More on Casualties During the Battle of the Somme

Friday 24th November 1916 From our Correspondent in the Field

Following the analysis of the numbers of men who have sacrifices of war in the Battle of the Somme, readers may be interested in the relative costliness of different operations during the course of the battle. The figures below give the number of men killed in action in the most significant attacks made between 1st July and 18th November. The figures are restricted to those killed in action because it is usually impossible to know the actions resulting in deaths due to wounds which can take place several weeks later.

• 1st Day of the Battle and immediate aftermath – 1st to 3rd July: 106 (2nd and 7th Battalions)
• Actions at Contalmaison and Pozières  – 9th to 15th July: 92 (6th Battalion)
• Actions in Trônes Wood  - 11th to 14th July: 61 (2nd and 7th Battalions)
• Actions at Longueval and Delville Wood – 22nd to 31st July: 105 (1st Battalion)
• Actions south of Guillemont – 30th July to 24th September: 138 (1st and 2nd Battalions)
• Actions near Morval – 13th to 25th September: 158 (8th Battalion)
• Actions at Thiepval – 26th to 29th September: 93 (7th Battalion)
• Actions east of Le Sars – 11th to 12th October: 83 (2nd Battalion)
• Actions on the River Ancre – 31st October to 16th November: 110 (4th and 6th Battalions)

Day One Hundred and Twenty Eight on the Somme

Sunday 5th November 1916 From our Correspondent in the Field

Gird Trench, scene of the 2nd Bedfords’ attack on 12th October was the focus for renewed attacks today, along with the ancient burial mound north of Le Sars known as the Butte de Warlencourt.  The weather has been clear today but the battlefield is still sodden and clotted with vast seas of mud.

50th (Northumbrian) Division went “over the top” at 9.10 this morning. The first men over had to pull their comrades out of the slick-sided trenches. The Australians, back on the Somme again after their exertions at Mouquet Farm, were also supposed to attack, but failed to get moving. Nevertheless the men from the North-East struggled forward and even managed to capture part of Gird Trench as well as seizing the quarry just west of the Butte and moving on past their objective.

Unfortunately the Germans counter-attacked around three o’clock this afternoon. A particularly strong counter-attack it was too! Of course it helped that they only had the Northumbrians on which to concentrate and not 50th Division and the Australians. The Germans succeeded in driving the Durham Light Infantry from Gird Trench and also retook the Butte. This valiant effort has cost the division about a thousand casualties, we understand.

Day One Hundred and Twelve on the Somme

Friday 20th October 1916 From our Correspondent in the Field

The adjutant of the 4th Battalion, Bedfordshire Regiment, part of 63rd (Royal Naval) Division, who are at Rainchavel, tells me that there is a rumour that they will soon be part of a great offensive on Beaumont-Hamel, one of the villages due for seizure on 1st July.

6th Battalion, King’s Own Scottish Borderers has been involved all day in a bloody fight for a small feature east of Le Sars known as The Nose. This was lost yesterday by South Africans. The Borderers took the position again, lost it and finally retook it this afternoon. 

Day One Hundred and Eleven on the Somme

Thursday 19th October 1916 From our Correspondent in the Field

It has rained again all day today, turning the battlefield into a vile soup of mud and filth dotted with bodies and destroyed equipment. German flame-throwers and infantry attacked the South African Brigade this morning near a position called The Nose east of Le Sars. This caused them to retreat but artillery halted any further German advance. Meanwhile a trench north-east of Gueudecourt was found to be empty of enemy and was occupied by 4th Division.

Day One Hundred and Ten on the Somme

Wednesday 18th October 1916 From our Correspondent in the Field

Today, in wet conditions and from flooded trenches more British attacks have taken place, most of them well before dawn. The attacks, in an arc from Le Sars eastward to Lesboeufs have seen little success. Uncut wire and stiff resistence as well as the appalling conditions underfoot have prevented much success. As the year fails it is likely that optimum conditions for any attack will now be quite rare events, but we are sure Tommy Atkins will deal with the conditions with his usual cheery humour and attack with his usual dogged determination.

