14. Prior, Robin, and Wilson, Trevor, The Somme (Sydney: University of New South Wales Press, 2005), pp. 91–2.
15. ibid., p. 91.
16. Greiner, Lt. d. R., and Vulpius, Lt. d. R., Reserve-Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 110 im Weltkrieg 1914–1918 (Karlsruhe: Macklotsche, 1934), p. 132.
17. III Corps Summary of Operations Carried Out During the Month of July, 1916, III Corps, war diary, July 1916, NAUK, WO/95/673; Edmonds, p. 376.
18. Shakespear, John, notes, NAUK, CAB/45/137.
19. Steward, Godfrey, letter, 5 September 1930, NAUK, CAB/45/137.
20. Prior and Wilson, Somme, p. 93.
21. Jack, James, General Jack’s Diary (London: Eyre & Spottiswoode, 1964), p. 151.
22. Greiner and Vulpius, pp. 116, 123.
23. ibid., p. 132.
24. ibid., p. 304.
25. Vischer, Alfred, Das 10. Württ. Infanterie-Regiment Nr.180 in der Somme-Schlacht 1916, (Stuttgart: Uhland’schen, 1917), p.12.
26. Vogler, Heinrich, letter, 9 May 1970, ULLC/WW1/MID01.
27. Edmonds, p. 392.
28. Stosch, Albrecht von, Somme-Nord, I Teil: Die Brennpunkte der Schlacht im Juli 1916 (Berlin: Gerhard Stalling, 1927), p. 54; Vischer, p. 14; Whitehead, Ralph, The Other Side of the Wire, Vol. 2: The Battle of the Somme. With the German XIV Reserve Corps, 1 July 1916 (Solihull: Helion, 2013), p. 257.
29. ‘Die 180er in der Somme-Schlacht,’ by Christian Fischer, in Der 180er, 10 November 1938.
30. Gerster, Matthaus, Die Schwaben and der Ancre (Heilbronn: Eugen Salzer, 1918), p. 109.
31. ibid.
32. Boraston, J.H., and Bax, Cyril, The Eighth Division in War, 1914–1918 (London: The Medici Society Ltd, 1926), p. 78.
33. III Corps Summary of Operations, op. cit.
34. Savile, Henry, letter, 19 May 1930, NAUK, CAB/45/137.
35. Edmonds, p. 374; Fischer, op. cit.
36. Whitehead, Vol. 2, p. 260.
37. Stosch, pp. 62, 252–3; Rudolph, M., Geschichte des Bayrischen Fussartillerie-Bataillons Nr. 10 (Thüringen: Bernhard Sporn, 1936), pp. 35–6; Müller-Loebnitz, Wilhelm, Die Badener im Weltkrieg 1914/1918 (Karlsruhe: G. Braun, 1935), p. 215; no precise figures have yet been found for 28th Reserve Division’s artillery complement. An estimate based on Stosch suggests about 33 batteries comprising 125 guns. About 60 appear to have been deployed between Fricourt Spur and La Boisselle, the remaining 65 between Fricourt and the ground east of Mametz. Gun losses are calculated at 30% (Stosch, p. 62).
38. 34th Division, war diary, 1 July 1916, NAUK, WO/95/2457; Somerset, Charles, letter, 21 March 1930, NAUK, CAB/45/133.
39. Stosch, pp. 251–3; Klaus, Max, Das Württembergische Reserve-Feldartillerie-Regiment Nr. 26 im Weltkrieg 1914–1918 (Stuttgart: Christian Belser, 1929), pp. 52–3; Soden, Franz Freiherr von, Die 26. (Württembergische) Reserve-Division im Weltkrieg 1914–1918 (Stuttgart: Bergers, 1939), p. 102; 26th Reserve Division’s artillery complement totalled 154 guns across 39 batteries, by far the most of any division north of the River Somme and, respectively, 23% and 18% more than the 28th Reserve Division. This disparity in artillery allocation and deployment demonstrates that Second Army and XIV Reserve Corps saw Soden’s divisional sector as the most tactically and strategically important north of the river.
40. Langford, William, Somme Intelligence, Fourth Army HQ (Barnsley: Pen & Sword, 2013), p. 44.
41. Turner, Archibald, ULLC/WW1/MID01.
42. Senescall, William, ULLC/WW1/WF01/S/7.
43. Sheen, John, Tyneside Irish: 24th, 25th, 26th & 27th (Service) Battalions of Northumberland Fusiliers (Barnsley: Pen & Sword, 1998), p. 93.
