Good Battlefield Guide > Virtual tour of the 1916 battlefields of the Somme
Sacred Ground: Following in their footsteps
"The
magpies in Picardy are more than I can tell.
They flicker
down the dusty roads and cast a magic spell
on the
men who march through Picardy,
through Picardy to hell"
T.P. Cameron Wilson
The Gommecourt salient
This
photo was taken on a rather gloomy day in April, from the steps of Gommecourt
Wood New Cemetery, where the British front line cut across the Fonquevillers-Gommecourt
road. The dark mass of the wood can be seen a few hundred yards away;
the German front and support lines were in front of it. The attack
of the 46th Division on 1 July 1916 crossed these fields from left
to right, with the 1/6th South Staffords being nearest this picture.
Few of them even reached the German wire and a similar fate befell
the second and third waves.
Gommecourt
British Cemetery No 2, lying still
in the no mans land of July 1st 1916 where the 56th (London) Division
advanced to the wooded mass of Gommecourt Park, on a misty January
morning after snow. The cluster of small cemeteries around Gommecourt
were cleared into this one after the war, leaving it with 1,364 soldiers
graves, the majority of which are of the units attacking here on that
day.
Hebuterne
Military Cemetery is
rather spread out, as the original grave plots were between trees
in a large orchard. Although it was used as a billet, Hebuterne was
very close to the trenches facing Gommecourt and was the target of
regular enemy shellfire. The 48th (South Midland) Division, holding
the line here for much of 1916, is strongly represented among the
753 British graves here today.
Fonquevillers (Funky Villas)
Foncquevillers
Military Cemetery was
begun by French troops when they occupied this part of the front,
after which it was used by the British Field Ambulances from 1915
and through the Battles of the Somme in 1916. A large number of 1st
July and other early casualties, especially of the 46th Division,
lie here: 645 in all. The photographer is facing Norh West, away from
the battle area.
Serre
This
is a view of a killing field. The photographer is standing on the German
front line of 1 July 1916, looking west over No Man's Land. The British
line ran along the front of the copses, below the crest. Here, the
Accrington Pals lost most of their strength within yards of their trench
as they attempted to advance towards the photographers position. Serre
Road No 3 Cemetery was created after the German withdrawal in Spring
1917; for in the intervening period it was impossible to recover the
bodies of the 81 dead who lie here.
Two
more small battlefield cemeteries stand just in front of the old British
line. Queens and Luke Copse cemeteries contain the remains
of 311 soldiers, most of whom died here in 1916. The trees on the left
mark the jumping-off line of the Sheffield City Battalion, another
unit destroyed within minutes on 1 July 1916 as they tried to advance
up the gentle slope towards Serre. The photographer is looking north
and is standing in no man's land. Serre Road No
3 Cemetery is in the
foreground; the British advance was from left to right.
An
area of the small wood, the former site of the copses, has been preserved
and is known as the Sheffield Memorial Park. At the front edge
the position of the former British front line trench can still be clearly
seen.
Just
behind the still-obvious depression of the British front trench is
this modern memorial to the Accrington Pals, the 11th East Lancashires. "Dedicated
to the memory of all members of the Accrington Pals, so many of whom fell
here during the attack on Serre in the opening phase of the Battle of
the Somme. Their name liveth for evermore".
Behind
the front line in the area of the Park are the remains of the support
trenches. Here also is Railway Hollow Cemetery, with another 107
graves, mostly of 1916 casualties.
A
little way behind the German front line positions, the Puisieux-Mailly
Maillet-Amiens road passes through Serre. On the western edge
of the village, a terrible array of British and French military cemeteries
lies along the road. The CWGC signpost (pointing to the right, off
the picture) shows the way to the group of cemeteries in no man's land.
Just beyond it on the right is Serre Road No 1 Cemetery, with another
2,400 graves. The small chapel is in memory of the French forces that
lost men here before the line was assigned to the BEF. It faces a French
military cemetery on the right-hand side of the road.