Many of these attacks have been designed to push the British line northwards to the Butte de Warlencourt. This mound oversees all the flat land hereabouts and serves as a perfect observation post for German artillery. Capture of this will assist any further move towards the still distant target of the town on Bapaume. The villages of Warlencourt and Ligny-Thilloy also lie in the path of attack towards Bapaume. 

4th and 6th Divisions made attacks east of Lesboeufs, 12th Division was successful in advancing the line on the right flank of the 30th Division, which was unable to make any headway towards the now infamous Gird Trench. These attacks were undertaken by 89th and 21st Brigades but the 2nd Bedfords were not involved, much to their relief we are sure. To the left of 30th Division 9th (Scottish) managed to get a little way forward near a small elevation known as The Pimple.

Day One Hundred and Eight on the Somme

Lieutenant Hopkins

Monday 16th October 1916: From our Correspondent in the Field

8th Battalion, Bedfordshire Regiment, are still in the line east of Gueudecourt. They reported that in the clear skies which we have had for most of the day, aircraft have been very active, resulting in less hostile shelling during daylight. There was intense hostile shelling for half an hour commenced at 5.45 this evening, though, resulting in four dead and four wounded. Good news is that another German sniper has been shot down.

Second Lieutenant Oakley

The 2nd Battalion moved into Flers Trench today, near Le Sars where they are acting as reserve for 21st Brigade. Lieutenant R Hopkins has taken over command of B Company and Second Lieutenant R E Oakley of A Company. The strength of the Battalion in the trenches is that all four companies – A, B, C and D have just two officers and fifty men each. Headquarters comprises four officers and 107 men under the command of Major J W H T Douglas.

Major Douglas.

Today 6th Division took some gun pits near Lesboeufs whilst 39th Division fought off no fewer than three German attempts to retake the Schwaben Redoubt. This was a particularly fine performance by the division as the enemy were employing flame-throwers.

Sources: X550/3/wd; X550/9/1

Day One Hundred on the Somme

Sunday 8th October 1916 From our Correspondent in the Field

The Canadians have been in action today in cold, stinging rain. They attacked another position on the battlefield called, due to its shape, The Quadrilateral. This particular quadrilateral is north-west of Le Sars. Sadly, the gallant men from the prairies lost two-thirds of their strength and were forced to retire to their starting positions. Regina Trench still holds out against the Canadians.

The fighting from Le Sars in an arc south-east to Lesboeufs begun yesterday continues today. It rained all night and the battlefield is very muddy. 23rd Division have got as far as a point around half a mile north-west of Le Sars. 47th (1st/2nd London) Division managed to enter Snag Trench but were soon evicted again.

Away on the right 56th (London) Division attacked north-east. However, once again their progress was very difficult and we understand that they will retire back to their original line under cover of darkness as there are too few men to hold the positions gained.

Second Lieutenant A H Waddy

7th Bedfords are training behind the lines. Captain Bridcutt tells me that they have been joined by Second Lieutenant H M Woodyer, Second Lieutenant R J Clarke, Second Lieutenant J J Murray and Second Lieutenant A H Waddy. He commented to me: “These are a good stamp of recruit officers”.

Source: X550/8/1

Day Ninety Nine on the Somme

Saturday 7th October 1916 From our Correspondent in the Field

Today has seen more activity on the Somme than of late, with attacks in the vicinity of Le Sars, a village which sits astride the main road from Albert to Bapaume, in an arc round to Lesboeufs. 

23rd Division was tasked with the capture of the village of Le Sars. In the face of heavy fire they achieved their objective, so the village joins a growing list of heaps of ruins captured since 1st July. The Division was then ready to advance on an old Romano-Gallic burial mound called the Butte de Warlencourt, which is high enough to dominate the flat ground hereabouts. However, there were insufficient reinforcements for this, so the division dug-in just the other side of Le Sars.

47th Division, whose objective was also the Butte de Warlencourt, attacked Snag Trench but the volume of fire it encountered made any real progress impossible.

41st Division is between Eaucourt-l’Abbaye and Gueudecourt and encountered heavy machine-gun fire as it went forward. Some units managed to pierce Bayonet Trench and, as far as we know, are holding out. Those attacking the east end of Gird Trench were unable to get near it.