44. Corbett, William, ULLC/WW1/MID01.
45. Somerset, op. cit.
46. Whitehead, Vol. 2, Verlustlisten disc; Schwabenhöhe area was held by 5/RIR110, which suffered 36 fatalities on 1 July. The number of fatalities due to the mine blast must be either exactly that number or more likely fewer.
47. Greiner and Vulpius, p. 132.
48. Operation Order No. 32, 102nd Brigade, war diary, June 1916, NAUK, WO/95/2459/1; Operation Order No. 34, 101st Brigade, war diary, June 1916, NAUK, WO/95/2455/2.
49. Edmonds, p. 377.
50. Stosch, p. 252; RIR110 had two machinegun companies each of 12 weapons, plus six more guns of the attached Maschinengewehr Scharfschützen Trupp 161.
51. Operation Order No. 32, 102nd Brigade, op. cit.; Operation Order No. 34, 101st Brigade, op. cit.
52. Amendment to Operation Order No. 24, 103rd Brigade, war diary, June 1916, NAUK, WO/95/2464/2; see also: 25th Northumberland Fusiliers, war diary, 1 July 1916, NAUK, WO/95/2467/1; 26th Northumberland Fusiliers, war diary, 1 July 1916, NAUK, WO/95/2467/2., 27th Northumberland Fusiliers, war diary, 1 July 1916, NAUK, WO/95/2467/3.
53. Alexander, McCrae’s Battalion, p. 159.
54. Evening Telegraph, 28 August 1916.
55. 15th Royal Scots, war diary, 1 July 1916, NAUK, WO/95/2457/5; 16th Royal Scots, war diary, 1 July 1916, NAUK, WO/95/2458/1; 101st Brigade, war diary, 1 July 1916, NAUK, WO/95/2455/2.
56. 15th Royal Scots, war diary, op. cit.; 16th Royal Scots, war diary, op. cit.; 101st Brigade, war diary, op. cit.; Shakespear, J., The Thirty-Fourth Division 1915–1919: The Story of Its Career from Ripon to the Rhine (London: H.F. & G. Witherby, 1921), p. 42.
57. Sheen, ibid, p. 103.
58. Alexander, p. 160.
59. 16th Royal Scots, war diary, op. cit.
60. 27th Northumberland Fusiliers, war diary, 1 July 1916, NAUK, WO/95/2467/3; 24th Northumberland Fusiliers, war diary, 1 July 1916, NAUK, WO/95/2466.4.
61. Alexander, p. 163; Sheen, p. 101; Shakespear, Thirty-Fourth Division, p. 44; Falkirk Gazette, 26 July 1916.
62. Falkirk Gazette, op. cit.
63. 11th Suffolks, war diary, 1 July 1916, NAUK, WO/95/2458/3; Shakespear, Thirty-Fourth Division, pp. 41–2.
64. 11th Suffolks, war diary, op. cit.; see also 10th Lincolns, war diary, 1 July 1916, NAUK, WO/95/2457/1.
65. Greiner and Vulpius, p. 302.
66. 11th Suffolks, war diary, op. cit.
67. 24th Northumberland Fusiliers, war diary, 1 July 1916, op. cit.
68. Sheldon, p. 159; Greiner and Vulpius, p. 125.
69. Somerset, op. cit.
70. ibid.; 34th Division, war diary, 1 July 1916, op. cit.
71. Somerset, op. cit.
72. ibid.
73. Shakespear, Thirty-Fourth Division, p. 42.
74. Alexander, McCrae’s Battalion, p. 162.
75. Sheen, p. 95.
76. Corbett, op. cit.
77. ibid.
78. Senescall, op. cit.
79. ibid.
80. ibid.
81. Newcastle Journal, 13 July 1916. Dyke’s rank is as stated in the article.
82. Hart, Peter, The Somme (London: Weidenfeld & Nicholson, 2005), p. 171.
83. ibid.
84. Middlebrook, Martin, The First Day on the Somme: 1 July 1916 (London: Penguin Books, 1984), p. 219.
85. Grantham Journal, 5 August 1916.
86. III Corps Summary of Operations, op. cit.; the tunnel used was designated ‘No. 1’ and was 410 feet long and ended 180 feet shy of the German front line. The other two bores were predictably ‘No. 2’ and ‘No. 3’. The former was 600 feet long and 9–15 feet deep and ended 40 feet from the German line. The latter was ‘similar in nature to the first two.’ Third Corps noted that tunnels ‘No. 2’ and ‘No. 3’ were ‘made use of when the German trenches in front were taken.’
