by Peter Hart
Lieutenant William Colyer, 2nd Battalion, Royal Dublin Fusiliers, 10th Brigade, 4th Division
The colonels in charge of each battalion were internally torn between a natural urge to share the risks faced by their men and the sheer military necessity of standing back from the fray if they were to have any chance of retaining some semblance of control during those crucial moments when the fighting hung in the balance.
One’s instinct was to get on with the chaps and for one thing see what was going on. On the other hand we had been warned over and over again that officers’ lives must not be thrown away in doing something that they oughtn’t, in fact that commanding officers of battalions should lead from behind. When the attack had lost its impetus then was the moment to go forward. And that’s what I tried to do.5
Lieutenant Colonel Alfred Irwin, 8th Battalion, East Surrey Regiment, 55th Brigade, 18th Division
While the officers pondered their role, the men had their personal kit to get into position. They had much to carry.
I will tell here what I carried: rifle and bayonet with a pair of wire cutters attached; a shovel fastened on my back; pack containing two days’ rations, oil sheet, cardigan, jacket and mess tin; haversack containing one day’s iron rations and two Mills bombs; 150 rounds of ammunition; two extra bandoliers containing 60 rounds each, one over each shoulder; a bag of ten bombs.6
Private Albert Andrews, 19th Battalion, Manchester Regiment, 21st Brigade, 30th Division
Although the guns had not stopped firing, many men noticed that their fire had appreciably slackened during the final night and some men even claimed to have heard the birds singing a dawn chorus. The final cannonade let rip at 0630 as almost every gun in the sector poured in a rapid fire drenching the German trenches with bursting shells.
The artillery, which had been firing in a desultory fashion, began to speed up, and within fifteen seconds there was a perfect hurricane of sound. Every gun, large or small started firing ‘rapid’, the trench mortars in the front line joining in, while above all could be heard the tearing rattle of the Vickers machine guns firing from somewhere near us.7
Major Walter Vignoles, 10th Battalion, Lincolnshire Regiment, 101st Brigade, 34th Division
Unfortunately, in many sectors this bombardment did not go unanswered. This was the moment for which the German artillery had been waiting. Now they knew the attack was coming and every German battery blazed out in defiance. It was very obvious that the German artillery had not been silenced or even reduced to a relative quiescence. The British gunners had certainly failed to carry out one of their most important tasks and the infantry soon began to suffer the consequences of that failure.
About seven o’clock, the enemy suddenly dropped a barrage on our trench, blowing it in and causing many casualties. Dazed by the perpetual crashes we crouched in the bottom of the trench, half buried under the debris which fell around us. This barrage accounted for close on forty killed and wounded in the company. I was struck by two pieces of shrapnel on the upper part of my left arm and on my shrapnel helmet, but escaped with a bruise on my arm and a dent in my helmet, plus, of course, a splitting headache.8
Sergeant Frank Hawkings, 1/9th Battalion (Queens Victoria’s Rifles), London Regiment, 169th Brigade, 56th Division
In more fortunate sectors the infantry were left in relative peace as the minutes ticked slowly by. There was a sort of confidence that merged seamlessly with wishful thinking—perhaps the Germans would not, after all, put up much of a resistance.
We were in very good spirits; I don’t know why, for we all knew that there was a good chance of many of us being killed or wounded, but we were in good spirits and they were not assumed either. Even those who grouse as a rule were cheerful; I think the fact that at last we hoped to get to close quarters with the Boche and defeat him accounted for it. We had an hour to wait, so lighted pipes and cigarettes while the men chatted and laughed, and wondered whether the Boche would wait for us. I had a look round but could not see much. The morning was fine and the sun shining, but the enemy’s trenches were veiled in a light mist made worse no doubt by the smoke from the thousands of shells we were pumping into his lines. Nearby I could see our machine gunners, out in the open already, trying to get the best position from which to enfilade certain parts of the Boche line. There was a kind of suppressed excitement running through all the men as the time for the advance came nearer.9
Major Walter Vignoles, 10th Battalion, Lincolnshire Regiment, 101st Brigade, 34th Division
Even so, the final countdown could not be anything but a grievous trial to the nerves as the minutes slowly drifted away from them.
I was apprehensive, I wondered if I’d be alive that night, I wondered whether I was going to be killed. I accepted the fact that as a soldier, the thing was you had to be a fatalist. We often said, ‘If it’s got your name and address on it, it will find you—so what’s the use of worrying!’ So you’ve just got to go and you hope for the best.10
Private Basil Farrer, 2nd Battalion, Green Howards, 21st Brigade, 30th Division
Only a few found their courage deserted them in the final analysis so that they took the desperate measure of a self-inflicted wound.
One of my friends shot himself through the hand. He was a brave man; he was one of the last I would have thought of doing that. He just said, ‘I’m not going over, where are the clean sandbags?’ He put a sandbag over his rifle and shot himself. He was right by me.11
Private Albert Hurst, 17th Battalion, Manchester Regt, 90th Brigade, 30th Division
His friend got away with it. No one in authority saw him and the men themselves had their own problems to think about. All along the line the men checked rifle bolt actions were clean one last time and fixed their bayonets. They were as ready as they ever would be.
