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The British moved into the area of the Somme in mid-1915 and relieved the French Tenth Army at the end of February 1916. Photographic reconnaissance began in October 1915 and in March 1916 intensive British preparations commenced. The IV Brigade of the RFC was formed on 1 April 1916, with six squadrons of aeroplanes and a Kite Balloon squadron; the IV Brigade squadrons were the first to be increased from twelve to eighteen aircraft. On 25 April photographs were taken which revealed the German construction of a third position, from Flers to Le Sars, Pys, Irles, Achiet-le-Petit and Ablainzevelle. In mid-May and late June, the German defences opposite the Fourth Army were photographed again.[97] Die Fliegertruppen des Deutschen Kaiserreiches (Imperial German Flying Corps) had six reconnaissance flights (Feldflieger-Abteilungen) with 42 aircraft, four artillery flights (Artillerieflieger-Abteilungen) with 17 aeroplanes, a bomber-fighter squadron (Kampfgeschwader I) with 43 aircraft a bomber-fighter flight (Kampfstaffel 32) with 8 aeroplanes and a single-seater fighter detachment (Kampfeinsitzer-Kommando) with 19 aircraft, a strength of 129 aeroplanes.[50] The IV Brigade "corps" aircraft were to be protected with line patrols, by pairs of aircraft from the "army" squadrons and offensive sweeps by formations of DH 2s. The concentration of aircraft for the offensive was completed by the arrival on 19 June of the Ninth (headquarters) Wing with three squadrons and one flight, which brought the number of aircraft on the Fourth Army front to 167, plus eighteen at Gommecourt.[Note 10] The bombing offensive by the RFC was intended to cut railway links behind the Somme front, south of the Valenciennes–Arras railway and west of the lines around Douai, Busigny and Tergnier. Trains were to be attacked in cuttings, railway bridges were to be bombed and the stations at Cambrai, Busigny, St. Quentin and Tergnier were to be raided and the German ammunition depots at Mons, Namur and the station at Lille were also to be attacked.[99] British aircraft and kite balloons were to be used to observe the intermittent bombardment, which began in mid-June and the preliminary bombardment, which commenced on 24 June. Low cloud and rain obstructed air observation of the bombardment, which soon fell behind schedule and on 25 June, aircraft of the four British armies on the Western Front attacked the German kite balloons opposite; fifteen were attacked, four were shot down by rockets and one bombed, three of the balloons being in the Fourth Army area. Next day three more balloons were shot down opposite the Fourth Army and during German artillery retaliation to the Anglo-French bombardment, 102 German artillery positions were plotted and a Fokker was shot down near Courcelette.[100] Accurate observation was not possible at dawn on 1 July due to patches of mist but by 6:30 a.m. the general effect of the Anglo-French bombardment could be seen. Observers in contact aircraft could see lines of British infantry crawling into no man's land, ready to attack the German front trench at 7:30 a.m. Each corps and division had a wireless receiving-station for wireless messages from airborne artillery-observers and observers on the ground were stationed at various points, to receive messages and maps dropped from aircraft.[101] As contact observers reported the progress of the infantry attack, artillery-observers sent many messages to the British artillery and reported the effect of counter-battery fire on German artillery. Balloon observers used their telephones, to report changes in the German counter-barrage and to direct British artillery on fleeting targets, continuing to report during the night, by observing German gun-flashes. Air reconnaissance during the day found little movement on the roads and railways behind the German front and the railways at Bapaume were bombed from 5:00 a.m. Flights to Cambrai, Busigny and Etreux later in the day saw no unusual movement, although German aircraft attacked the observation aircraft all the way to the targets and back, two Rolands being shot down by the escorts. Bombing began the evening before with a raid on the station at St. Saveur by six R.E. 7s of 21 Squadron, whose pilots claimed hits on sheds and a second raid around 6:00 a.m. on 1 July hit the station and railway lines; both attacks were escorted and two Fokkers were shot down on the second raid.[102] Railway bombing was conducted by 28 aircraft, each with two 112-pound (51 kg) bombs, at intervals after midday and Cambrai station was hit with seven bombs, for the loss of one aircraft. In the early evening an ammunition train was bombed on the line between Aubigny-au-Bac and Cambrai and set on fire, the cargo burning and exploding for several hours. Raids on St Quentin and Busigny were reported to be failures by the crews and three aircraft were lost.[103][Note 11] All corps aircraft carried 20-pound (9.1 kg) bombs, to attack billets, transport, trenches and artillery-batteries. Offensive sweeps were flown by 27 and 60 squadrons from 11:30 a.m. – 7:00 p.m. but found few German aircraft and only an LVG was forced down. Two sets of line patrols were flown, one by 24 Squadron DH.2s from Péronne to Pys and Gommecourt from 6:45 a.m. to nightfall, which met six German aircraft during the day and forced two down. The second set of patrols by pairs of F.E.2bs were made by 22 Squadron between 4:12 a.m. and dusk, from Longueval to Cléry and Douchy to Miraumont. 22 Squadron lost two aircraft and had one damaged but prevented German aircraft attacks on the corps aircraft.