resulting in an offensive next year. Joffre thought of French as a difficult person and felt easier to talk with Haig. 40 French and 20 British divisions would take part on the Somme which divided responsible battle fields.
Lancashire Battalion: Preparation for Charge
British battlefields had been mainly in Flanders so far and Somme area was in Picardy. Flanders was near the sea and low but Picardy was inland and its ground was chalk. Chalk was easy to sap and hard to collapse.
Germans had completed advanced trench with three lines boasting 10m depth, dug-outs, covered communication trench and machine-gun posts concrete made. In the First World it was approved by most of historians that German trench was most endurable and comfortable to stay. Some British soldiers were surprised at fine conditions in German trench when overrunning it.
On the opposite von Falkenhayn thought over his own offensive plan. The offensive at Verdun began in February. Joffre threw all his reserves into it. In April everyone realised that Joffre did not have 40 divisions to attack on the Somme.
The collapsing foundation of the offensive did not hesitate Haig. The preparation proceeded as if nothing happened in Verdun. Generally speaking, the British does not like soldiers to do nothing. They believe that doing something keeps morals high.
In German army and French as well specified engineering troops made trench but in British they always accepted infantry and cavalry men's assistance. The finished result made some difference. Professionals did better.
Haig's preparation was elaborated so that any things imaginable such as secret tunnels to near Germans, double telephone line, and mining below German machine-gun posts. However, nothing had been done which Haig was unable to imagine.
Haig's tactics was based on that of Mackenzen who successfully broke through between Tarunou and Gorlitz last year. That meant heavy artillery and infantry charge. Haig also added cavalry pursuit but ignored the surprise which Mackenzen and Seekt so valued and underestimated durability of German trench.
If Haig thought that the problem of Russian disaster was lack of morale or shortage of equipment he should give up the offensive because Germans were better than Russians. Otherwise, if Haig thought German idea at Gorlitz was superb he should seek after better conditions than those of Germans. In reality German trench was far better than Russian's. Haig also ignored the lessons given by Brusilov offensive beginning on 4 June, 1916.
It was imagined he could do better if he dispersed the infantry attack instead of the dense formation and widen the fronts with scattered infantry.
On 5 June, 1916 Hampshire, cruiser of Royal Navy, was sunk by mine. Kitchener, the War minister was drown. He was going to Russia. In the First World War generals were called Chateau commanders not exposed to bullets. German generals were almost never killed in action different from when the Second World War incurred huge slaughters to their commanders.
Kitchener was exceptional to this rule. It is unknown whether his death affected the battle of Somme. However, it was possible that the offensive was interrupted by him before the real end. Between 4 June and 5 July when Lloyd George was appointed war minister Haig did not have a boss.
Briand, French prime minister tormented by the Battle of Verdun pleaded Haig to hasten the offensive on the Somme on June 24, 1916. However, Falkenhayn, chief of general staff aghast at Brusilov offensive turned German reserves to the eastern front. He had no way other than to give up the battle for attrition. Haig received French prime minister's pleadings. However, the offensive troops were 40 British divisions and 20 French. The numbers were contrary to the first planning.
Haig started preparatory bombing consuming 1730 thousand rounds. It lasted 24 hours and for 6 days.
German soldiers endured this ordeal without enough foods and only thought of when the British began to attack. Dug-outs where Germans stayed were 12 meters deep and sometimes fell down unable to sustain by shell explosion. Runners and signallers were often killed by bombing but soldiers inside the advanced trench were safe even if some were mentally broke down.
Durability of German trench was around the same as British. Despite this simple fact Haig believed Germans were to go panic facing with this battering.
British Dug Out
British area for attack was from the north, Gommecourt to the south, Malicourt. The width of attack was only 24Km. The attacking points numbered also only four. From the north Gommecourt, Serre, Beaumont Hamel and Thiepval. In the south French were in charge.
At 20 minutes past 7 on 1 July at 5 points below German trench mine was ignited. Even in London men on the streets could hear the sound. At 30minutes past seven a bugle was whistled and the attack began. Soldiers carried 30kg weight in haversack and magazine strap as well.
Most history books still said " It is impossible to break through faced with enemy trench heavily defended and thick artillery lines. It is a myth. In reality it was easy if machine gun posts were not manned. It may sound cruel but if the infantry advanced in the scattered body machine gunners were unable to focus on every directions. These chances could be given by the speed of advancing infantry.
