100 years ago Almost 60,000 British soldiers were killed, wounded or taken prisoner on day 1

One hundred years ago today hundreds of thousands of men would be getting ready for what would be the greatest battle of WW1 , The great war to end all wars they called it at the time It was also one of the bloodiest battles of the war, or of any war before or since. An estimated 1,000,000 men were killed or wounded, including about 485,000 British and French troops. The battle raged from the 1st July to 18th November 1916 on the banks of the Somme River,


Before the battle started, the British fired over 1,700,000 shells at the German soldiers, although many did not explode, or missed the targets completely. And the age of the machine began with the first Tanks being used in warfare and poisonus mustard gas floating over the battle field killing both men and horses on either side depending on what way the wind blew .

The rats were said to be as big as cats and feasted on the food tins and fleash of the dead or dying soldiers , It is recorded that men unable to move or defend themselves due to injury were eaten alive by rats in the trenches , shell holes or on no mans land .

British and French at the end of this battle had advanced just 6 miles the Allies lost around 89,000 men per mile of territory gained ,
with both sides bogged down in the mud unable to move any further and men either drowning in shell holes or being up to their necks in water on a battle field , this brought a end to the carnage of destruction and waste , some small villages were to loose a large percentage of their men folk , some areas never recovered from this even 100 years later .

All this was relayed to me first hand as a young boy from a survivor of the Somme , A old gentleman of my family who had fought in the Boer war and WW1 and shaken his walking stick at the Doodle bugs of WW2 as they flew over head to London .


This thread is in honour of that man for the horror he saw and went through and the nightmares he had right into his 98th year of life , Old Pop as we called him worked until he was 90 years old and then came to live with my family , his mind went after a few years and he told a very young boy stories of war that should have been saved for the older men .

To all the cannon fodder of that battle , Lions led by lambs , You are not forgotten

a reply to: stonerwilliam

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🎉🎊🎇🎆🎉🎊🎇🎆
Drinks and fireworks. That's how we honor our war hero's here.

All I can say. www.youtube.com...

Contrary to common view the battle did achieve it main objective and that was to relieve verdun that was pretty much at breaking point. If Verdun had fallen then WW1 would have been a German victory.

Plus the battle took a huge toll on germany in which they took a long term recovering on.

Og course WW1 itself was a pointless waste of time in the first place.

Those poor brave boys and men.

Their sacrifice for democracy will always be remembered.

Lest we forget🇬🇧

With proud thanksgiving, a mother for her children,
England mourns for her dead across the sea.
Flesh of her flesh they were, spirit of her spirit,
Fallen in the cause of the free.

Solemn the drums thrill: Death august and royal
Sings sorrow up into immortal spheres.
There is music in the midst of desolation
And a glory that shines upon our tears.

They went with songs to the battle, they were young,
Straight of limb, true of eye, steady and aglow.
They were staunch to the end against odds uncounted,
They fell with their faces to the foe.

They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them.

They mingle not with their laughing comrades again;
They sit no more at familiar tables of home;
They have no lot in our labour of the day-time;
They sleep beyond England's foam.

But where our desires are and our hopes profound,
Felt as a well-spring that is hidden from sight,
To the innermost heart of their own land they are known
As the stars are known to the Night;

As the stars that shall be bright when we are dust,
Moving in marches upon the heavenly plain,
As the stars that are starry in the time of our darkness,
To the end, to the end, they remain.
Robert Laurence Binyon

a reply to: crazyewok

Whilst historians are beginning to credit the battle for saving Verdun and weakening and tiring the Germans, it came at a very heavy cost. The likes of which had never previously been experienced before or after.

In all fairness the Signals let the battalions down and they went over the top to face certain death or injury, because of false information HQ received.

They were a different breed back then... they had a quality that has gone missing in modern day.

The majority did not run and hide they stood their ground and did their duty in the face of death and hell itself...

Every time I read a new book on WW1... I am astonished at what those folks did... and then for the most part went on to have normal lives with little to no mental health options.

a reply to: Sillyolme

I am sorry to say that in some parts of the U.K that the young honour those dead by spray painting the memorials or stealing the plaques from them to sell for scrap sadly enough

originally posted by: Cobaltic1978
a reply to: crazyewok

Whilst historians are beginning to credit the battle for saving Verdun and weakening and tiring the Germans, it came at a very heavy cost. The likes of which had never previously been experienced before or after.

In all fairness the Signals let the battalions down and they went over the top to face certain death or injury, because of false information HQ received.

Tactically the battle was a disaster in many places.

Lots of things got screwed up on tne day in certain areas.



Other areas of the battle did actually do rather well and made good progress with minimal losses.

But in the areas it went bad # really did hit the fan, i fact most the causalitys were confined to those few areas.

originally posted by: Irishhaf
They were a different breed back then... they had a quality that has gone missing in modern day.

The majority did not run and hide they stood their ground and did their duty in the face of death and hell itself...

Every time I read a new book on WW1... I am astonished at what those folks did... and then for the most part went on to have normal lives with little to no mental health options.

Yes they were.
www.youtube.com...

a reply to: Sillyolme

Speak for yourself.

Safer to say that's how many do it.

I grew up with way too many nightmares of my father to ever celebrate. I honor them. Especially as I look at a table without my father sitting there.

Speak for yourself.

a reply to: stonerwilliam

Good read, SnF.

I remember reading about something in WW1 called Pals Batallions, they were local recruitment drives from towns with promises to the recruits that they could fight alongside all their friends and families. This resulted in a lot of towns being absolutely devastated with most of the men becoming disabled or dead and the idea didn't last too long.

RIP to everyone that died in the wars, friend and foe alike. It was senseless.

a reply to: imod02
Perhaps they were still making them 30 years ago. I just found this story.
www.newsletter.co.uk...

originally posted by: stonerwilliam
a reply to: Sillyolme

I am sorry to say that in some parts of the U.K that the young honour those dead by spray painting the memorials or stealing the plaques from them to sell for scrap sadly enough

GB has multicultireism and PC to thank for that

a reply to: BelowLowAnnouncement

Yeah that idea got phased out pretty quickly for obvious reasons!

Plus after the Somme they brought conscription in. Which was. Pretty big thing as the UK had never used conscription before.

a reply to: BelowLowAnnouncement

Eighteen men from my grandmothers family went to war only her father returned , but he went on to father 14 children , it is strange to think of most of the men just vanishing from a place never to return but that is what happened and was repeated just thirty years later

a reply to: stonerwilliam

War be damned!!!!!!!!!!!!!

a reply to: BuzzyWigs



Hopefully some of the younger members here who think they have it hard in life may read this and know it was not uncommon for 14 year olds to lie about their age to get to the war with fathers & brothers .

a reply to: stonerwilliam

I just feel complete sadness at the sacrifice of these Hero's.

God be with them all.
Here is the attack scene from The Trench, about the first attack on the first day of the battle of the Somme.

And even though this song is about an American in WW1, it could be applied to ANY battle and ANY army in WW1.

Thanks for the reminder stonerwilliam

ETA: For those unfamiliar with the battle, this is a good 2 min video.