The Battle of the Somme - 1st July 1916 Allied forces brave off sly Germans.

The Battle of the Somme – 1st July 1916

Allied forces brave off sly Germans

Yesterday marked the beginning of one of the bloodiest battles in history, with our courageous British Forces, opening fire against the vicious German front line troops at the Somme River.

The Germans Huns, well aware of the attacks to come, quaked in the heavy British bombardments. For seven days now, British artillery had pounded the weak German front lines overpowering their might.

The offensive was finally launched after attacks were postponed by forty-eight hours due to a series of heavy summer storms that had flooded the battlefield. However, the British did not let the bad weather hinder their performance and fought vehemently for their homeland.

At 7:18am, ten minutes before the assault began, several large land mines were detonated below the German trenches. As the noise died away, an eerie silence befell the battlefield as the British artillery lengthened its range and pointed their weapons towards the Germans. Our British heroes were confident that nothing could survive the bombardment and that the barbed wire in no man's land had been cut. The scene was set for the brutal and intense battle to come.

The commander of the British forces, General Douglas Haig, stated that their plan of attack was that 500,000 Allied soldiers would cross ...

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The commander of the British forces, General Douglas Haig, stated that their plan of attack was that 500,000 Allied soldiers would cross no man's land to capture the enemy trenches. The cavalry would then follow, ‘riding straight through the German lines with the Union Jack held high’.

The sly and deceitful German Huns had however positioned machine guns, prepared to retaliate at every British advance. As our Allied heroes advanced into the enemy territory, they were showered with heavy machine gun fire. It was in the face of this extreme danger that the true fighting spirit of our men emerged. Our men equipped with modern guns and mechanisms marched with passion defending their homeland and fighting off the German scum.

A young British trooper commented about their force’s unity: ‘Out here, we’re pals. What one hasn’t got the other has. We share each other’s troubles and get each other out of danger.”

Men protected their comrades and lives were sacrificed bravely and willingly for our glorious nation.

The 36th Ulster Division reached all of their objectives, including taking the Schwaben Redoubt and capturing 500 German prisoners. However this division was forced to retreat when many another units trying to support them, were killed or wounded. Right across no man's land German soldiers lie dead, unconscious or writhing in pain.

Lieutenant Brown, congratulated the men for the many acts of bravery shown by the soldiers of the Ulster Division. One soldier, Billy McFadzean, of Lurgan, saved his unit by throwing himself on top of a box of exploding hand grenades.

Robert Quigg, of Bushmills, brought back nine wounded men from no man's land. Corporal Thomas McClay of Laghey, led twenty German prisoners across no man's land single-handedly.

By the end of the first day of combat at the Somme there were 6,000 Allied casualties of which 1,000 were dead. The Germans however, are in complete disarray as they begin the rebuilding of dugouts and trenches that suffered severe damage during the initial bombardments. This is just the beginning of the combat, with a long way to go!