First day of the Somme
Page 54
40. Stosch, p. 62.
41. Bicknell, Henry, letter, 4 March 1930, NAUK, CAB/45/132.
42. Frisch, George, Das Reserve-Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 109 im Weltkrieg 1914 bis 1918 (Karlsruhe: F. Thiergarten, 1931), p. 117; Greiner, Lt. d. R., and Vulpius, Lt. d. R., Reserve-Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 110 im Weltkrieg 1914–1918 (Karlsruhe: Macklotsche, 1934), p. 111; RIR109 had a battle strength of 3159 officers and men, with RIR111’s totalling 3056.
43. Bachelin, Eduard, Das Reserve-Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 111 im Weltkrieg 1914 bis 1918 (Karlsruhe: Südwestdeut, 1937), p. 99.
44. 4th Middlesex, war diary, 1 July 1916, NAUK, WO/95/2528/2.
45. ‘Rethinking 10/West Yorkshires at Fricourt,’ by Dave Stowe, Stand To! Journal of the Western Front Association, No. 83, p. 37.
46. Stosch, p. 56; Bachelin, p. 102.
47. Bachelin, p. 99.
48. Middlebrook, p. 156.
49. ibid.
50. ibid., pp. 156–7; see also Thomas, Friedrich, ULLC/WW1/MID01.
51. Whitehead, Vol. 2, p. 363.
52. Middlebrook, p. 204.
53. Bachelin, p. 99.
54. Middlebrook, pp. 156–7.
55. 2nd Gordon Highlanders, war diary, 1 July 1916, NAUK, WO/95/1656/2; 2nd Borders, war diary, 1 July 1916, WO/95/1655/1; 22nd Manchesters, war diary, 1 July 1916, NAUK, WO/95/1669/1; 9th KOYLI, war diary, 1 July 1916, NAUK, WO/95/2162/1; 8th Somerset Light Infantry, war diary, 1 July 1916, NAUK, WO/95/2158/3; 10th York & Lancasters, war diary, 1 July 1916, NAUK, WO/95/2158/4; 4th Middlesex, war diary, op. cit.; Operation (Attack) Orders No. 36, 9th KOYLI, war diary, June 1916, op. cit.; Operation Order 6, 10th KOYLI, war diary, June 1916, op. cit.; Operation Order No. 70, 62nd Brigade, war diary, June 1916, NAUK, WO/95/2151/3; Operation Order 7, 15th Durham Light Infantry, war diary, June 1916, NAUK, WO/95/2161; Appreciation of the Task of 91st Infantry Brigade, Appendix E, 91st Brigade, war diary, June 1916, NAUK, WO/95/1666/1; Operation Order No. 76, 50th Brigade, war diary, June 1916, NAUK, WO/95/1998/3.
56. ‘XV Corps Scheme of Operations,’ op. cit.
57. Edmonds, pp. 350–1.
58. Bicknell, op. cit.
59. Symes, Maurice, interview with Jan Stovold, Imperial War Museum, 9455/1986.
60. Machine-Gunner 1914–1918: The Personal Experiences of the Machine Gun Corps, ed. C.E. Crutchley (Folkestone: Baley Brothers & Swinfen Ltd, 1975), p. 48.
61. Barton, Peter, The Somme: The Unseen Panoramas (London: Constable & Robinson, 2006), p. 156.
62. Wilkinson, George, ULLC/WW1/MID01.
63. King, Victor, ULLC/WW1/MID01.
64. Wide, Howard, ULLC/WW1/MID01.
65. Stowe, p. 37.
66. History of the Corps of Royal Engineers, ed. H.L. Prichard (London: Institute of Royal Engineers, 1951), pp. 267–8.
67. 10th West Yorkshires, war diary, 1 July 1916, NAUK, WO/95/2004/1; Wyrall, The West Yorkshire Regiment in the War 1914–1918, Vol. 1 (London: John Lane The Bodley Head, 1927), pp. 201–2.
68. Gardiner, Brian, The Big Push (London: Consul, 1963), p. 92.
69. Edmonds, p. 357; 10th West Yorkshires, war diary, 1 July 1916, NAUK, WO/95/2004/1; for a different figure, see: Atteridge, A. Hilliard, History of the 17th (Northern) Division (Glasgow: Robert Maclehose & Co, 1929), pp. 109–10.