87. ibid. more specifically, this tunnel was 8 feet and 8 inches high, 3 feet and 6 inches wide at floor level and 3 feet and 6 inches wide at its ceiling.
88. 34th Division, war diary, 1 July 1916, op. cit.
89. ibid.
90. 34th Division, war diary, 1 July 1916, op. cit.
91. Easton, Thomas, ULLC/WW1/GS/0490.
92. Greiner and Vulpius, p. 304.
93. 21st Northumberland Fusiliers, war diary, 1 July 1916, NAUK, WO/95/2462/5; 22nd Northumbe
rland Fusiliers, war diary, 1 July 1916, NAUK, WO/95/2463/1; 26th Northumberland Fusiliers, war diary, 1 July 1916, NAUK, WO/95/2467/2.
94. Fiedel, Paul, Geschichte des Infanterie-Regiments von Winterfeldt (2. Oberschlesisches) Nr. 23 (Berlin: Wilhelm Kolk, 1929), p. 123.
95. Easton, op. cit.
96. ibid.
97. Sheen, p. 97.
98. Sheldon, Jack, The German Army on the Somme 1914–1916 (Barnsley: Pen & Sword, 2005), p. 159; Müller-Loebnitz, p. 216.
99. Nugent, George, last will and testament, 8 January 1916, www.gov.uk, FAEJ988504.
100. The rest of the epitaph: ‘But never forgotten/May he rest/In eternal peace.’
101. Newcastle Journal, 22 July 1916.
102. Pery-Knox-Gore, Ivan, diary, 1 July 1916, NAUK, CAB/45/136.
103. ibid.
104. ibid.
105. Hart, Somme, p. 173.
106. Lewis, p. 72.
107. 20th Northumberland Fusiliers, war diary, 1 July 1916, NAUK, WO/95/2462/4; 23rd Northumberland Fusiliers, war diary, 1 July 1916, NAUK, WO/95/2463/2; 25th Northumberland Fusiliers, war diary, 1 July 1916, NAUK, WO/95/2467/1.
108. Edmonds, p. 382.
109. Shakespear, letter, op. cit.
110. Newcastle Journal, 18 July 1916.
111. ibid.
112. 25th Northumberland Fusiliers, war diary, op. cit.
113. Greiner and Vulpius, pp. 295–6.
114. Gore, Robert, letter, 5 July 1916, NAUK, CAB/45/134; 10th Lincolnshires, war diary, NAUK, WO/95/2457.
115. Hart, Somme Success, pp. 89–90.
116. 34th Division, war diary, 1 July 1916, op. cit.
117. ibid.
118. Hart, Somme, p. 174.
119. Greig, op. cit.
120. ibid.
121. Killed: Lieutenant-Colonels C.C.A. Sillery, 20th Northumberland Fusiliers, F.C. Heneker, 21st Northumberland Fusiliers, A.P.A. Elphinstone, 22nd Northumberland Fusiliers, W. Lyle, 23rd Northumberland Fusiliers, and L.M. Howard, 24th Northumberland Fusiliers; wounded Lieutenant-Colonels J.H.M. Arden, 25th Northumberland Fusiliers, and M.E. Richardson, 26th Northumberland Fusiliers.
122. Greiner and Vulpius, p. 305.
123. ibid., pp. 311–50; Whitehead, Vol. 2, Verlustlisten disc.
124. ibid. At least some of these casualties were incurred against 21st Division atop Fricourt Spur, but the confused nature of fighting there makes precise attribution impossible. RIR110’s casualties are thus dealt with entirely in this chapter.
125. ibid.
126. Fiedel, pp. 303, 308–9.
127. Stosch, p. 71.
128. ibid., p. 71.
129. ibid., p. 58.
130. ibid., pp. 53–9, 71; ‘Die 26. Reserve Division im Weltkrieg,’ by General der Infanterie, Freiherr von Soden, in Der 180er: Festnummer: zum Treffen der 26. Reserve-Division vom 4. Bis 6. Juli 1936 in Stuttgart, 4 July 1936.
131. Jack, pp. 145–6.
132. Hart, Somme Success, p. 89.
133. Levine, Joshua, Forgotten Voices of the Somme: The Most Devastating Battle of the Great War in the Words of Those Who Survived (London: Edbury Press, 2009), p. 127.