12th (Eastern) Division were supposed to attack north-east from Gueudecourt but were late in going forward due to a German barrage on their front lines as they were about to go “over the top”. They struggled forward but were unable to make any headway.

20th (Light) Division are between Gueudecourt and Lesboeufs. They seized a main German defensive line called Rainbow Trench and pressed on to take another trench called Misty Trench. A German counter-attack as the light failed this evening from the direction of Beaulencourt appears to have been defeated.

56th (London) Division, alongside the French on their right flank, attacked north-east from Lesboeufs. Attacks by both the Londoners and the French were able to make little headway and, as evening fell were pushed back to their starting positions.

The last units of 18th (Eastern) Division have been relieved in the unspeakable desolation of mud, bodies and debris known as the Schwaben Redoubt. The dubious honour of continuing the fight here will fall to 39th Division. They were immediately attacked by Germans including two flame-thrower teams but the enemy were repulsed.

Day Ninety Six on the Somme

Wednesday 4th October 1916 From our Correspondent in the Field

More fighting has been going amid the deep mud at the Schwaben Redoubt today but, as far as can be seen, neither side has gained or lost much. 23rd Division made an attack before dawn toward Le Sars but was stopped by bullets and mud.

Day Ninety Three on the Somme

Sunday 1st October 1916 From our Correspondent in the Field

After being relieved from the captured Thiepval position, the 7th Battalion has been resting in huts for the day in Mailly-Maillet Wood. The General Officer Commanding 54th Brigade, T H Shoubridge, visited the battalion and addressed them in very high terms of congratulation on their morale and stubborn fighting.

The Brigadier said: "The 7th Battalion, Bedfordshires are one of the best fighting battalions it is possible to find and I am very proud to have such a battalion under my command". The Brigadier particularly referred to the severe fighting and the daring manner the Battalion had snatched from the enemy a position they boasted of being "impregnable and impossible for the English to take".

Today has been another day of vigorous attacks on the Somme. Moving from left to right across the battlefield – the Canadians captured a portion of Regina Trench lying north-west of the village of Courcelette this afternoon but have yet to succeed in holding it as counter-attacks are expected. 

On their left 23rd Division attacked and took ground. Private George White from Aspley Guise, who is known to your correspondent, told him that his unit, 8th Battalion, King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry together with 11th Battalion, Sherwood Foresters took all their allotted length of Flers Trench and most of Flers Support Trench. Other units from the division were unable to enter le Sars, however.

An attack by 50th (Northumbrian) Division took some of its allotted part of Flers Trench. 47th (2nd London) Division attacked the hamlet and abbey buildings of Eaucourt-l’Abbaye and, with the help of two tanks (later destroyed), they seized it. However, 1st/7th Battalion, London Regiment failed to advance very far due to uncut wire, allowing the Germans to retake Eaucourt.

The New Zealanders also went forward and gained ground. This attack was assisted by 36 Livens Projectors which created a wall of blazing fire on the German positions, though did not succeed in neutralising the enemy machine guns which did a lot of damage. Nevertheless the New Zealanders, once again, performed splendidly, taking around 250 prisoners and sections of Gird Trench, for the loss of about 850 of their men killed and wounded.

Source: X550/8/1

Day Eighty Four on the Somme

Friday 22nd September 1916: From our Correspondent in the Field

Today III Corps has been consolidating the Starfish Line which the Germans have abandoned. So this Battle of the Somme moves a little way forward. In addition a trench running from Courcelette towards Le Sars has been abandoned by the enemy and taken over by 23rd Division.

One can only assume that the Germans are suffering. They are still fighting the French at Verdun and our army’s attacks, though they have cost us thousands of dead and injured, must have hurt them as badly. It is noticeable that the German doctrine calls for immediate and heavy counter-attacks when a position is lost and these must inflict as many casualties on them as the initial assault does on our men. For the Germans to give up a number of trenches like this is unusual and may reflect the fact that the enemy are, slowly, being “bled white” as they themselves planned to do to the French at Verdun(1)

(1) The Battle of the Somme would cost around half a million British and Commonwealth casualties and a quarter of a million French. The Germans would lose somewhere between these two figures. The casualties at Verdun were of about the same magnitude – half a million each for French and Germans. This day would prove to be exactly half way through the war.