The orders came down: ‘Half an hour to go!’ ‘Quarter of an hour to go!’ ‘Ten minutes to go!’ ‘Three minutes to go!’ I lit a cigarette and up the ladder I went.12
Private Albert Andrews, 19th Battalion, Manchester Regiment, 21st Brigade, 30th Division
The Battle of the Somme had finally begun.
VII Corps, Third Army: The Gommecourt Diversion
A FEW MILES TO the north of the main Fourth Army attack two territorial divisions of the Third Army’s VII Corps began their ‘diversionary’ action. There was no intent here of breaking through, or of rolling up the German line. It was designed to attract the fire of German artillery and infantry that might otherwise busy itself by interfering with the northern flank of the main assault at Serre. The diversion was a standard ‘pincer’ attack, intended to pinch out the Gommecourt Salient and force the surrounded German garrison to surrender. Coming in from the northern flank facing Gommecourt Wood was the 46th (North Midland) Division, which was required to break into the German lines and then form a strong defensive flank to block any German counter-attack launched from the north. They were also to attack along the Fill Trench to make a rendezvous with the other pincer supplied by the 56th (London) Division in the First Switch Trench to the east of the village of Gommecourt. The 56th Division was to break through and seize the German third line, (variously named from Feud to Fame) which was to be consolidated, before a second assault swung round through the Maze and Quadrilateral fortifications to make their intended rendezvous with 46th Division. To the south of the 56th Division, just two battalions of the neighbouring 48th Division thinly held the line over the whole 2 miles that stretched down to the northern flank of the main attack launched by 31st Division of VIII Corps. These battalions were meant to simulate readiness for an imminent attack by cutting holes in the German barbed wire and releasing smoke as if about to assault. In the absence of any convincing British artillery support barrage, and the lack of assembly trenches or corresponding holes cut in the British wire, this ruse unsurprisingly failed to distract the Germans and they were left free to concentrate their fire against the 56th Division.
Taken as a whole this
was an extremely ambitious plan, for the German defences around the Gommecourt Salient were amongst the strongest on the whole Somme front. A complex interlocked system of trenches and communication trenches was centred on the Maze lying to the eastern side of the village, while three further additional defensive switch lines isolated the whole salient in the event of the British successfully breaking through. Most of the garrison was preserved from the worst effects of the preliminary bombardment by a comprehensive pattern of deep dugouts. Furthermore, although a strong force of medium and heavy batteries had been theoretically devoted to counter-battery fire this was comprehensively undermined by the small allocation of ammunition to the task—just 20 rounds per gun. Even worse there was only one aircraft allocated to them for aerial observation. As a result most of the German batteries in the Gommecourt area had survived unscathed.
To their credit, the British had foreseen the risk of concentrated flanking fire from unengaged German troops and artillery lying to the east, north and south of the British attack and in an effort to counter this and conceal what was going on an attempt was made to generate a smoke screen across the front of both attacking divisions at 0720. Unfortunately, on the 46th Division front, this seems to have confused the attackers far more than the Germans. The combination of thick smoke clouds and the maze of old trenches and new assembly trenches that were littered all across No Man’s Land meant that the troops found it difficult to get the correct alignment of attack. To complicate matters further the belts of barbed wire, which had been reported clear, had mostly been patched up by the Germans overnight and they once again posed a serious obstacle to rapid progress.
Once the assault began at 0730 the German troops were very soon out of their dugouts to occupy the mish-mash of trenches and shell holes left after the British bombardment. As the smoke clouds began to disperse in front of them, their targets soon became clear, and they opened an effective fire. But the real damage came from their artillery, which was effectively augmented by the batteries in Adinfer Wood to the north. Now the consequence of the inadequate counter-battery fire was clearly apparent. As a direct result the attack was an almost complete failure. The only significant incursion into the German lines was made by the 1/5th and 1/7th Sherwood Foresters. They were quickly isolated and a debilitating confusion over the organisation of a combined renewed attack and reinforcement ate away at time deep into the afternoon until eventually the whole idea was abandoned. The surviving Sherwood Foresters were hunted down one by one like rats in a trap.
Meanwhile, on the neighbouring 56th Division front, the German artillery reacted equally violently to the first wisps of the smoke screen that curled towards them across No Man’s Land.
Before we started off we sent up dense clouds of white smoke, under cover of which we started attacking. The moment the Germans spotted this they started with their artillery putting up a wicked barrage of fire—heavy shrapnel at regular distances of about 20 yards covering every inch of ground. They put one in No Man’s Land, one over the front line, another over our reserves, and others right along the communication trenches.13
Rifleman Frank Jacobs, 1/5th Battalion (London Rifle Brigade), London Regiment, 169th Brigade, 56th Division
Mere smoke certainly could not deflect shells from the massed German artillery who did not need to see to be able to kill their enemies—after all, they knew exactly where they were and where they were going. Notwithstanding this, at 0725 the leading assault companies moved out of the front line and formed up on the tapes laid in front of the British front line to be ready for the final whistle that would launch them on their way. At last the whistles blew at 0730 and one by one the assaulting companies disappeared into the smoke that by then wreathed all of No Man’s Land.
