Current Information:

Age-17

12, Cobham Buildings, Rushworth Street, Blackfriars

The Battle of the Somme (July-November, 1916)

On 1st July 1916 The British Army launched a massive offensive along a section of the front line running north of the River Somme. The French attacked south of it. The first day was a disaster for the British army which suffered nearly 60,000 casualties, 19,000 of whom were killed, and made hardly any inroads into the enemy lines. But the battle had to go on, if for no other reason than to relieve pressure on the French at Verdun where they had been facing the full onslaught of the powerful German Army. So it continued all the way through to November with nearly every battalion and division then in France being drawn into it at some stage. In the end the German trenches had been pushed back a few miles along most of the line but the cost in lives had been staggering. By the end of the fighting in November, 1916, British Army casualties numbered over 400,000, killed, wounded and missing.

On 1st July, 30th Division attacked at the southern end of the British line with the French on their right. Their objective was the village of Montauban and this was one of the few successful attacks of the day. 2nd Wiltshire of 21 Brigade were in support for this attack but the next day, 2nd July, they moved forward to reinforce 90 Brigade who were facing a heavy attack on the high ground at Montauban.  Progress was slow but they finally made it to a long rough trench on northern outskirts of Montauban.  The trench was full of German and British wounded and 2nd Wiltshire stayed there all day under heavy low bursting shrapnel.  They were relieved late that night and moved back to original trenches near Carnoy.