Somme Tours
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The Story of Collective Sorrow
There were many disasters for the British during World War One, but one stands out for the numbing sadness engendered back home in some towns or cities; the Battle of the Somme. The massacre involved men who enlisted in what came to be known as 'Pals' battalions. These battalions were mostly made up of volunteers who all came from the same locality or town. Husbands, fathers, sons, brothers, cousins, uncles, nephews, friends, fiancés, boyfriends, work colleagues, acquaintances and neighbours. It would be great for comradeship in the training and during the battle, so the generals, and indeed everyone, thought before the battle. After the battle, minds changed. Why was that? In the days when people knew most locals, when the population was much more static, absences would be noticed and lots of absences, noticed all the more. There could be no hiding the collective local grief.
On July 1st 1916, the British launched an almighty offensive against the Germans, after 7 days shelling, in a previously quite sector of the Western Front. By the end of the day the official British and Empire death toll was 19,240, with 57,470 casualties. It was the bloodiest day in the history of the British Army. The agony of the Somme dragged on for 4 months and as casualties rose to 419,654 for the British Empire troops, 204,253 French troops and 434,515 German soldiers. The total dead and missing tolls were over 210,000. Casualties numbered over a million collectively.
Why were so many killed on the first day and what lessons were learned?
Who were the Pals battalions who fought here?
What was gained and what was lost?
Why did the battle carry on for four months?
The Forgotten Battles
The despair of the Battle of the Somme is well documented, whereas The Battle of Arras, yet another massive campaign, fought in 1917, (April 9th until May 15th), is less so. It was the brain child of the new French Commander in Chief, Robert Nivelle, who thought that if the French and British Empire troops worked together, they would be able to break through quickly in this sector! After the initial artillery barrage, it settled down into the usual stalemate or attrition type situation, with a huge loss of life. Monuments on the ground bear witness to the carnage, as the German Hindenburg Line was attacked, from Vimy Ridge to Bullecourt.
The Arras sector, just to the North of the Somme, was held by the French in the earlier phases of the War, and shelled by the Germans who were about 2 miles away. The city was left in ruins. In 1916, the British took over the town from the French. A unique feature of Arras is the network of underground tunnels and ancient quarries which during the war, were used to house troops in preparation for their 1917 campaign, part of a larger French master plan to break through. The British, Canadian and Australian troops had to attack the specially reinforced Hindenburg Line to where to the enemy had withdrawn. The aim was to capture high ground held by the Germans and draw them away from the French area of attack.
The Battle of Arras was really a series of battles, between Vimy and Bullecourt in the south. The Canadians took Vimy Ridge. The British had some good success in the battles of the Scarpe, but struggled further south with the Australians, making fewer gains.
Overall, gains in land could be counted as a success, but there was no breakthrough. Experimental tactics, such as the creeping barrage and counter-battery fire, had been tried and had shown that assaults against heavily fortified positions could take some land at least. Casualties were appalling! The names of nearly 35,000 of the missing are engraved on the Faubourg d'Amiens memorial, along with more than 7,000 graves.
What happened to the Grimsby Chums at Arras? (a Pal's Battalion)
Why are these battles less remembered than the Somme and Ypres?
Why was this sector handed over to the British in 1916?
How was success judged, then and now?
