The Battle of the Somme

by Jack Lee

I’ve done similar articles in the past, so at the risk of repeating myself I thought you might enjoy this brief glimpse into history. The lesson here is, the high cost of denial.

World War I also known as the Great War, a war to end all wars, claimed million of lives and redrew the borders of many powerful nations. The more that becomes known about the battles that were fought and the leaders on both sides, both political and military, the worse it looks for humanity. Over ten million soldiers and 7 million civilians lost their lives in a war of attrition – and the worst part was, much of it was for naught.

Prior to the great war a new era was in full swing, it was the industrial age and innovations were in abundance. Hiram Maxim invented the machine gun in 1879 and he claimed it to be a weapon so destructive that it would make wars obsolete! Avances in long range artillery added to this potential for mass destruction. These new weapons had never been tried on the battlefield before and many generals failed to grasp their significance. But, some clever people exploited their advantage and the result was a bloodbath.

“Generals are always prepared fight the last war.” This is a truism that’s proven true in at least our last three wars. This might not be such a terrible thing if technology remained somewhat stagnant. A cavalry charge in 1810 often turned the tide of battle for Napoleon, but a Napoleonic type cavalry charge in 1915, against rows of machine guns, well, that would be a slaughter. It would be stupid and foolish!

As obvious as this seems to us now, there were in fact many cavalry charges in WWI and they all ended badly for the horses and riders. Why couldn’t the generals foresee this before the first charge was ever conceived? You may also wonder why after the first slaughter they tried it again and again? I suppose when you invest a concept so heavily that it becomes a tradition it’s hard to let go and the military is built on tradition. It’s a case of, “that’s the way we’ve always done it” …. so they were fatally bound by a past practice and the intractable, closed minds of military leaders.

Consider this, in one day of fighting during the Battle of the Somme almost 60,000 British soldiers were killed and nothing was gained, nothing! It’s hard to imagine us accepting such a loss today, but back then denial was so endemic the General that caused this loss never even suffered a reprimand.

The plan that claimed so many lives that fateful day looked good on paper. First destroy the barb wire entanglements with an aggressive artillery barrage, blasting everything in sight including the German trenches. Use an unprecedented number of cannons and fire non-stop for two full days. What every was left would be easy to mop up by the advancing infantry…easy.

And so it went, the shelling was at a frantic pace for days and then it stopped and all went deathly quiet just before dawn. The open area between the opposing forces was called no man’s land for a good reason. It was a muddy, pocked marked landscape laced with barbed wire and the occasional stump, badly splintered, where large trees once grew.

At 0600 hours the shriek of a whistle 100,000 British soldiers left the trenches and went over the top into no man’s land. They ran passed smoke filled craters, charging headlong into the sights of German machine gunners who were patiently waiting for them less than 800 yards away.

It was supposed to be a rout of the Germans, but it turned into the worst one day death toll in British military history.

Because the plan called for a prolonged bombardment the artillery section was short of high explosive shells so had to use the air burst rounds to keep up the pounding. As a result, once the British artillery barrage was over the Germans simply came out of their bunkers and manned their machine guns and waited for the inevitable infantry charge.

The shelling created open pockets through the wire, but it did not clear it. This caused soldiers to charge into barbed wire funnels where the concentrated machine gun fire did their worst.

Nearly 60,000 Brits died that day and absolutely no ground was taken, it was all for nothing!

This next paragraph taken from a book excerpt I found on Historynet.com and this might help explain how such a blunder could happen: A staff colonel wrote about this one sided massacre, “The events of July 1st bore out the conclusions of the British higher command and amply justified the tactical methods employed.” Field Marshal Sir Douglas Haig, chief of staff of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) and architect of the battle, evidently agreed. On the day after the debacle, stating that the enemy “has undoubtedly been shaken and has few reserves in hand,” he discussed with subordinates methods for continuing the offensive. Which he did, with a kind of transcendent stubbornness, for another four months, until winter weather forced an end to the campaign, if not the fighting. By then, Haig’s army had suffered more than 400,000 casualties. end

Generals often take on a god-like persona of infallibility, which is great for maintaining discipline, but it also makes them reluctant to admit their mistakes. So it was with Field Marshall Douglas Haig, commander in chief of the British forces during the Battle of the Somme. History says the first shot the British fired should have been directed at Haig, because he cost more allied lives than any German general.

Suggested reading, World War One, A History by Hew Strachan, available on Amazon.com for about $10.