[105] XIII Corps was watched by most of 9 Squadron, which saw the 30th Division troops take the line Dublin Trench–Glatz Redoubt by 8:30 a.m. and the 18th Division take Pommiers Trench and Pommiers Redoubt. At 10:00 a.m. an observer saw a line of flashes on the ground, from mirrors carried by 30th Division soldiers on their packs. The British troops moved along Train Alley towards Montauban. A German artillery battery began to fire from Bernafay Wood and the pilot machine-gunned the crews from 700 feet (210 m) and put the battery out of action. On return towards the British lines, the crew saw Montauban being occupied and 18th Division troops advancing up the ridge to the west of the village, the pilot flew low along the ridge and gave the troops a wave. By 11:15 a.m. mirrors were seen flashing along the north edge of Montauban.[106] The XV Corps attack either side of Fricourt was observed by parts of 3 and 9 squadrons, which were able to report by evening that the 21st Division and the 34th Division to the north, had advanced deeply into the German defensive positions above Fricourt. The 7th Division had advanced beyond Mametz, forming a defensive flank on the left and linking on the right with XIII Corps. Troops from III Corps and XV Corps lit red flares, which were quickly reported by observers in contact-patrol aircraft. A balloon observer from 3 Kite Balloon Section was able to get the artillery to re-bombard Danzig Alley, after British troops were forced out by a German counter-attack and second British attack in the afternoon took the trench easily. Most of 3 Squadron watched over the disastrous III Corps attack at La Boisselle and Ovillers and saw the 34th Division troops reach Peake Wood north of Fricourt.[107] The attacks by X Corps and VIII Corps, from Thiepval to Serre were observed by crews from 4 and 15 squadrons. Ground observers could see much of the battle and communications were not as badly cut as on other parts of the front. Some of the deeper British infantry advances could only be seen from the air, particularly those at Schwaben Redoubt and Pendant Copse. 4 Squadron reported the hurried withdrawal of German artillery, between Courcelette and Grandcourt during the afternoon and spotted the massing of German troops at 4:30 p.m. A special flight was sent to Thiepval and the pilot flew by at 600 feet (180 m) to examine the ground and report that the British attacks had failed. With 15 Squadron observing the disaster occurring to VIII Corps around Beaumont Hamel, the defeat of the British attacks and the repulse of the troops from the few areas where breakthroughs had occurred were reported by the aircraft observers.[108] The VII Corps attack was observed by 8 Squadron, which had taken reconnaissance photographs during a period of clear weather the day before. The attack of the 46th and 56th divisions, had a standing patrol of one aircraft each from 6:45 a.m. – 3:25 p.m. and then one aircraft for both divisions. No red infantry flares were seen during the day; aircraft flew through the barrage to make visual identifications at low level and by the end of the day German ground fire had made three aircraft unserviceable. One aeroplane flew into a balloon cable near St. Amand, damaging the aircraft although the crew were unhurt. Reports from the observation crews related the fate of the leading troops of the 46th Division, who overran the German first line and were then cut off by German troops, as they emerged from underground shelters. Following waves intended to mop-up the German front line, were seen to be stopped in no man's land by artillery and machine-gun barrages. On the 56th Division front, observers watched the leading British troops capture the fist, second and third lines before being cut off by another German barrage in no man's land. German infantry were seen to mass and then counter-attack, regaining the third line by midday, the second line by afternoon and the first line late in the evening.[109] German Second Army By May 1916, eight German divisions held the front from Roye to Arras with three in reserve. The German defence of the south bank of the Somme was the responsibility of XVII Corps with three divisions. On the north bank the XIV Reserve Corps with two divisions held the line from the Somme to the Ancre and the Guard Corps with three divisions held the ground north of the Ancre opposite Serre and Gommecourt.[46] On 20 June, British heavy artillery bombarded German communications behind the front line as far back as Bapaume and then intermittently until the evening of 22 June. At dawn on 24 June a shrapnel barrage began on the German front position and villages nearby. At midday more accurate fire began before increasing in intensity around Thiepval as heavy batteries commenced firing; in the evening a light rain turned the German positions into mud. On 25 June heavy artillery-fire predominated, smashing trenches and blocking dug-outs. Variations in the intensity of fire indicated likely areas to be attacked, the greatest weight of fire occurring at Mametz, Fricourt and Ovillers; during the night the German commanders prepared their defences around the villages and ordered the second line to be manned. After an overnight lull the bombardment increased again on 26 June, gas being discharged at 5:00 a.m. towards Beaumont Hamel and Serre, before the bombardment increased in intensity near Thiepval, then suddenly stopped. The German garrison took post and fired red rockets to call for artillery support, which placed a barrage in no man's land. Later in the afternoon huge mortar bombs began to fall, destroying shallower dug-outs and a super-heavy gun bombarded the main German strong-points, as smaller guns pulverised the villages close to the front line,from which civilians were hurriedly removed.