From the trenches behind them the attack was an inspirational if somewhat daunting sight.
It was the finest spectacle I have ever seen. The smoke varied in colour and as each cloud intermingled with the other it formed beautiful tints. By this time the artillery had lifted and carried on with the pounding of the Huns’ rear positions and batteries. Mr Fritz was by no means taking this lying down and we soon realised that he had almost as many guns as we had, but it was chiefly heavy stuff that he sent over and this led us to suspect that he had shifted his field guns back. The wood and all the enemy’s trenches were now obscured from sight and all that could be seen was the front waves of men advancing to their unknown fate. Line after line advanced and disappeared in the clouds of smoke.14
Lance Corporal Sidney Appleyard, 1/9th Battalion (Queen Victoria’s Rifles), London Regiment, 169th Brigade, 56th Division
The men amidst the smoke clouds could not really see what was happening but the crescendo of noise, the percussive effects of shell explosions and the rattle of the machine guns gave them every clue that they were engaged in a truly desperate business.
When we advanced beyond the smoke screens we became an easy target for the German machine guns. I saw many of my colleagues drop down, but this somehow or other did not seem to worry me, and I continued to go forward until I suddenly became aware that there were very few of us in this first line of attack capable of going on. I found myself in the company of an officer, Lieutenant Wallace. We dived into a flat shallow hole, made by our guns, apparently both wanting to decide what we should now do. Lieutenant Wallace asked me whether I thought we should attempt to go on or remain there for the time being. Thinking the position over very rapidly, I came to the conclusion and told him that going on would be suicidal and that the best thing we could do would be to stay there and attempt to pick off any Germans who might expose themselves. We were not very clear as to how we were situated. Lieutenant Wallace said, however, that we had been ordered to go on at all costs and that we must comply with this order. At this, he stood up and within a few seconds dropped down riddled with bullets. This left me with the same problem, and having observed his action, I felt I must do the same. I had thought that a man who could stand up and knowingly face practically certain death must be very brave. I found out that bravery hardly came into it. Once the decision was made to stand up I had no further fear. I was not bothered at all even though I believed that I would be dead within seconds and would be rotting on the ground, food for the rats next day. I am now convinced that when it comes to the last crunch nobody has any fear at all; it is not a question of bravery. In some extraordinary manner the chemistry of the body anaesthetises it. I stood up and was immediately hit by two bullets and dropped down. I did not even feel appreciably the bullets going through.15
Private Henry Russell, 1/5th Battalion (London Rifle Brigade), 169th Brigade, 56th Division
His wounds were obviously serious and as the German shells continued to crash down between the lines he was hit again and virtually emasculated as he lay there helpless. Only much later at night would he be able to crawl back to the British lines.
As the attacking waves pushed forwards, despite the heavy casualties they were suffering, the survivors pushed closer and closer to the German front line. Yet as the decisive moment approached the German fire seemed only to increase.
Officers led the way, most of whom dropped immediately. Machine guns seemed to crackle from every direction, I kept my head down as low as possible, helmet tilted to protect my eyes, but I could still see men dropping all around me. One on my left clutched his stomach and just collapsed. Another, a yard to my right, slumped on to his knees. The din was terrific, stifling any screams. Entangled wire had to be negotiated. Just one opening—on which the German fire was rapid and most accurate. Not many of us got through. The journey seemed endless, but at last a number of us fell into a German trench.16
Private Arthur Schuman, 1/5th Battalion (London Rifle Brigade), London Regiment, 169th Brigade, 56th Division
Inevitably, many never made it through the maelstrom of fire that ripped through the hapless Londoners.
Shells were bursting everywhere, and through the drifting smoke in front of u
s we could see the enemy’s first line from which grey figures emerged and hurled hand grenades. We moved forward in long lines, stumbling through the mass of shell holes, wire and wreckage, and behind us more waves appeared. As we neared the enemy line, a low flying shrapnel shell burst right over my head, completely deafening me. I ducked and slipped head first into a shell hole. Simultaneously several more shells burst close around. We must have been in the midst of the Hun barrage. I felt a sharp pain in my back, and my next recollections are of a medley of Huns and Queen Victoria’s Rifles at close quarters with bomb and bayonet. The tide of battle rolled on as our fellows forced their way to the Hun trench, and when I recovered my wits, I found myself bleeding profusely from a wound in my left forearm. There was also a patch of blood on my breeches from the wound in my back. I was by this time, completely dazed and half deafened, but had sufficient sense to appreciate in which direction lay our own front line. I next found myself sliding head first into the old line upon a heap of mangled bodies.17
Sergeant Frank Hawkings, 1/9th Battalion (Queen Victoria’s Rifles), London Regiment, 169th Brigade, 56th Division
In general, although the British artillery had been unable to suppress the German guns, they had at least managed to cut the barbed wire along most of the 56th Division front. The leading troops, reinforced by the following waves managed to reach and overwhelm the resistance offered by the surviving garrison of the German front line. Here they could see for themselves the visible evidence of the power of their own artillery.
