Current Information:

Born-East Ham

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.

The days immediately following the carnage of July 1st on  the Somme, had two main priorities. They were to rescue the wounded and to consolidate what gains had been made. In some cases the Germans allowed a temporary truce so that injured men could be brought back from no-man’s land, but many were not reached and they faced a lonely and anguished death. However, despite the slaughter of 1st July, there was no going back. This was the “Big Push” and the attacks had to continue and Haig decided that they would continue on the southern sector of the front where the few successes had occurred.

On 2nd July, 19th Division were brought into the battle and 9th Cheshire of 58 Brigade moved forward at dawn to relieve the troops of 34th Division in the Schwaben Höhe crater. Later that day they took part in an attack on the western end of La Boiselle which by 9pm had been cleared and a line consolidated. At 2.15am the next day, 3rd July, 57 Brigade came up on left of 58 Brigade and an hour later both Brigades attacked in an attempt to complete the capture of La Boiselle and occupy a enemy trench 400 yards beyond. On the front of 57 Brigade, 10th Worcestershire  moved forwards covering the outer flank of 8th North Staffords, but they soon ran into trouble. German resistance was strong. Their artillery hit the men of 19th Division as they struggled forward  and their infantry launched a counter attack from Pozieres. Fierce hand to hand fighting followed and it was only when the support battalions moved up that the enemy counter attack was held. In the end the Germans were held on a line running through the ruined church and 19th Division had gained about 100 yards.