When the first wave of the British infantry neared the German advanced trench lines Germans were expected to have been killed or demoralised. German barbed wire were stark so that British bombardment was not effective. The British infantry struggled with the wire and then, German gunners manned machine gun posts.
Most of British infantry perished before the wire. The second wave advanced and fell, then the third to no purpose. They might be heroes advancing through the shower of bullets or victims due to poor command of the headquarters, or rather simply foolish. We could never know. But, in glorious history of UK they occupied a special chapter, either they were heroes or foolish men.
It was without doubt that the Germans had not damaged severely by the preparatory bombardment within one hour at both Gommecourt and Beaumont Hamel. 7 divisions, 130thousand men participated in the direct attack on the day. Rawlinson, the 4th army commander felt some abnormality and proposed the stoppage of the attack. Haig refused saying, "In offensive losses are inevitable".
One side massacre ensued throughout a day. Haig sent a report to the cabinet that afternoon.
"Very successful attack this morning....All went like clockwork.....The battle is going very well for us and already the Germans are surrendering freely. The enemy is so short of men that he is collecting them from all parts of the line. Our troops are in wonderful spirit and full of confidence."
Fritz Below on the opposite side believed that he successfully repulsed the enemy except the south. He never asked for reinforcement. In the south the French delayed the schedule for attack and stopped preparatory bombardment so that they took Germans by surprise.
Mine Explosion at Beaumont Hamel
However, Falkenhayn ordered the lost ground should be retrieved whatever the cost might be. This surely increased German casualties. The Germans already adopted the depth defence. Like most of German thinkers generals interpreted it narrowly. They usually set three lines of trench. Then, if one lost Germans had to take one for the sake of a single ditch though they had another trench system behind.
Grueneld, chief of staff for the 2nd army was fired by Falkenhayn because he insisted on a new line of defence to where soldiers were there.
The Germans counter attacked in the south and then failed. The British had to defend in Thiepval because of protection for the French advancing. The fighting was followed to no purpose.
It was sometimes said that the offensive on the Somme helped to relieve the pressure on Verdun. This was not true. The Germans stopped the offensive in Verdun because they had to reinforce the Austrians damaged by Brusilov offensive.
In July onward the conflict in the German supreme command occurred resulting in replacement of Falkenhayn by Hindenburg. The issue was on Brusilov offensive and Rumanian entry not including the Somme.
On 15 September Haig decided to bring some tanks to the battlefield though technicians advised him not to use them at that stage and on the devastated ground. Most of tanks were trapped by churned mad though a few broke through a few trench lines.
British Tank Mark 2
Those days tank's speed was 10 km an hour. If Germans run to catch it they can. However, they lacked direct sight cannons, so some tanks were able to survive.
On that day the son of prime minister, Raymond Asquith was killed in action. And, the future prime minister, Macmillan was also wounded. By his leg broken he could not walk straight for the rest of his life.
In October the British still attacked the same targets as the first day of the Somme. Rawlinson wrote down in his diary that the offensive did not go well, German bombardment was better than ours in precision...impossible to advance an inch even next year.
Going to December, Haig decided the final attack to the same point as the first day, Beaumont Hamel. Scotland highlanders successfully occupied that empty village and buried the dead. Nothing any more. Haig announced the battle was over with triumphant tone.
This was a fatal folly committed by the most civilised people. This battle destroyed the underlying sense in society. After that all agreed that wars might bring irretrievable damage to something they cared for.
Americans and communists still spread the classic myth. The First World War was caused by European Imperialists.
That may be true. However, on the Somme there were no communists and Americans. All British young soldiers came there through volunteering, not agitated by Imperialists. The Somme battlefield is now occupied by war grave yards and war memorials which seem to warn against blind nationalism. Not only to British, French and Germans but to all peoples in the world.
Gardner, B., The Big Push: A Portrait of the Somme, London, 1961
Gibbs, Sir Philip, The Battle of the Somme, London, 1917
Gliddon, G., When the Barrage Lifts: A Topographical History and Commentary on the Battle of the Somme 1916, Norwich, 1987
Harris, J., The Somme: Death of a Generation, London, 1966
McDonald, L., Somme, London, 1983
Middlebrook, M., The First Day of the Somme, London, 1971