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The Battle of the Somme - The First World War - 1916

The Battle of the Somme continued relentlessly throughout the summer months and into Autumn. This page attempts to provide a brief insight into the soldiers experience of the Battle of the Somme.

July 30 1916. Last night I had the first nights sleep for 4 nights. I slept only 10 yards from guns of battery which were going all night. We've had plenty to eat since being here. An aeroplane left FRANCE & flew to BERLIN & dropped "PAMPHLETS" thence on to RUSSIA & when over AUSTRIA had to descend on a/c of dirty sparkling plugs & he was captured. He did 850 miles in one lap. At POZIERES, one could take a 1000 acre patch & you wouldn't a piece of ground not turned up, on which you could place a three penny piece, so heavy are the bombardments in this area. A chap feels like shaking hands with himself when he gets out. Today the weather is very hot. Our casualties in this area to date approx. 250. From the Diary of Reg Part.

Shrapnel, curiously enough, is not considered very dangerous and the soldiers here treat it with contempt. The Germans use it to keep people from going on to the streets to put out fires which may have been started by their "210's" or "150" high explosives. Late yesterday afternoon they set fire to a haystack, and the smoke made them think that the village was on fire, so they sent about 100 shrapnel one after the other over it, and it was most interesting to see the flash in the sky, then a white cotton-wool effect --- and finally the sound of explosion. The French behind A----- immediately opened fire and the music began. It lasted about an hour, but as none of our men were wounded we did not have to go up there. After dinner three of us went for a little walk along the Moselle. One can see the Germans about a thousand metres away on the hills, and as you walk along the banks of the river they can see you distinctly, but they don't bother to fire, which is kind of them! From the Private letters of Leslie Buswell, an Ambulance Driver on the front.

The links below are a good starting point for anyone wishing to conduct further research into the soldiers experience of the Battle of the Somme.

World War 1. Memoirs and remembrances. An outstanding collection of personal accounts of the war.

The Battle of the Somme, by John Masefield. A lengthy but very worthwhile account of the battle.

Battle of the Somme texts. An extensive collection of accounts of the battle.

Remembering the Bradford pals. The Bradford pals went 'over the top' on July 1st, 1916.

The Accrington pals. Outstanding site. A very detailed account of the opening engagements of the battle of the Somme, includes text from the battalions war diaries along with many unique insights into the experiences of the Accrington pals.

The Leeds pals. Another outstanding site about one of the many pals battalions. Contains pages about many of the soldiers involved in the battle.

Baxenden lads. Wonderful tribute to the fallen soldiers of Baxenden. Information about each of the fallen men along with accounts of the fighting at the time of each mans demise.