Just
beyond the French chapel is Serre Road No 2 Cemetery, a post-war
concentration of almost 3,700 graves. A large proportion of these are
of 'unknown soldiers'; men whose identity could not be confirmed.
This
is the fine memorial in Serre to the 12th York & Lancaster, the Sheffield
City Battalion.
Newfoundland Memorial Park, Beaumont Hamel
One
of the most-visited places on the Western Front. It lies some 6 miles
from Albert. Acquired - like Vimy Ridge - by the Canadian Government
the Newfoundland Memorial Park has been left as far as possible in
a state untouched since the war. Within the boundary of the preserved
area are the front and support lines of the British and German positions
as they were on 1 July 1916, the day that the 1st Battalion of the
Newfoundland Regiment suffered grievous casualties as they attempted
to advance.
Although
they are becoming less distinct as the years pass, the main trench positions
can still be seen.
Here
the photographer is standing on the British front-line parapet, looking
north-east down the gentle slope across No Man's Land. Across the shell-cratered
ground, Y Ravine Cemetery contains the mass grave of 366 soldiers
who fell in the attacks hereabouts in July and November 1916. The Ravine
itself, a deep natural excavation, lies to the left. It was out of
British ground-level observation. It led from the German front-line to
the village of Beuamont-Hamel itself, and was found to contain numerous
deep German dugouts, many reinforced with concrete.
Another
view across No Man's Land from the same spot, this time from looking
north. In a break in the trees the 51st Divisional memorial can be
seen. It stands on the German front line, so the viewer can judge that
the gap from theh British line is only a few hundred yards. For this
ground, and in the area shown on this and the above photographs, the
29th Division suffered some 5,240 casualties on 1 July 1916.
Near
to the German positions are two points of interest. In the foreground
is the circular Hunter's Cemetery. 46 casualties
of the 51st (Highland) Division were buried together in a shell crater
when details from the Division cleared the battlefield. Behind it,
the Divisional memorial. The photographer is looking east here, towards
the valley of the River Ancre, well out of sight from here. In the far
distance, the opposite bank of the river valley near Thiepval.
From
no man's land, again looking east, the dominating height of the Thiepval
Ridge could not be more clear. Just appearing over the Ridge is the
Thiepval Memorial.
This memorial to the 29th Division fittingly stands a little way in front of the main entrance to the Memorial Park. The 1916 Somme was the Division's first serious action on the Western Front, following it's time on Gallipoli. Also in the park, the excellent bronze caribou memorial to the Newfoundland Regiment. The magnificent kilted figure is the memorial to the 51st (Highland) Division, which finally captured this ground on a filthy day in November 1916. Perhaps the most evocative memorial of all: 85 years on, the trench lines and battlefield debris that with each year become a little less.
Beaumont Hamel
The
photographer is standing in the No Man's Land of 1 July 1916, walking
north with Y Ravine behind and Beaumont-Hamel village out of sight
on the right. The trees in the middle distance surround the crater
of the Hawthorn
Redoubt mine. The
regulars of 2nd Royal Fusiliers of 86th Brigade, 29th Division, attacked
the crater, advancing from left to right in this picture. Further on,
the land falls steeply away to the New Beaumont Road, which runs from
Auchonvillers to Beaumont-Hamel. The road - which is out of sight in
this photograph, lying in the valley beyond the crater - and the rising
ground beyond were in the area attacked by the 1st Lancashire Fusiliers.
Mid-way
across No Man's Land in front of the Lancashire Fusiliers, this tiny
sunken lane ran parallel to the two front lines. Two companies of the
Lancashire battalion, with 100 bombers, four Stokes mortar teams and
two Vickers teams took up position in this lane before the main attack
began. Others found shelter in it once the withering German fire opened
up. Only 50 of the 400 or so Fusiliers who attacked from this lane (moving
to the right of this picture) reached even as far as the next embankment
a few yards away. This memorial is to the 1/8th Argyll & Sutherland
Highlanders,
whose front line this was when another attack went in on 13 November
1916.