[110] German troops billeted in the villages moved into the open to avoid the shelling and on 27 and 28 June heavy rain added to the devastation as the bombardment varies from steady accurate shelling to shell-storms and periods of quiet. At night British patrols moved into no man's land and prisoners taken by the Germans, said that they were checking on the damage and searching for German survivors. German interrogators gleaned information, which suggested that an offensive would come either side of the Somme and Ancre rivers at 5:00 a.m. on 29 June. All of the German infantry stood to with reinforcements but the bombardment resumed in the afternoon,rising to drumfire several times. Artillery fire concentrated on small parts of the front, then lines of shells moved forward into the depth of the German defences. Periodic gas discharges and infantry probes continued but German sentries watching through periscopes were often able to warn the garrisons in time to react. The bombardment on 30 June repeated the earlier days, by when much of the German surface defences had been swept away,look-out shelters and observation posts were ruins and many communication trenches had disappeared.[111] On the night of 30 June – 1 July the bombardment fell on rear defences and communication trenches, then at dawn British aircraft "filled the sky", captive balloons rose into the air at 6:30 a.m. and an unprecedented barrage began all along the German front, until 7:30 a.m. when the bombardment abruptly stopped. The remaining German trench garrisons began to leave their shelters and set up machine-guns in the remains of trenches and shell-holes, which proved difficult to spot and allowed the occupants to change direction, easily to face threats from all directions. Where the British infantry advanced close behind the barrage the German defenders were often overrun and at Montauban, Mametz and Fricourt the Germans were rushed while most were still underground. Further north the Germans had time to emerge and stopped most attacks in no man's land. On the 26th Reserve Division front of 9,000 yards (8,200 m) from Ovillers to Serre, four regiments occupied the first line with two battalions each, one in the supprt line and one in reserve. The Germans emerged to see lines of British infantry in no man's land and opened rapid fire on them, lines and waves falling down, reforming and moving forward. Some German infantry stood on trench parapets to aim better and red rockets were fired to call for artillery barrages on no man's land, which shattered the British infantry formations. The survivors kept going and began a bombing fight close to the German line which was defeated except at the Leipzig Redoubt, which was quickly sealed off by German flanking parties and between Thiepval and the Ancre, where the British advanced towards Grandcourt 3,000 yards (2,700 m) away. Several counter-attacks were mounted, which forced the British back to the German front trench after dark.[112] Aftermath Analysis Prior and Wilson wrote that the conventional account of the First Day, has soldiers burdened by 66 pounds (30 kg) of equipment, obeying "doltish" orders to walk shoulder-to-shoulder towards the German lines, to be mown down by German machine-gunners who had time to climb out of shelters and man the parapet. Prior and Wilson ascribe the origin of this narrative to John Buchan in The Battle of the Somme (1917) in which the bravery of soldiers is extolled, rather than faulty infantry tactics and trace it through the writing of B. Liddell Hart, the Official Historian J. E. Edmonds, C. R. M. F. Cruttwell, M. Middlebrook, C. Barnett and P. Kennedy. A. Farrar-Hockley questioned the narrative in a volume of 1970 but reverted to the orthodox view soon after.[113][Note 12] Prior and Wilson did not dispute the facts of c. 20,000 dead and c. 40,000 wounded but wrote that the Tactical Notes issued by Rawlinson did not dictate the way that advances were to be made but were "ambiguous", referring to "celerity of movement" "a steady pace" and "a rapid advance of some lightly-equipped men" and did not prescribe a formation to be adopted for the advance.[Note 13] In the north, the leading brigade of the 31st Division advanced into no man's land before zero hour, to rush the German front trench when the barrage lifted.[123] Some units of the 4th Division advanced from the British front line, in formations led by snipers and skirmishers and in the 29th Division some battalions "marched" to the German wire and others rushed forward from assembly-trenches dug in no man's land. In the 36th, 32nd and 8th divisions, some battalions assembled in front of the German wire, ready to rush forward at zero hour and many of the battalions of XV Corps and XIII Corps, walked slowly forward behind a creeping barrage. Of 80 battalions in the initial attack 53 crept into no man's land, ten rushed from the British front trench and twelve advanced at a steady pace behind a barrage.[123] Prior and Wilson found that the behaviour of the British infantry had less effect than the behaviour of the German infantry, which in turn was determined by the fire of the British artillery. Where the German defences and garrisons had been destroyed, the British infantry prevailed and where significant numbers of German machine-gunners survived, especially when supported by artillery, the British attack failed. On the French front, the artillery preparation was almost wholly effective in destroying German defences and killing the infantry in their underground shelters. The prevalence and effectiveness of killing-machines determined the result and in such an environment, a soldier with a bayonet was obsolete and infantry formations irrelevant.