Somme
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Lieutenant Colonel Frank Maxwell VC, 12th Battalion, Middlesex Regiment, 54th Brigade, 18th Division
Chaplain Jeeves was watching as some of the thousands of wounded made their uncertain way back to the safety of the rear areas.
Hour after hour those heroes came, some limping, some helping others who were worse than themselves, some lying still and white upon the stretchers, some asking for the drink which we were only too glad to be able to give to them. So brave, so patient; I felt amidst it all the uplift of a spirit which was not born on earth. I have never seen anything so sublime. Surely in a hall of the brave and good beyond this world we shall meet again, if we walk worthy of all that this sacrifice has won for us?110
Chaplain Leonard Jeeves, 55th Brigade, 18th Division
The honour of taking the far right flank in the British assault went to the 30th Division commanded by Major General John Shea. The 21st and 89th Brigades attacked directly towards the village of Montauban with the intermediate German line of Dublin Trench and the Glatz Redoubt as their main objectives. Once these had been captured the 90th Brigade was to move forward to capture Montauban itself.
In this sector the British artillery had carried out their task almost to perfection with some considerable assistance from the neighbouring French artillery. As a result of their combined efforts the German artillery was silenced, the barbed wire was largely cut, Montauban had been reduced to rubble and the German trench positions had been thoroughly pounded. At 0722 the artillery was augmented by a furious bombardment from six Stokes mortar batteries, which had been secretly installed at the end of Russian saps dug across No Man’s Land. Finally at 0730 the Manchesters went over the top.
Off we started, about 50 yards between each wave. I was carrying my rifle by the sling on my shoulder with the bayonet parallel to my ear and had not gone many yards, when whizz—I felt as if someone had pulled at the top. However, I took no notice as we were at a quick march and it was taking us all our time to keep going. Like nearly every other fellow, I was smoking. No Man’s Land was one mass of shell holes, the soil was loose and we had 400 yards of this to go to the first German trench.111
Private Albert Andrews, 19th Battalion, Manchester Regiment, 21st Brigade, 30th Division
They came under fire of course, but it bore no resemblance to the deluge of high explosives and massed machine-gun bullets that had haunted the men to the north.
Over the top! Up lads, good luck and we were away. We went about 25 yards, got through our wire all right, what was left of it. We were going very well; we were in the front wave. All of a sudden I realised what a hell of a weight we were carrying. The No. 1 he carried the gun, put it under his arm, finger on the trigger, and always about 2 yards in front of any infantrymen that were following. The barbed wire was shattered in strands all over the place, twisted round. When we got just off the front line, up pops a machine gun. Chained to this gun was a German. The first thing I did was to put my gun on to my shoulder and sprayed right along the top to keep their heads down. The German gunner went down; whether he was hit or not I didn’t know and I didn’t care, he was down. They were all down. That gave us a chance of getting in the trench. When we got in the gun team were practically down—not with the exertion of walking up and down shell holes and through wire, but with the damn load they were carrying. It was absolutely inhuman. My immediate concern was to get my Lewis gun on to the back of their trench, Dublin Trench. Our Brigadier General—Stanley—he was up within our front line within an hour and a half of our taking it. Not standing in the trench but standing in the open with a pair of field glasses looking at the German positions—I can see him now! We stayed about an hour till all the objectives were gained. Once you’re in the front line you don’t stay there. Then you’ve got to get forward again to dig in about another 100 yards ahead of our objective—Dublin Trench—and we start digging in. Then the fun did start. We were getting enfilade from right and left. We were the first target. You’re not going to worry about a chappie with a rifle, he can only kill one but a Lewis gunner could probably wipe the whole lot out.112
Sergeant Ernest Bryan, 17th Battalion, King’s Liverpool Regiment, 89th Brigade, 30th Division
Many of the Germans were still caught in what remained of their deep dugouts and only emerged at the very last moment when it was too late to make any real difference. As a result the losses in this sector were held reasonably in check.