Taken
from the spot near the Hawthorn Redoubt crater shown in the top picture
on this page, looking east, the village of Beaumont-Hamel lies in a
valley, with the ground rising beyond it towards Beaucourt and Miraumont.
A first day objective, the village was not captured until another large
effort - on 13 November 1916.
Thiepval
We
have now crossed to the eastern
bank of the River Ancre, looking north-west across the steep-sided
valley. The river, which flows right to left towards the Somme, can
not be seen in this picture. On the far horizon across the valley,
the trees of the Newfoundland Memorial Park mark the front lines of
1916. On the left, the hamlet of Hamel, which stood just a few yards
behind the British front line from which the 9th Royal Irish Fusiliers
attacked on 1 July 1916. On the right, Ancre
British Cemetery can be seen, as can many markings in the chalky ground,
remnants of the extensive German positions. Just over 2,500 British
soldiers are buried in the cemetery.
At
the top of the Mill Road leading up from the Ancre valley going south-east
towards Thiepval, stands the Ulster Memorial Tower. Constructed
in remembrance to the 36th (Ulster) Division, which made an attack
over this ground on 1 July 1916, it copies the form of a tower at Clandeboye.
The Division was a volunteer formation of the New Armies, but was distinctive
in that many of its units existed in paramilitary form before the war:
the Ulster Volunteer Force. Although the Division went on to many other
actions it is perhaps most remembered for its valiant effort in 1916,
when it suffered very serious losses while capturing the German stronghold
at the Schwaben Redoubt, one of the few successes north of the Albert-Bapaume
road on that day.
This picture was taken before a pleasant Visitor Centre was built adjacent to the tower,where todays pilgrims can find refreshment, toilets etc - rare commodities in this area.
The
tower is often closed but can be opened on request: it contains interesting
memorials and momentoes of the Division and its actions. In the grounds
are other memorials. This one lists the Division's winners of the Victoria
Cross. In the background, another view of the valley across towards
Ancre British Cemetery.
From
the foot of the Tower and looking south-east towards and along the
old British front line, the photographer stands in the deadly no man's
land of 1916, with a view from the German positions. On the left in
the distance, the immense Thiepval Memorial to the Missing. In the
middle distance, the trees of Thiepval Wood. The front line ran across
the front edge of the wood. The Ulstermen attacked right to
left, towards the Schwaben Redoubt and Battery Valley, rather than
towards the photographers position with St-Pierre Divion behind his
right shoulder.
Across
the road from the Tower, and situated on the front line, Connaught
Cemetery contains 1,285 graves, many of which contain soldiers of
the 36th Division.
Alongside
the Tower and situated on the site of the Schwaben Redoubt, Mill Road
Cemetery contains 1,304 graves. The grave stones lie horizontally,
for the ground here is unstable due to the extensive underground workings
of the redoubt. The photographer is standing a few yards in front of
the British front line of 1916. On the ground seen here, the 36th
Division suffered 5,100 casualties on 1 July 1916.
Below
Mill Road Cemetery are remains of tunnels, dug-outs and trenches. The
ground is unstable and some of the gravestones are laid flat. This
photograph was kindly submitted by Stuart Brown.
Adjacent
to the site of the vast memorial to the Missing is this obelisk Memorial
to the 18th (Eastern) Division, for it was that formation that
finally captured the village. This view looks west, back towards the
Ancre valley beyond the skyline. The wood on the left is Thiepval Wood
from which the Ulster Division advanced (left to right) on 1 July
1916. The trees just to the right of the obelisk are those surrounding
the Ulster Tower, and the few on the right edge of the picture mark
Mill Road cemetery, on the Ulstermen's objective, the Schwaben Redoubt.
Between the 18th Division memorial and Thiepval Wood, the ground falls
away quite steeply.
On
the site of the former village of Thiepval, utterly destroyed by the war
and barely rebuilt since, stands the impressive Thiepval Memorial to
the Missing. Photographs rarely capture the scale of this structure
- it can perhaps be guessed only by looking at the doors that are at ground
level, either side of the central steps, directly below the archways.
