Page 14 - History of War - Issue 30-16

SOMME
1916 2016

SOMME ME

What was supposed to be a swift, decisive breakthro
lines turned into four and a half months of mayhem

British troops returning to
their lines after a failed attack
on Hawthorn Ridge, the
location of one of the largest
detonations on the i rst day

FIRSTDAY
Just before 7.30am, the
offensive began with the
detonation of 19 mines
beneath the German lines,
the largest of these being
under Beaumont-Hamel
and La Boisselle. Despite
the severity of these
explosions, advancing
troops still met stiff
German resistance and a
bloodbath ensued.

1 July
7-12 July
THESTRUGGLEFORMAMETZWOOD THEBATTLEOFBAZEN Below: German

Though it had been a irst-day objective, the 38th Welsh Division assaulted In the early hours of 14 July, 22,0 and British
wounded make
this position for a gruelling six days at the loss of nearly 4,000 men. The within 100 metres of the Germa their way to the
Wood saw brutal close-quarter ighting and changed hands several times. Bazentin le Grand, Trones Wood
rear after the
overwhelming initial success, the tough battle for
and other key objectives such as Bazentin Ridge
By the end of the i ghting, much of the foliage of
Mametz Wood had been utterly destroyed

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