The Battlefields of the Somme

Military (and political) reputations were won and lost in the Somme: the leadership of General Sir Douglas Haig commanding the British forces, has been assessed, praised and criticised ever since the great battle in 1916. A dedicated career officer in the cavalry Haig took over the difficult task of leading the British forces in the war from Sir John French after the Battle of Loos (September 1915). By the end of that year he was discussing the major offensive being planned for the Somme in the summer of 1916. He continued as Commander-in-Chief until March 1918, when General Foch took joint command of all Allied armies on the Western Front. After the war Haig was active in support for ex-service men who needed help (the Earl Haig Poppy Found, still active, produces artificial poppies to sell each year around the Armistice date, 11 November).

Until December 1916, political leadership in Great Britain came from the Prime Minister, Herbert Asquith, who had been at the head of a coalition government since April 1915. His brilliant son Raymond was killed in the Battle of the Somme, on 15 September 1916; he lies in the CWGC’s Guillemont Road cemetery with his family’s striking choice of phrase carved on it: “Small time but in that small most greatly lived this star of England”. Like many families, the Asquiths lost a number of relatives and close friends to the war.

David Lloyd George took over as Prime Minister in December 1916, having acted as Minister for Munitions – a new post – since the spring of 1915. An ambitious politician, he encountered distrust in Westminster but was successful in supervising the vastly increased production of munitions. Relations between Lloyd George and Haig were never easy, although their efforts were finally successful. Lloyd George was also very active in discussions for the Treaty of Versailles in July 1919, settling the new frontiers and repayment questions in the post-war world.

One of the best-known names linked to the Somme is Baron Manfred von Richthofen, who shot down near Heilly in April 1918. Known as "the Red Baron" (because of the colour of his Albatros D-111 aircraft), von Richthofen was both feared and admired for his air-combat skills. Although the Baron was originally buried locally by the British in Bertangles, his body was later taken back to his home in Germany.

Command for the Battle of the Somme, under the overall direction of General Haig, lay with General Sir Henry Rawlinson. An infantry officer, he formed the Fourth Army in February 1916 for his first major battle as an Army commander. His instinct was for a policy of limited attacks: he described a strategy of ‘bite and hold’ although Haig preferred to think of breaking through and advancing with cavalry. In July 1916, Rawlinson’s caution and lack of alternative plans meant that opportunities were not taken and lightly defended woods were not captured and held, as would have been possible; they were captured later at the cost of heavy casualties.

General Joseph Joffre was the French army’s Commander-in-Chief in 1916. In 1914 he helped to save France during the German invasion, but in 1915 his large attacks brought heavy casualties for little gain. For the Battle of the Somme he and General Haig had to collaborate, which they did not always find easy. On 1 July 1916, French troops met with greater success than the English Army forces and Joffre urged Haig to continue his attack despite the much greater British casualties and setbacks. One of Joffre’s best-known characteristics was his imperturbable calm, which enabled him to steady his forces – and the French nation – when faced with almost impossible challenges.

Major-General E. C. Ingouville-Williams, who commanded the 34th Division in the Battle of the Somme, was known to his men as ‘Inky Bill’. His men had a disastrous start to the Battle, approaching the German machine-guns across around a mile over the open stretches of hillside near La Boisselle. Its casualties that day (6,380) were the highest of any British division. ‘Inky Bill’ was killed later that month by shellfire.

Two captains who died on the first day of the Battle of the Somme became famous for their ideas about the battle during their training. Captain Nevill of the East Surreys equipped his four platoons with a football each: games of football were frequent during training and rest periods and, feeling that it would help his men’s concentration and steadiness as they faced enemy fire for the first time, he offered a prize to be competed for. As the whistle blew for the advance at 7.30 a.m., the ball was kicked off from the trench parapet. The men climbed out and advanced after it towards the enemy machine-guns – but Captain Nevill and many of his men did not survive the day.

Captain Martin, of the Devonshire Regiment, realised during his preparation for the Battle of the Somme, that an enemy machine-gun post was perfectly placed to fire on his men emerging from their trench on 1 July 1916. He put his fears into physical form by constructing a relief plan of the ground, near the village of Mametz, and protested to senior officers at the fate he foresaw – but was told firmly that such matters were not his business. He continued to train and lead his men, but in the event his fears were realised and all were killed as he had predicted. The cemetery where he is buried, at Mansel Copse, near Mametz, occupies the trench from which they advanced.