70. ‘Their Glory Shall Not Be Blotted Out: the 7th (Service) Battalion, the Battle of the Somme, 1st July 1916,’ by Steve Erskine, in The Green Howard, Issue No. 10, April 2011, p. 31.
71. ibid.
72. Bachelin, p. 101; the company’s formation is not given in its war diary; see 7th Yorkshires, war diary, 1 July 1916, NAUK, WO/95/2004/2.
73. Sheldon, Somme, p. 161; this gun team may also have fired at 10th West Yorkshires. It had the effective range to reach both battalions. It is entirely possible the gunner was referring to 7th Yorkshires’ attack later in the day.
74. Sheldon, Somme, p. 161.
75. Bachelin, p. 99; Stosch, p. 53.
76. ibid.
77. 9th KOYLI, war diary, 30 June and 1 July 1916, op. cit.
78. Grieve, Grant, and Newman, Bernard, Tunnellers: The Story of the Tunnelling Companies, Royal Engineers, During the World War (London: Herbert Jenkins Ltd, 1936), p. 121.
79. Bachelin, p. 99.
80. 9th KOYLI, war diary, op. cit.; Edmonds, p 359; Bachekin, p. 99.
81. Liddle Hart, Basil, paper titled ‘Impressions of the Great British Offensive on the Somme,’ NAUK, CAB/45/135.
82. 15th Durham Light Infantry, war diary, 1 July 1916, NAUK, WO/95/2161/1; 1st East Yorkshires, war diary, 1 July 1916, NAUK, WO/95/2161/2.
83. Renz, Irina, Krumeich, Gerd, and Hirschfeld, Gerhard, Scorched Earth: the Germans on the Somme 1914–1918 (Barnsley: Pen & Sword, 2009), p. 86.
84. ibid.
85. ibid.
86. ibid., p. 87.
87. 8th Somerset Light Infantry, war diary, 1 July 1916, op. cit.; 4th Middlesex, war diary, 1 July 1916, op. cit.
88. Bachelin, p. 102; Stosch, p. 56; it is not clear how big this blast was. It took place in front of 1/RIR111, probably around 7.30 a.m. Bachelin implies it was north of The Tambour area. There is no obvious reference to this event in British accounts. The mention of British infantries returning to their own trenches under heavy fire suggests the blast might be linked to 4th Middlesex. But there is no evidence to suggest the mine and 4th Middlesex’s stalled advance were linked. The estimate of 80 British soldiers buried is almost certainly far too high.
89. 4th Middlesex, war diary, 1 July 1916, op. cit.
90. 10th York & Lancasters, war diary, 1 July 1916, op. cit.; The History of the Lincolnshire Regiment 1914–1918, ed. C.R. Simpson (London: The Medici Society, 1931), pp. 164–5.
91. Willis, Arthur, ULLC/WW1/TR/08.
92. Johnston, Robert, letter, 15 February 1930, NAUK, CAB/45/135.
93. 14th Northumberland Fusiliers, war diary, 1 July 1916, NAUK, WO/95/2146/1.
94. Nanson, Musard, letter, undated, NAUK, CAB/45/136.
95. ‘Operations Carried Out by 21st Division, July 1st–July 3rd 1916,’ 21st Division, war diary, July 1916, NAUK, WO/95/2130/3.
96. ibid.
97. Watkin, Matthew, ULLC/WW1/MID01.
98. Gliddon, Gerald, V.C.s of the Somme (Gliddon Books, 1991), pp. 11–12.
99. ibid., p. 12.
100. Fisher, Alex, ULLC/WW1/TR/02.
101. ibid.
102. ibid.
103. Symes, Maurice, interview with Jan Stovold, Imperial War Museum, 9455/1986.
104. Barton, p. 155.
105. Money, Robin, ULLC/WW1/GS/1126.
106. Deverell, Cyril, letter, 15 February 1930, NAUK, CAB/45/133.
107. Fiedel, Paul, Geschichte des Infanterie-Regiments von Winterfeldt (2. Oberschlesisches) Nr. 23: Das Regiment im Weltkriege (Berlin: Verlag Tradition Wilhelm Kolt, 1929), p. 125.