[124] Harris explored the success of the French and XIII Corps and XV Corps, the extent of British casualties for ground gained and Haig's responsibility for the British casualties. Harris wrote of the inferior German defences on the French front, surprise, superior French artillery and better infantry tactics than those used by the British. The French attacked in the south as did the two most successful British corps and in this area only the first line was expected to be captured. Harris wrote that the German army was often ignored in analyses of the First Day and that the main defensive effort was made in the north, the area of greatest German success. Terrain in the south, Anglo-French air superiority and closer objectives, tended to concentrate Allied artillery-fire, which was better-observed and more accurate than on the hillier ground to the north. Barbed wire was cut, the German fortifications "exceptionally" damaged and a crude form of creeping barrage preceded the infantry to their objectives. Harris held Haig responsible for the extension of the objectives in the north to the German second position, which diluted the density of British artillery-fire, although because no study had been made of the details of the preliminary bombardment, caution must accompany a conclusion that bombardment of the closer objectives was unduly dissipated. Harris concluded that the attack front was too broad and that Rawlinson should be held responsible with Haig, for attempting to advance on a 16-mile (26 km) front. Despite being under no diplomatic pressure from the French or political pressure from London to obtain swift success, the British tried to do too much too quickly, unlike the French Sixth Army which made short advances with the support of massive amounts of artillery-fire.[125] Philpott wrote that after the war the French Official History gave five pages to 1 July, with one paragraph on the British attack and the German Official History Der Weltkrieg covered the day in 62 pages. The British Official History described the First Day in 177 pages, with one page on the French success. In Joffre's memoirs the French victory was ascribed to "the excellent work of the artillery" and German underestimation of French offensive potential remaining from the battle at Verdun, leading them to make their principal defensive effort in the north. The British had failed to mop up captured German positions and had been attacked from behind. This military explanation was insufficient for many British commentators, who blamed "anachronistic" "sword wavers" for leading volunteers to an unnecessary slaughter. The French success, based on the experience of 1915 was overlooked, as was the French expectation of more quick victories being disappointed, as the battle became a counterpart to the long attrition campaign at Verdun. Philpott also described the Germans being written out of the British narrative of useless sacrifice. The Anglo-French armies had gained an advantage on 1 July, by forcing the German defences for 13 miles (21 km) either side of the Somme to collapse. In the early afternoon a broad breach existed north of the river but the "break in" was in an unexpected place, which meant that exploitation would have to be improvised.[126] Casualties Philpott wrote that the "gory scene" behind the British front showed that something had gone wrong.[127] In the evening of 1 July, Haig wrote in his diary, North of the Ancre, VIII Corps said they began well, but as the day progressed, their troops were forced back into the German front line, except two battalions which occupied Serre Village, and were, it is said, cut off. I am inclined to believe from further reports that few of VIII Corps left their trenches. VIII Corps had left their trenches and over 14,000 men had become casualties. Edmonds wrote that for the loss of the United Kingdom and Ireland's "finest manhood" there was only a small gain of ground, although an advance of 1-mile (1.6 km) on a 3.5-mile (5.6 km) front and minor advances elsewhere, was the furthest achieved by the British since trench warfare began. Only 1,983 unwounded prisoners had been taken and none of the advances north of the Albert–Bapaume road had been held.[128] Before the battle General Rawlinson had requested 18 ambulance trains but only three trains were provided and these departed part filled, before many the wounded had been brought to Casualty Clearing Stations, which had capacity for only 9,500 cases. Many casualties were left untended in the open and it was not until 4 July that the Fourth Army medical services had treated all the wounded; some casualties reached hospitals in England still wearing field dressings. As night fell, survivors began to make their way back to the British trenches and stretcher-bearers went into no man's land. Major General Ingouville-Williams, commander of the 34th Division, participated in the search and some medical orderlies continued during the next day. At Beaumont Hamel, two British medical officers arranged a truce and in other places movement in no man's land was fired on. Victoria Crosses were awarded to Robert Quigg and Geoffrey Cather (posthumously) for rescuing wounded. Some casualties survived for up to a week in no man's land, living on rations from dead soldiers' packs before being rescued. At 7:30 p.m., the Fourth Army headquarters believed that there had been 16,000 casualties, by 3 July the staff thought that there had ben 40,000 losses and by 6 July 60,000 men.. The final total of 57,470 casualties, 19,240 of whom had been killed, was not calculated for some time; the French Sixth Army had 1,590 losses and the German 2nd Army lost 10,000–12,000 men.[129][130] |
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