Context
The Battle of the Somme, which was also described as the Somme Offensive, pitted the British and French against the German Empire in a war that lasted for a period of between June and November 1916 (Graham & Shirlow, 2002). As a British soldier involved in the war, I must say that this was the most significant battles that had been fought during this period as part of World War I. In my experience during the war, I took note of the fact that a significant number of the soldiers that were involved in the war were either injured or killed as a result of the fighting. I lost a couple of friends during this war, which I considered as not only being the largest but also being the bloodiest that I was engaged in as part of my career as a soldier in Britain.
A critical aspect that I must take note of concerning my engagement as part of the Battle of the Somme was the fact that it provided me with battle line experience, which has been of great value for me in my future after the war. Our mission during the battle was to take as much ground as was possible taking into account that the Germans had been involved in an offensive, the Battle of the Marne in 1914, that had given them a lot of power over the Allies. The battle was seen as one of the fundamental strategic approaches through which to hasten the victory for the allies during World War I; thus, highlighting the importance of having to ensure that we would win this battle at any cost.
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Phase of the Battle
The Battle of the Somme was divided int 3 stages that were fought in different periods with each of the phases having a close significance to the ultimate goal of the British and French forces towards driving out their German counterparts out of their first position (Graham & Shirlow, 2002). As a soldier in the British army, I was personally involved in phase two of the battle, specifically in the Battle of Pozières that lasted between 23 July and 7 August. I was involved in the attack of a village that had been held by the 1 st Australian Division (Australian Imperial Force) of the Reserve Army during which time the focus was on gaining control of the village. I must take note of the fact that although the outcome of the battle was successful, we experienced a wide array of challenges in conducting the general attacks.
One key challenge that we experienced during the attacks was communication failure. The communication equipment that we used was a little bit outdated, which meant that although we were on the forefront in engaging in the battle, it was somewhat challenging to relay messages effectively. I vividly recall instances where some of the soldiers in my units were forced to walk for long distances to deliver information or messages to soldiers in other units. Although this was an efficient mode of communication, it created a significant threat for the soldiers, who were vulnerable to attacks by the Australian or German soldiers in the area. However, I must say that the use of this communication approach was somewhat successful towards creating a much more effective avenue within which we were able to conduct the general attacks successful.
I recall the German bombardments and counter-attacks focusing on our unit, which I would say had severe impacts on the numbers that we had while going to the battle front. The Germans used evasive tactics that allowed them to infiltrate some of our camps that were had set up leading to bombings and shootings. In some cases, the Germans would use death traps in footpaths and other areas, which would result in an increased number of deaths among the soldiers from the other units. Although the attack was successful in the ultimate, the unit I was serving during that period lost approximately 150 men to the counter-attacks by the Germans, which was a severe blow to the unit considering that each of the groups had about 300 men each.
From my recollection of the events, the fighting ended on the night of 7 August after which most of the soldiers from Australia and Germany had been killed or captured forcing the remaining numbers to move out the village. The Reserve Army ended up setting its camp in a plateau that was north and east of the village. I believed that this provide them with a leeway for further attacks moving into future considering that their position was overlooking the fortified village of Thiepval. However, this did not happen considering that the soldiers would later move into another area that was further from the village. My involvement in this battle was not only eye opening to the fact that indeed World War I was serious but also helped in showing me the extent to hatred that people in different countries harbored for each other based on the way they fought for their countries.
References
Graham, B., & Shirlow, P. (2002). The Battle of the Somme in Ulster memory and identity. Political geography , 21 (7), 881-904.