108. 22nd Manchesters, war diary, op. cit.
109. 1st South Staffords, war diary, 1 July 1916, NAUK, WO/95/1670/2.
110. Edmonds, p. 352.
111. More-Molyneux, FC, letter, 29 April 1930, NAUK, CAB/45/136.
112. 2nd Gordon Highlanders, war diary, op. cit.; 9th Devons, war diary, 1 July 1916, NAUK, WO/95/1656/1.
113. 8th Devons, war diary, 1 July 1916, NAUK, WO/95/1655/2.
114. Deverell, Cyril, letter, 15 February 1930, NAUK, CAB/45/133.
115. 2nd Borders, war diary, 1 July 1916, op. cit.
116. ibid.
117. Barton, p. 157.
118. Wicks, Charles, ULLC/WW1/SEV/01.
119. Wide, op. cit.
120. ‘The Attack,’ by R.H. Tawney, The Westminster Gazette, August 1916.
121. ibid.
122. Goebelbecker, Emil, ULLC/WW1/MID01.
123. Middlebrook, p. 203.
124. ibid., p. 233; this anecdote is reminiscent of a battle scene in the 1930 film of Erich Maria Remarque’s All Quiet on the Western Front.
125. Whitehead, Vol. 2, p. 348.
126. ibid., p. 34
8.
127. ibid., p. 361.
128. Upcott, John, diary, 10 July 1916, ULLC/WW1/GS/1644.
129. Medomsley, Jack, William Noel Hodgson: The Gentle Poet (Durham: Mel Publicataions, 1989), p. 140.
130. ‘The Devonshires Held This Trench — The Devonshires Hold It Still,’ by Jeremy Archer, in Stand To!, No. 88, April–May 2010. Article extract at westernfrontassociation.com. Last accessed 16 August 2015.
131. Stosch, p. 62.
132. ibid.
133. ibid.
134. ibid.
135. Bielefeld, August, ULLC/WW1/MID01.
136. Stosch, p. 58.
137. ibid., pp. 62, 57–8.
138. ibid., p. 62.
139. ibid., pp. 57–8.
140. ibid., p. 62.
141. ibid.
142. ibid.
143. Renz, Krumeich and Hirschfeld, p. 87.
144. Stosch, p. 62.
145. ibid., p. 71
146. Bachelin, p. 102.
147. ibid.
148. Stosch, p. 71.
149. Bachelin, p. 103.
150. Stosch, p. 71.
151. Strohn, Matthias, World War I Companion (Oxford: Osprey, 2013), p. 109.
152. Sheldon, Somme, p. 179.
153. Renz, Krumeich and Hirschfeld, p. 88.
154. XV Corps GS, war diary, 1 July 1916, op. cit.
155. ibid.; a report led Horne to believe 10th West Yorkshires made good progress.
156. Edmonds, p. 352.
157. XV Corps GS, war diary, 1 July 1916, op. cit.
158. ibid.
159. Edmonds, p. 353.
160. ibid., pp. 352–3.
161. ibid., p. 353.
162. XV Corps GS, war diary, 1 July 1916, op. cit.
163. ibid.
164. ibid.
165. ibid.
166. Robbins, Horne, p. 171.
167. ‘Operations Carried Out by 21st Division,’ op. cit.; Edmonds, p. 363.
168. Edmonds, p. 364.
169. ibid., p. 364; Erskine, p. 31.
170. Edmonds, p. 365.
171. Bachelin, op. cit., p. 103.
172. Erskine, p. 31.
173. ibid.
174. Askew, Alfred, ULLC/WW1/MID01.
175. Fell, Robert, letter, undated, NAUK, CAB/45/133.
176. Barton, p. 156.
177. Stedman, Michael, Fricourt-Mametz (Barnsley: Pen & Sword, 2011), p. 63.
178. 20th Manchesters, war diary, 1 July 1916, NAUK, WO/95/1663/1.
179. ibid.
180. Siegfried Sassoon Diaries 1915–18, ed. Rupert Hart-Davis (London: Book Club Associates, 1983), pp. 83–4.
181. ibid., p. 84.