134. Robbins, p. 62.
135. Edmonds, p. 385.
136. ibid.
137. ibid., p. 386.
138. Vischer, p. 14.
139. Stosch, p. 251; IR180 had two machinegun companies, each with 12 guns.
140. Levine, p. 127.
141. Preliminary Operation Order No. 35, 23rd Brigade, war diary, June 1916, NAUK, WO/95/1708/5.
142. 2nd Devons, war diary, 1 July 1916, NAUK, WO/95/1712/1; 2nd Middlesex, war diary, 1 July 1916, NAUK, WO/95/1713/1.
143. ibid.
144. Operation Order, 2nd Royal Berkshire, war diary, June 1916, NAUK, WO/95/1729/1.
145. 2nd Lincolns, war diary, 1 July 1916, NAUK, WO/95/1730/1; 2nd Royal Berkshire, war diary, 1 July 1916, op. cit.
146. Vogler, op. cit.
147. Vischer, p. 14.
148. Bastard, Reginald, letter, 19 March 1930, NAUK, CAB/45/132.
149. 2nd West Yorkshires, war diary, WO/95/1714/1; Taylor, James, The 1st Royal Irish Rifles in the Great War (Dublin: Four Courts Press, 2002), p. 78.
150. ibid.
151. 2nd West Yorkshires, war diary, 1 July 1916, NAUK, WO/95/1714/1.
152. ibid.
153. Lobel, Frank, ULLC/WW1/WF01/L/11.
154. Hart, Bloody Somme, p. 89.
155. Brown, Malcolm, The Imperial War Museum Book of The Somme (London: Pan, 2002), p. 69.
156. Savile, op. cit.
157. ibid.
158. Jack, p. 148.
159. Greiner and Vulpius, pp. 132–3.
160. Perry, Fred, ULLC/WW1/MID01.
161. ‘Tapfere Schwaben,’ by Gottlob Trost, in Der 180er, 1 July 1938.
162. Bastard, op. cit.
163. ibid.
164. Operation Order No. 63, 70th Brigade, war diary, June 1916, NAUK, WO/95/2185/3.
165. ‘Brief narrative of course of the action,’ 70th Brigade, war diary, July 1916, NAUK, WO/95/2185/3.
166. Fischer, op. cit.
167. ibid.
168. Walz, Karl, postcard, 6 April 1916.
169. 8th King’s Own Yorkshire Light Infantry, war diary, 1 July 1916, NAUK, WO/95/2187/2.
170. 8th York & Lancasters, war diary, 1 July 1916, NAUK, WO/95/2188; ‘Brief narrative of course of the action,’ 70th Brigade, op. cit.
171. ‘Brief narrative of course of the action,’ 70th Brigade, op. cit.
172. Levine, p. 123.
173. Derby Telegraph, 29 July 1916.
174. ‘Tapfere Schwaben,’ by an unidentified soldier, in Der 180er, 1 August 1936.
175. Fischer, op. cit.
176. Goodwin, Billy, ULLC/WW1/GS/0644.
177. ibid.
178. Fischer, op. cit.
179. Boraston and Bax, p. 76.
180. Edmonds, p. 389.
181. ibid., pp. 389–90; III Corps, war diary, 1 July 1916, NAUK, WO/95/672.
182. III Corps Summary of Operations, op. cit.
183. 8th Division, war diary, Appendix K, July 1916, NAUK, WO/95/1675/1.
184. ibid.
185. Robbins, p. 62.
186. Edmonds, p. 390.
187. ibid., p. 391.
188. Boraston and Bax, p. 77.
189. Edmonds, pp. 387–9.
190. Fischer, op. cit.
191. Killed: Lieutenant-Colonels B.L. Maddison, 8th York & Lancasters, and A.J.B. Addison, 9th York & Lancasters; died of wounds: Lieutenant-Colonels A.M. Holdsworth, 2nd Royal Berkshires, and C.C. Macnamara, 1st Royal Irish Rifles; wounded: Lieutenant-Colonels H.F. Watson, 11th Sherwood Foresters, E.T.F. Sandys, 2nd Middlesex, and Captain K.E. Poyser, 8th KOYLI.
