The Battle of the Somme is the epitome of the senseless slaughter of the Great War. It started on July, 1, 1916. Here are some interesting facts about the worst day in the history of the British army.
- The battle was preceded by a week-long artillery bombardment of 1.7 million shells. The British generals assured the men that few Germans would survive. In fact, because of their deep dugouts, most Germans were unaffected, other than being in caves shaken by explosions for a full week with little food.
- The battle was the first British battle fought mainly by civilian volunteers. Many had been lured into enlisting with the promise of serving with friends. The British called these units “Pals Battalions” and they consisted of either men from the same town or men from the same occupations. One consisted of soccer players. Some communities were decimated by losses in their Pal Battalion. The Accrington Pals lost 548 of 720 men in the first 30 minutes of the battle.
- The men went over the top carrying 220 rounds of ammunition, a Lee Enfield Mark 3 rifle, a bayonet, an entrenching spade, two gas helmets, two empty sandbags, a water bottle and rations, a waterproof cape, and their backpack with personal items. All this was about 66 pounds.
- It was not just a British battle. Australia, India, South Africa, New Zealand, and Canada provided troops. Four French divisions took part.
- On the first day, the British lost 20,000 killed and 37,000 wounded. It was the worst day in the history of the British army. 37 sets of brothers were killed. One man died every 4.4 seconds.
- One unit walked (the men were discouraged from running) across no man’s land following soccer balls. 21-year-old Capt. Wilfred Nevill encouraged his platoons by giving each a soccer ball. The first platoon to kick a soccer ball into a German trench would be rewarded. He started the attack by punting a soccer ball into no man’s land. He was killed in the first minutes.
- On Sept. 15, tanks were used for the first time. 32 Mark I tanks led an attack. They were armed with either a 6-pound cannon or machine guns. They had an 8-man crew. They plodded along at 3 miles per hour. Most of them suffered mechanical breakdowns or simply could not maneuver over the broken terrain. Their impact was minimal.
- Before the battle, 19 mines were blown under the German lines. It was the loudest man-made noise heard on planet Earth up until then.
- The battle lasted 141 days. It was officially over on Nov. 18, 1916. In that time period, the British managed to capture 6 miles of land that looked like the surface of the moon. For this small gain, the British lost 420,000 casualties. Its French allies suffered 200,000 casualties. In the battle of attrition, the Germans lost 500,000 men. This number is mostly attributed to the German generals insisting on counterattacks to regain lost trenches. The tables were turned when these attacks occurred. One of the German casualties in the battle was Adolf Hitler. He was serving as a messenger (a dangerous job). He was wounded in the thigh by an artillery shell and spent two months in a hospital before returning to the front.
- 49 Victoria Crosses (the British equivalent of the Medal of Honor) were awarded for extreme bravery during the battle. To give some perspective, in the years since WWII, only 15 more of the medals have been awarded.
- A son of Prime Minister Asquith was killed in the battle.
- The first feature length war documentary was made soon after the battle “The Battle of the Somme” used actual footage plus reenactments to give the British public a taste of the battle. It is estimated that as many as 20 million British saw the movie in theaters. That was about half the population.
https://www.iwm.org.uk/history/5-things-you-need-to-know-about-the-battle-of-the-somme
https://www.iwm.org.uk/history/key-facts-about-the-battle-of-the-somme
https://www.history.com/news/10-things-you-may-not-know-about-the-battle-of-the-somme
https://www.history.co.uk/articles/lesser-known-facts-about-the-battle-of-the-somme
https://www.historyhit.com/facts-about-the-battle-of-the-somme/
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