182. ibid.
183. ibid.
184. More-Molyneux, op. cit.
185. ibid.
186. Perthshire Advertiser, 12 July 1916.
187. Atkinson, C.T., The Seventh Division 1914–1918 (London: John Murrary, 1927), pp. 263–4.
188. Norman, William, letter, 28 February 1930, NAUK, CAB/45/136.
189. ibid.
190. Drake-Brockman, Guy, letter, 7 February 1930, NAUK, CAB/45/132.
191. ibid.
192. Cloudsdale, Frank, ULLC/WW1/MID01.
193. Prichard, p. 267; Edmonds, p. 366.
194. Wicks, op. cit.
195. Walsh, Arthur, ULLC/WW1/SEV/01.
196. ibid.
197. Liddle Hart, op. cit.
198. ibid.
199. 15th Durham Light Infantry, war diary, 1 July 1916, op. cit.
200. Spicer, Lancelot, Letters from France 1915–1918 (London: Robert York, 1979), p. 61.
201. ibid., p. 61.
202. ibid., p. 62.
203. ibid., p. 63.
204. Nanson, op. cit.
205. Prichard, op. cit.
206. Whitehead, Vol. 2, p. 364.
207. Bachelin, p. 106.
208. Goebelbecker, op. cit.
209. Bachelin, p. 107.
210. Knies, L., Das Württembergische Pionier-Bataillon im Weltkrieg 1914–1918 (Stuttgart: Chr Belser, 1927), p. 77.
211. Sheldon, Somme, p. 162.
212. Whitehead, Vol. 2, p. 363.
213. ibid.
214. ibid., p. 356.
215. ibid.
216. ibid.
217. ibid., pp. 356–7.
218. ibid.
219. Renz, Krumeich and Hirschfeld, p. 88.
220. Thomas, op. cit.
221. Bachelin, p. 110.
222. Renz, Krumeich and Hirschfeld, p. 88.
223. Reeves, Brian, letter, 8 May 1930, NAUK, CAB/45/137.
224. Robbins, Horne, p. 171.
225. Bachelin, p. 102.
226. Greiner and Vulpius, p. 134; Frisch, p. 131.
227. Palmer-Cook, Francis, ULLC/WW1/TR/06.
228. Killed: Lieutenant-Colonels H. Lewis, 20th Manchesters, C.W.D. Lynch, 9th KOYLI, and H. Allardice, 13th Northumberland Fusiliers; died of wounds: Lieutenant-Colonels M.B. Stow, 1st East Yorkshires, and A.E. Fitzgerald, 15th Durham Light Infantry; wounded: Lieutenant-Colonels J.W. Scott, 8th Somerset Light Infantry, and H.J. King, 10th KOYLI.
229. Killed: Lieutenant-Colonel A. Dickson, 10th West Yorkshires.
230. Robbins, Horne, p. 171.
231. Frisch, p. 129; Whitehead, Vol. 2, p. 411; Frisch tabulates RIR109’s 24 June to 1 July casualties as 108 dead, 267 wounded and 1773 missing, giving a combined total of 2148. Whitehead states 59 of these deaths were 23–30 June, which gives a 1 July casualty total of up to 2089.
232. Whitehead, Vol. 2, Verlustlisten disc; data is incomplete but these lists suggest approximately half the regiment’s fatal casualties occurred in its First Battalion, along with three companies of its Second Battalion. German and British unit boundaries were unaligned and this, along with the confused nature of fighting immediately east of Mametz, mean greater accuracy is difficult to achieve.
233. Bachelin, op. cit., pp. 95–6, 111.
234. ibid., Ehrentafel; Edmonds, p. 368; a ballpark estimate of 650 prisoners is arrived at by deducting RIR109’s 943 prisoners from XV Corps’ haul of 1625.
235. Knies, p. 77.
236. Fiedel, pp. 125, 309–11.
237. Whitehead, Vol. 2, Verlustlisten disc. Many of the prisoners were wounded.
238. This is the middle stanza of a German poem titled ‘Ich hatt’ einen Kameraden’ (‘I had a comrade’), which is often played to musical accompaniment and is the equivalent of the ‘Last Post’ and ‘Ode’ combined.