The memorial needed to be immense, not only for the symbolism of the position
and the event, but because more than 73,350 names are inscribed on the
panels. This is the largest of such memorials, both in size and numbers
terms. It was designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens and inaugurated in 1932.
In
the grounds of the
Memorial to the Missing, the Anglo-French Military Cemetery contains
the graves of 300 French and 300 British soldiers, symbolically side by
side as they were during the 1916 Battles of the Somme. Only 61 of the
British graves are identified - this cemetery was created late in the
battlefield clearance process.
The Leipzig Redoubt and Authuille
On the
wall of the rebuilt church in the small village of Authuille is a bronze
plaque that reads "To the eternal memory of three battalions of the
'Salford Pals', the 15th, 16th and 19th Lancashire Fusiliers of 32nd
Division, who held the trenches in Authuille from early 1916 and who
valiantly attacked the redoubts of Thiepval on 1st July 1916". The
plaque was erected by the Lancashire & Cheshire Branch of the Western
Front Association.
Also
the wall of the church is this memorial to the 15th (Glasgow Tramways),16th
(Boys Brigade) and 17th (Glasgow Commercials) Battalion of the Highland
Light Infantry.
A
short way south of Authuille towards Aveluy and Albert, a low valley
- seen on the right of this photograph - heads east away from the road
and into Authuille Wood. This was known to the troops as Blighty Valley,
and it was a busy and often dangerous throughfare to the front lines
facing the Leipzig Redoubt and Thiepval. 993 British soldiers lie in
this now peaceful spot: Blighty Valley Cemetery.
On
the far side of Authuille Wood, the British front lines faced a very
strong point in the enemy defences around Thiepval, called the Leipzig
Redoubt. The redoubt was on high ground, looking down at British positions
to the south and west. Authuille itself, Authuille and Aveluy Woods
can all be seen from here. Here, facing north from the British lines,
the Thiepval Memorial can be seen in the distance behind the trees
that surround an old quarry that was inside Leipzig Redoubt. The Germans
called it the Granatloch.
The
photographer is standing here on the
front line of the Leipzig Redoubt, looking back down the gentle slope
across the British lines into Authuille Wood. Up this slope, men of
32nd Division advanced on 1 July 1916, to be slaughtered in these
gentle fields by machine gun fire from the Redoubt and other uncaptured
positions to the east (left of photo).
Ovillers and La Boisselle
This
early evening photograph gives some impression of the traces of the
heavily cratered area known as the Glory Hole which lay just in
front of La Boisselle and to the south of the Albert-Bapaume road.
The photographer is in the German front line of 1 July 1916, facing
the advance of the Tyneside Scottish Brigade of the 34th Division.
In the distance is the ridge known as Tara Hill. The British front
line was only yards away - approximately where the furthest bushes in
this picture can be seen. Heavy casualties were inflicted on the successive
waves of British infantry as they crossed the skyline. The craters
of the Glory Hole were formed during mine warfare in the months preceding
the attack.
Another
Glory Hole crater.
This
bench seat memorial to the 34th Division, inaugurated in the 1920's,
records the exploits of the Tyneside Scottish and Tyneside Irish
Brigades,
which lost so many men in their largely fruitless attack on 1 July 1916.
The seat is still there in the middle of La Boisselle.
Near
the village church is this cross memorial to the 19th Division.
Ground-level
photographs rarely do justice to the
Lochnagar
Mine Crater, as its immense size
and depth defies attempts to capture it all. Some impression can be
gained here by comparing the people who are standing on the crater
rim on the far side, or the cross - perhaps 4m high - to the chalk
marks defining the fall of ground to the crater bottom. This photograph
was taken from the 'British' side, looking north in the direction of
advance on 1 July 1916 when this crater was blown in front of the
lead units of 34th Division. La Boisselle village, the Glory Hole and
other crater fields and the Albert-Bapaume road are away a few hundred
yards to the left.
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