As we got nearer, dozens of Germans were running through us towards our lines with their hands up. Others stopped there throwing bombs, firing machine guns and rifles, but those who stayed until we got there will fire no more.113
Private Albert Andrews, 19th Battalion, Manchester Regiment, 21st Brigade, 30th Division
Carried away by the adrenaline rush of battle, there were times when war was quite literally murder.
I jumped into the German trench, what was left of it, just near a dugout door. In the doorway there was a big barrel. As soon as I jumped in, a German leapt from behind the barrel, but I was already on guard and I had my bayonet on his chest. He was trembling and looked half mad with his hands above his head, saying something to the which I did not understand. All I could make out was that he did not want me to kill him! It was here I noticed my bayonet was broken and I couldn’t have stuck him with it. Of course, I had ‘one up the chimney’ as we called it, that is a bullet in the breech, so that you only have to press your trigger. I pointed to his belt and bayonet. He took these off, and his hat and water bottle as well, emptied his pockets and offered the lot to me. Just then one of my mates was coming up the trench. ‘Get out of the way, Andy, leave him to me, I’ll give him one to himself!’ He meant he would throw a bomb at him, which would have blown him to pieces. ‘Come here’, I said. The German was on his knees in front of the now, fairly pleading. I said, ‘He’s an old man!’ He looked 60. At the finish I pointed my thumb towards our lines, never taking my bayonet off his chest. He jumped up and, with his hands above his head, ran out of the trench towards our lines calling out all the time. He was trembling from head to foot and frightened to death. I honestly believe he could have ‘done me’ as I jumped into the trench if he had not been so afraid. This was the only German I ever let off and I never regretted it. Well, with him away, we both bombed the dugout and turned round to go along the trench, when three fine Germans came running towards us with their hands up. They would be about 20 yards away. We both fired and two fell, my mate saying as we let go, ‘That’s for my brother in the Dardanelles!’, and as he fired again and the third German fell, ‘That’s for my winter in the trenches!’ We walked up to them and one moved. My mate kicked him and pushed his bayonet into him. That finished him. This kind of thing was going on all along the line, no Germans being spared. Wounded were killed by us all. We hadn’t exactly been told, ‘No prisoners!’ but we were given to understand that that was what was wanted.114
Private Albert Andrews, 19th Battalion, Manchester Regiment, 21st Brigade, 30th Division
On they went, so far ahead of schedule that they had to wait for the artillery to finish knocking hell out of the German trenches that made up the Glatz Redoubt.
We waited outside Glatz Redoubt, all our guns being turned on this ring of trenches which was right on top of the ridge. We got the order, ‘Charge!’ and away we went at the double, killing all that stayed there. A good many retreated towards Montauban and we opened rapid fire at them.115
Private Albert Andrews, 19th Battalion, Manchester Regiment, 21st Brigade, 30th Division
All in all the Germans that survived could testify that the British gunners had done a superb job in the southern sector of the offensive.
The troops who had so far held the lines south of Mametz and south of Montauban had sustained severe losses from intense enemy bombardment, which had been maintained for many days without a pause, and for the most part were already shot to pieces.116
Lieutenant Colonel Bedall, 16th Bavarian Regiment,
10th Bavarian Division, German Army
Now that the 21st and 89th Brigades had reached their objectives, the 90th Brigade moved up to leapfrog them as planned. As they approached they could see that the French were also making good solid progress.
As we were going over I could see the French troops advancing on our right. It was a splendid sight to see them, in their coloured uniforms and long bayonets. They advanced in short sharp rushes and they seemed to make very, very good progress. There artillery was giving them plenty of support and as they vanished in the distance, I turned round to some of my comrades and said, ‘They’re doing very well, very well indeed!’ And they did you know!117
Private Pat Kennedy, 18th Battalion, Manchester Regiment, 90th Brigade, 30th Division
Meanwhile, the artillery was following its prepared programme to the letter. From its perspective everything seemed to be going like clockwork.
