1st Battalion at the Somme (1916): Difference between revisions
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{{1st Battalion (history nav)}}__NOTOC__
As we learned in the previous chapter, the [[1st Battalion]] of the [[Border Regiment]] entrained for Suez around the middle of January, 1916 where they spent several weeks engaged in training. It was the
▲== Battle of the Somme – The First Phase ==
▲As we learned in the previous chapter, the 1st Battalion entrained for Suez around the middle of January, 1916 where they spent several weeks engaged in training. It was the 12th of March that saw them eventually leave Suez, making their way back to Alexandria again before embarking for Marseilles on board the transport ''Marilda''. When the battalion arrived at Pont Rémy ten days later they proceeded to Gorenflos where they billeted until the end of March. During this time the men were granted leave to England, many of them taking up this offer while it was available as it was unknown when they would get this chance again.
==
There had been many changes since the Battalion saw in the new year, 1916. The failure at Gallipoli was costly on both sides and with that chapter behind them the Battalion had to focus on what lay ahead of them on a new front, that of the Western Front in France. The command of the British Forces on the Western Front saw the departure of Field-Marshall Sir John French<ref
With that in mind, and with formidable forces on either side locked into a stalemate where there was very little movement, the beginning of 1916 was fairly uneventful in as much as although there was fighting taking place by way of local encounters, nothing of any scale was in operation at that time. General Haig in his [[Despatch
Bitter fighting had taken place at
==
[[File:Somme-Position.png|thumb|220px|Location of the Somme Département in Picardie region.]]
With their leave to England officially over the Battalion spent much of their time moving from town to town, moving up front to the firing line and then being relieved back to
Throughout the months of [[1st Battalion War Diary, May 1916|May]] and [[1st Battalion War Diary, June 1916|June]] the Battalion was again involved in further [[trench]] warfare, causing losses amongst the ranks. They had returned to Englebelmer, spent several days in the firing line dealing with similar situations they had done during April, then moved on Louvencourt towards the end of May. At the beginning of June they had a brief spell back at Englebelmer, then again back to Louvencourt and finally marching back to Acheux on the
==
The raiding party, which consisted of 50 men from D Company, under the command of [[Lieutenant]] Bremner, left Acheux on the afternoon of
The men did what they could but as a result, because of the unpredictability of raids of this type done during the cover of night, their objectives were not achieved this time round. There would be plenty of other opportunities for the Battalion to take part in further raids, notably one that took place on the
==
The peaceful village of Beaumont Hamel was considered to be an important position to take simply on the grounds that it was a particularly strong position the enemy had taken up residence in. The reason why it was such a formidable site was because it contained large quarries and excavations that the enemy could conceal themselves in and effectively become part of the landscape around them. They could
[[File:Barbed Wire at Beaumont Hamel.jpg|thumb|270px|Barbed Wire and the devastation of land at Beaumont Hamel.]]
* 29th Division on the right;
* 4th Division was opposite Beaumont Hamel in the centre;
* 31st Division opposite Serre;
* 48th Division in reserve.
By 8am the advance had all but come to a standstill and by 8.15am the Germans had reopened their bombardment on British trenches, who also retaliated further. An hour later at 9.15
{| class="
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By the end of this phase of the Battle of the Somme, which amounted to the first five days, Sir Douglas Haig in a despatch wrote:
By the end of this phase of the Battle of the Somme, which amounted to the first five days, Sir Douglas Haig in a despatch wrote: ''“On a front of over 6 miles, from the Biqueterie to La Boisselle, our troops had swept over the whole of the enemy’s first and strongest system of defence, which he had done his best to render impregnable. They had driven him back over a distance of more than a mile, and had carried four elaborately fortified villages……the enemy’s second main system had been captured on a front of over 3 miles. We had again forced him back more than a mile and had gained possession of the southern crest of the main ridge on a front of 6000 yards”''.<ref name="ftn14">Wylly, p.88</ref>▼
▲
On the 8th July the Battalion move to the [[rest camp]] at Acheux and did not take part of the remainder of the first phase of the Battle of the Somme. They would find themselves on a new front further north in Flanders, Belgium.▼
▲On the
==See also==
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== References / notes ==
{{reflist|25em}}
[[Category:1st Battalion]]
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