192. Middlebrook, p. 261.
193. Vischer, p. 18.
194. Whitehead, Vol. 2, p. 280.
195. Renz, Irina, Krumeich, Gerd, and Hirschfeld, Gerhard, Scorched Earth: The Germans on the Somme 1914–1918 (Barnsley: Pen & Sword, 2009), p. 75.
196. Soden, p. 111.
197. Pulteney, William, letter, 17 May 1930, NAUK, CAB/45/136.
198. ibid.
199. Edmonds, p. 391.
200. See calculations for IR23, IR180 and RIR110 earlier in this chapter.
201. Shakespear, Thirty-Fourth Division, p. 54.
202. Somerset, op. cit.
203. Shakespear, Thirty-Fourth Division, p. 54.
204. Soden, pp. 111–12; Stosch, pp. 36–75; Gerster, pp. 108–38; Reichsarchiv, Der Weltkrieg 1914 bis 1918: Die Operationen des Jahres 1916 (Berlin: Mittler & Sohn, 1936), pp. 341–53.
205. Levine, p. 132; Murray gives the battalion’s strength as 800, which is presumably the total number of soldiers on its books rather than battle strength. The battalion’s war diary reveals 685 officers and men went into action. The latter figure is used.
Chapter 8: Fluttering for Fricourt
1. Whitehead, Ralph, The Other Side of the Wire, Vol. 2: The Battle of
the Somme. With the German XIV Reserve Corps, 1 July 1916 (Solihull: Helion, 2013), p. 363.
2. Gibbs, Philip, The Battles of the Somme (London: Heinemann, 1917), p. 33.
3. ibid., p. 28.
4. ibid.
5. ibid., p. 31.
6. ibid., p. 33.
7. ibid., p. 31.
8. ibid., pp. 36–7.
9. Gibbs, Philip, letter, 26 July 1930, NAUK, CAB/45/134.
10. Sheldon, Jack, The German Army on the Somme 1914–1916 (Barnsley: Pen & Sword, 2005), p. 160.
11. ibid.
12. Stosch, Albrecht von, Somme-Nord, I Teil: Der Brennpunkte der Schlacht im Juli 1916 (Oldenburg: Gerhard Stalling, 1927), p. 62.
13. Horne, Henry, obituary, Cheltenham Chronicle, 17 Aug 1929, BLNC.
14. The First World War Letters of General Lord Horne, ed. Simon Robbins (Stroud: The Army Records Society, 2009), p. 3.
15. Robbins, Horne, pp. 14–18; Horne, obituary, op. cit.
16. Robbins, Horne, pp. 14–18.
17. Horne, obituary, op. cit.
18. Robbins, Horne, p. 15.
19. ibid., Horne, p. 25.
20. Horne, obituary, op. cit.
21. Haig, Douglas, diary, 9 July 1916, NAUK, WO/256/11.
22. ibid., 4 July 1916.
23. Robbins, Horne, p. 5.
24. Horne, obituary, op. cit.
25. Cook, Tim, The Madman and the Butcher: The Sensational Wars of Sam Hughes and General Arthur Currie (Toronto: Allen Lane, 2009), pp. 257–8.
26. ibid., p. 258.
27. ibid., pp. 257–8.
28. ‘XV Corps Scheme of Operations,’ XV Corps GS, war diary, June 1916, NAUK, WO/95/921.
29. ‘Fourth Army — Feeding Strength on 1st July 1916,’ Rawlinson Papers 1/6, Churchill Archive; totals were 7th Division 22,325 (all ranks), 17th Division 20,263, 21st Division 23,391, XV Corps’ troops 10,074 and attached French soldiers 618. The estimate is calculated from the 24 battalions directly involved in the battle, each with an average attack strength of 761 all ranks (see Chapter 11).
30. Collins, Robert, letter, 7 February 1930, CAB/45/132.
31. ibid.
32. ibid.
33. ibid.
34. Edmonds, p. 346.
35. The 5000-yard corps’ frontage divided by the 1 field gun per 25 yards.
36. Edmonds, p. 346.
37. Prior and Wilson, The Somme, p. 102.
38. ibid.
39. Stosch, pp. 249–55; Klaus, Max, Das Württembergische Reserve-Feldartillerie-Regiment Nr. 26 im Weltkrieg 1914–1918 (Stuttgart: Christian Belser, 1929), pp. 52–3; see also Chapter 7. The 28th is estimated to have had a nominal 65 guns between Fricourt and the ground east of Mametz, with about 40 of these directly supporting the salient and the remainder the ground east of Mametz.
First day of the Somme Page 53