Received news at last from observation post, ‘Attack going OK. 1st, 2nd and 3rd lines taken with few casualties.’ At 9.56 a.m., lifted from Montauban and put up a barrage on the south-east side of the village to check any reinforcements coming up. Batteries in the rear of us who have to advance first, are now limbering up and trotting forward past our guns! Everything is going top hole—awfully bucked! At 10.10 a.m. received word from OP, ‘Infantry have taken Glatz Alley and are now entering Montauban.’118
Lieutenant William Bloor, C Battery, 149th Brigade, Royal Field Artillery, 30th Division
The village proved empty when the troops moved into the ruined streets at 1005. By 1100 they had run on to capture their allotted section of Montauban Alley in Caterpillar Valley behind Montauban. The trauma inflicted on the Germans was such that in Caterpillar Valley a number of German guns were captured.
The main role of the artillery in this phase of the battle was to disrupt any attempted German counter-attack. When the army cooperation aircraft of the RFC spotted threatening numbers of German troops moving forward in between Bernafay and Trônes Wood the artillery knew exactly what it had to do.
At 3.20 p.m. received word that two battalions of Germans had been seen on the road from Longueval, evidently coming up to support. Were warned to be ready to receive them! We are ready, and ten times ready, and the more that come, the bigger the target! Am at this moment waiting for further news of them—they are reported by the Flying Corps, and are a mile or two off yet and out of sight!119
Lieutenant William Bloor, C Battery, 149th Brigade, Royal Field Artillery, 30th Division
As night fell the positions were securely held, but it was obvious that a serious counter-attack would be launched as soon as the Germans could organise themselves. For many men, the collection of souvenirs and a little light looting of German dugouts was a pleasant distraction that might well prove fatal if older, cooler heads had not called them to their duty in consolidating the captured trenches.
Two or three of us went down in a fine German dugout. There were cigars, tinned food and German helmets. We all took a helmet, cigars and tobacco coming out with these German helmets on we ran straight into our Captain. ‘Yes,’ he said, ‘you all look very nice, but get some fucking digging done!120
Private Albert Andrews, 19th Battalion, Manchester Regiment, 21st Brigade, 30th Division
Of course, the first real line of defence of the captured ground was their artillery. It had the massed slaughtering power to destroy any German counterattack that came within range.
At 10 p.m. the enemy started a heavy bombardment of the captured village of Montauban and also put up a barrage on his old trenches to prevent us from reinforcing. We started shooting then to cut up his counter-attack which was a failure. From this time until 2 a.m., the fire slackened somewhat, but at that time we commenced another intense bombardment. We received an SOS from Gowland, and fired for an hour. The attack was foiled. At 4.30 a.m. received by flag from Gowland, that the Boche was advancing in mass. This attack was again repulsed. We fired 834 rounds today.121
Lieutenant William Bloor, C Battery, 149th Brigade, Royal Field Artillery, 30th Division
The infantry constructed an improvised line from a mixture of smashed German trenches and hastily linked shell holes. It was a difficult situation and it was soon obvious that many of the young lads in the line were terribly inexperienced.
During one counter-attack I couldn’t get my ammunition clips out of my pouches quick enough, so this old soldier with a South African War ribbon said to me, ‘Hey lad, get your clips on the top of the parapet, it’s more easy for you to do it!’ It was a good tip because I could load very, very quick and fire. The counter-attack was beaten off.122
Private Pat Kennedy, 18th Battalion, Manchester Regiment, 90th Brigade, 30th Division
Many were haunted by the imagined and all too real terrors of bayonet fighting. They had been trained in England with a straw-filled sack as an enemy; even then many had been shocked by the imprecations of their instructing sergeants who ordered them to scream and yell as if to make their lungs burst. In their makeshift front-line trenches their knees trembled at the thought of cold steel.
When you saw the Germans coming to you with fixed bayonets. The old Sergeant who had been out since Mons, he said, ‘By God, Pat, if they get any nearer, we’ll have to go and meet them with the bayonet!’ I thought, ‘Right! I’ve got a round in my breech, in case I miss him with the bayonet, I can shoot him! Just pull the trigger catch him that way. But they got very near on top of us—a few feet away from us and they were coming full pelt, yelling at the top of their voices. It’s a nasty feeling to think of these big Germans, all picked men, they were regular troops, done years and years conscript service. But really, they were on a level with us because it was their first field action they were in, I think.123
Private Pat Kennedy, 18th Battalion, Manchester Regiment, 90th Brigade, 30th Division
The attacks were beaten off by a combination of effective British covering artillery fire, well-sited machine guns and the courage of troops determined to cling on to their hard won gains. Their morale was high—after all as far as they knew the British had won a great victory that day.