239. Sheldon, Jack, The Germans at Thiepval (Barnsley: Pen & Sword, 2006), pp. 150–2.
Chapter 9: The Straw Man of Montauban
1. Dundee Courier, 11 July 1916.
2. Bidder, Harold, diary transcript 1 July 1916, NAUK, CAB/45/132.
3. Bidder, Harold, letter, undated, op. cit.
4. Stanley, F.C., The History of the 89th Brigade, 1914–1918 (Liverpool: Daily Post, 1919), pp. 112–13; Heath, Philip, ULLC/WW1/WF01/H/18.
5. Evening Telegraph, 2 March 1927; The First World War Letters of General Lord Horne, ed. Simon Robbins (Stroud: The Army Records Society, 2009), p. 226.
6. Evening Telegraph, 2 March 1927.
7. Gough, Hubert, Fifth Army (London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1931), p 151.
8. Congreve, Walter, diary, 1 July 1916, Congreve Papers, Hampshire Records Office.
9. BRIR6 was drawn from corps reserve and attached to 12th Infantry Division.
10. Reymann, H., Das 3. Oberschlesische Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 62 im Kriege 1914–1918 (Zeulenroda: Sporn, 1930), p. 90.
11. Bezzel, Oskar, Das Königlich Bayerische Reserve-Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 6 (München: Schick, 1938), p. 93.
12. Congreve, 1 July 1916, op. cit.
13. Reymann, p. 90.
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. 420.
15. ibid.
16. ibid., p. 421. Reymann, pp. 90–2.
17. Congreve, 2 July 1916, op. cit.
18. Reymann, p. 91.
19. Whitehead, Vol. 2, p. 421; Reymann, pp. 90–2.
20. Bezzel, p. 118.
21. ibid., pp. 111–12.
22. Edmonds, Sir James, Military Operations France and Belgium, 1916, Vol. 1 (London: Imperial War Museum, 1992), p. 324; this had a lot to do with the corps’ comparatively narrow frontage.
23. Stosch, Albrecht von, Somme-Nord, I Teil: Die Brennpunkte der Schlacht im Juli 1916 (Berlin: Gerhard Stalling, 1927), pp. 252–3; the 28th had about 33 batteries in nominal terms and the 12th about 25. By contrast 26th Reserve Division possessed 39 batteries, the most of any division in XIV Reserve Corps.
24. ibid., 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; see Chapter 3 for calculations. In both cases the ground opposite XIII Corps represented only a small portion of both divisional sectors.
25. Edmonds, p. 344; Stosch, p. 62.
26. Stosch, p. 62.
27. ‘Fourth Army — Feeding Strength on 1st July 1916,’ Rawlinson Papers 1/6, Churchill Archive; totals were 9th Division 21,114 (all ranks), 18th Division 20,965, 30th Division 24,247 and XIII Corps’ troops 8289. The corps’ attack strength is estimated as 20 battalions directly involved at an average bayonet strength of 761 all ranks each.
28. Edmonds, p. 322.
29. Congreve, 1 July 1916, op. cit.
30. Maddocks, Graham, Liverpool Pals: A History of the 17th, 18th, 19th and 20th (Service) Battalions, The King’s (Liverpool Regiment) 1914–1919 (London: Leo Cooper, 1991), p. 91.
31. ibid., p. 89.
32. Liverpool Echo, 14 July 1916.
33. ibid.
34. ibid.
35. Operation Order No. 30, Appendix A, 89th Brigade, war diary, June 1916, NAUK, WO/95/2331/3.
36. 2nd Bedfords, war diary, 1 July 1916, NAUK, WO/95/2333/1.
37. 18th King’s, war diary, 1 July 1916, NAUK, WO/95/2330/1; Narrative of Operations Carried Out by the 19th Battalion Manchester Regiment, 19th Manchesters, war diary, July 1916, NAUK, WO/95/2329/4; 19th Manchesters, war diary, 1 July 1916, op. cit.
38. ibid.
39. 2nd Yorkshires, war diary, 1 July 1916, NAUK, WO/95/2329/2.
40. ibid.; 2nd Wiltshires, war diary, 1 July 1916, NAUK, WO/95/2329/1.