It
was, I suppose, inevitable that the 90th anniversary
of the opening of the Somme offensive of 1916
would encourage a considerable volume of new
and reprinted work about the campaign. My guess
is that, as usual, much of it will equally inevitably
focus on the horror of the first day of the
infantry attack, 1 July. The latter phases of
drudgery, tedium and constant danger in the
muddy wilderness
of Lesboeufs or Le Transloy
will barely receive a mention, yet it is the
mud and grinding to and fro of attack and counter
attack in these months that defines the Somme
much more than the bloody mess of 1 July in
the sunshine. Here is a book that puts the totality
of the Somme into a more realistic context,
despite it being only a snapshot of a typical
twelve day stint for a weary infantry battalion,
and it is therefore welcome.
It
is not only the subject matter that appeals
to me: the narrative
is honest, gripping, emotional. Sidney
Rogerson was a subaltern with the 2nd Battalion
of the West Yorkshire Regiment, a regular army
unit that still possessed a few old soldiers
- with their use of Hindi and Indian Army vernacular
- despite having seen much action and loss
by late 1916. We may be thankful for his clear
memory, ability to recall and record, and his
humanity. He takes us through the move from
rest camp into a wasteland front where there
is no discernable front line and to get there
meant passing through a deep shell-swept zone
with no landmarks; the tense days of front
line duty and patrol without anything really
unusual happening except the inexplicable disappearance
of a brother officer; the agony of footslogging
for miles to a flooded tented camp; the resentment
at having to provide working parties within
hours of coming out ; and eventually out to
rest once more. There are no heroes here, no
VCs; no "lions led by donkeys"; no
glittering brass hats: the tale of ordinariness
in these squalid, bitter conditions tells it
own story of heroism. "Twelve days on the
Somme" is deservedly a classic memoir,
originally published in 1933.
The Greenhill version of the book includes a
thorough introduction by author and historian,
Malcolm Brown. This is itself a most interesting
essay and a worthwhile scene-setter for Rogerson's
powerful work
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