At the end of 1914 the Somme had become a military backwater with a stabilised front line producing a relatively quiet stand off between the French and Germans. The lack of strategic incentive led to a mutual live and let live attitude.

 

During 1915, the French had suffered several costly battles and requested the British to take over the sector to relieve the garrisons for duty elsewhere.

British troops faced two of the most heavily defended sections of the German front line, the Thiepval ridge and the village of Beaumont Hamel near the river Ancre.

 

Dominating the centre of the battlefield was the old Roman road from Albert to Bapaume with a series of ridges crossing at right angles - each one forming a defensive zone incorporating the woods and villages. Thiepval, La Boisselle and Fricourt were fortified villages on the facing slope of the ridges.

 

The German front line kept to the high ground following the contours lines round the valleys, the names of which - Death Valley, Happy Valley, 'Y' Ravine,

Sausage valley and Mash Valley would soon become etched upon the memory of thousands of men.

A general tour of the Somme centres itself on key villages. Starting at Serre and meandering down the line

to Maricourt

Joe sits looking out towards no man’s land from where his Father attacked at Serre in 1916

A selection of sites used to build

the content of a General Tour of the Somme

The additional 17 mile section of front line was occupied by July 1915 and the British soldiers were amazed to find good, dry trenches; far more comfortable than those to be found in Flanders, and even more surprising, the 'cushiness' of the sector - no aggressive sniping or artillery fire. These quiet days did not last. Army Command demanded a more vigorous attitude to the Germans and casualties started to mount.

 

The concept of a combined offensive on the Somme had been proposed by the French Commander-in Chief General Joffre in December 1915 with a massive attack on a sixty mile front. Joffre was asked to reduce the scheme to five smaller offensives with the British to provide an attack on the Somme to help divert German resources.

For the British the Somme offered nothing of strategic value and an offensive seemingly without national purpose would be bad for morale with the troops and the public at home. If the British had to fight on the Somme as part of an overall French plan, then better to retain the concept of a huge combined offensive.

Gibraltar Redoubt, Pozieres and the Windmill A village forming the second line of defence behind La Boisselle and beyond the expectation of the initial day’s advance on 1st July. On tours centred on the Somme these sites form our introduction to the wider battlefield

 

Contay The site of 49 Casualty Clearing Station, so much time is often devoted to the fighting area that it is easy to forget the support services, here we examine one soldier’s story using the letters from a nurse to his mother.

 

Albert. Mussee des Abris. Many trench scenes are represented in the form of full sized dioramas. The museum is only used for tours centred on the Somme.

“Barrage lifted from the German front line and first and second waves moved forward to the assault. They were immediately met with very heavy machine gun and rifle fire and artillery barrage. The left half of 'C' Coy was wiped out before getting near the German wire, and on the right the few men who reached the wire were unable to get through….”

 

0730h on the 1st July 2005. A tour prepares to move out into no-man’s-land at Serre.

Using their Battalion Diary, we will stand in the position where troops waiting to go into the attack on July 1st 1916 had to endure our own shells falling short on their parapet. We will then move out into no-man’s-land and follow in their footsteps as their battalion diary so graphically describes.

Serre and Sheffield Memorial Park. A walk lasting at least 2 hours to study a battlefield in detail. Here the emphasis will be on using original trench maps, battalion diaries and battle reports to discover the evidence of the trench lines and topography of the ground. The village was attacked on the 1st July and again on the 13th November 1916; both attacks failed with many casualties. This part of the line is best remembered for the ’Pals’ Battalions and a thorough investigation here answers so many popular questions on the tactics of trench warfare. As part of this walk we follow the fortunes of 12th (Sheffield City Battalion) York and Lancaster Regiment.

Plans altered further when in February 1916 the Germans launched their attacks on Verdun. French interest centred on this threat and their involvement in the forthcoming offensive on the Somme began to reduce further.

Much of the original ground remains accessible over paths and trackways. The short walks linking each site or view point will develop a greater understanding of the complex relationship of landscape, defence and attack.

 

Beaumont Hamel. A battlefield walk continuing the high expectations of the morning attack on July 1st. Leaving ‘White City’ we move up ’Jacob’s Ladder’ to the ‘Sunken Lane’ and follow the fortunes of the 1st Battalion Lancashire Fusiliers.

 

Hawthorn Redoubt. Linked to the walk in Beaumont Hamel, this site illustrates the methods of mining under the enemy’s trenches to detonate huge quantities of explosive.

 

Mesnil and Auchonvillers. A view of the local reserve areas, close to the front line but providing the sense of security away from the constant shelling and sniping on the front line.

 

Newfoundland Park. Linking again with Beaumont Hamel, this large area of preserved trench lines illustrates the wider battlefield.

Thiepval Memorial to the Missing

Edwin Lutyen’s impressive memorial with 16 columns displaying the names of the missing from June 1915 to 20th March 1918. Over the years some of the missing have been found and identified and the memorial now commemorates 72,085 men.

Pausing to read extracts from personal and battalion diaries towards the end of the walk into Sausage Valley. Behind us, the chalk lines marking the German trenches are remain clearly visible on the landscape

 

“Got as far as we could and goodness knows how many machine guns opened up on us. We all dropped and I started to crawl to the crater to see who was there, if any, and if we could get a rest there when I was hit in the back. Corporal Turton helped me in. A Tyneside Irish officer gave me a tot of whisky which cheered me up…….I found my flow of language useful many times especially when the fit men wanted to bolt for it and leave a good hundred wounded who could not walk.” Second Lieutenant Turnbull 10th Lincolns

La Boisselle. A battlefield walk commencing in the rear area of the British front line and moving towards the German lines. In particular, the walk follows the fortunes of the 10th Battalion, The Lincolnshire Regt. and the 11th Battalion, The Suffolk Regt.

 

Fricourt, Mametz and Devonshire Trench. A walk covering several events in the general day to day activity of trench life. Two poets: William Hodgson and Siegfried Sassoon served on the ridge facing the villages of Fricourt and Mametz. We will follow the attack of the 8th and 9th Devons on the 1st July

Longueval, Delville Wood and High Wood

Recently rediscovered maps illustrating the density of bodies located after the war in 500 yard squares.

 

Standing adjacent to an ‘uncleared’ part of the battlefield, the group can only speculate on the shocking reality of the number of men still missing on the four blank squares.