We didn’t know that the 1st of July was a disaster. The only success was where our division and the 18th Division gained all their objectives. We thought the war would soon be over as our men were flush with success.124
Private Pat Kennedy, 18th Battalion, Manchester Regiment, 90th Brigade, 30th Division
Collectively the XIII Corps had achieved all its objectives and thereby smashed through the German front-line trench system. The lack of any real German shell fire in comparison to the more northerly sectors had made a much more feasible operation of war and the two divisions of Kitchener’s Army had indeed done very well. Yet it should be emphasised that the British had not by any means broken through. The German Second Line system still lay before them on the ridge extending from Bazentin-le-Grand to Longueval. Behind that a Third Line system was being sketched out on the ground. Nevertheless, on a day of utter disaster, this success offered hope for the future; offered a point of focus for future attacks should Haig and Rawlinson decide to capitalise on the successes achieved. Yet the fighting had still been rough and the cost was inevitably high with the 18th Division totalling some 3,115 losses while the 30th Division incurred 3,011 casualties. Warfare was a painful business even in victory.
French Success on the Somme
The French attack alongside the XIII Corps was carried out by the Sixth Army under the command of General Fayolle. The XX Corps attacked north of the river Somme at 0730 and under the cover of a light river mist the French surged forward alongside the British 30th Division and despite stiff fighting in some sectors had overrun the entire German First Line defences. At first it seemed possible that Hardecourt could be attacked later in the day, but the difficulties in coordinating with the British meant that it was decided to hold what they had rather than risk a further advance. That this was perhaps a wise decision may be see
n in the several German counter-attacks emanating from Hardecourt later in the day. South of the river Somme the French I Colonial Corps and the XXXV Corps had managed to attain complete artillery supremacy. The German batteries were almost wiped out and were unable in consequence to put up any real counter-barrage. The attack was delayed until 0930 and this perversely seems to have caught the Germans by surprise. When the French had not emerged alongside the British after two hours the Germans may have thought they were not coming at all. They were wrong and the French stormed through in fine style carrying all before them despite the dangerous flanking fire from the unengaged German positions even further to the south. The French were not a ‘New Army’ and generally had the benefit of more training and more battle experience than their British comrades—it was no disgrace that sometimes it showed. South of the Somme they pushed straight through the entire German First Line trench system and managed to establish themselves within relatively easy assaulting distance of the Second Line.
Somme Success in the Air
The morning of 1 July was not the first day of the offensive for the Royal Flying Corps. They had been engaged in a vicious battle for control of the air above the battlefield for the previous six months. Photographic reconnaissance and artillery observation were absolutely essential if the infantry were to have any chance of success on the day when it mattered. At the start of the battle the RFC had been labouring under a considerable disadvantage. The British army cooperation aircraft, the BE2c, was a stable and solid aircraft but it was, however, totally unsuited to the hurly-burly of aerial conflict. Flying against them was the formidable Fokker Monoplane EIII armed with a Spandau machine gun that fired directly through the span of the propellor using a revolutionary interrupter gear. Aware of the importance of their work, the RFC commander, Brigadier General Sir Hugh Trenchard, resolved that his men had to continue to carry out their functions and accept any consequent casualties for the ‘greater good’ of the army. It was thus fortunate that the technological tide at last began to turn back towards the British in the spring of 1916. The first sign of this was the arrival of the FE2b multi-purpose two-seater machines. This was a ‘pusher’ aircraft, with the engine behind the pilot and his observer perched in the forward cockpit with a clear field of fire for his Lewis gun. At first the fighting was still hard as the German scouts would often swoop down in ambush when the British patrols were a long way over the lines and far from the safety of home.