Battle of the Sum

The battles of the Sum was one of principal confrontations of the First World War. The British forces and French tried to bore through the German lines strengthened on a North-South line of 45 km close to the Somme, in the north of France, in a triangle between the towns of Albert on the British side, Péronne and Bapaume.

The first day of this battle, on July 1st 1916, holds the sad record of the bloodiest day for the British army, with 57.470 victims including 19.240 dead.

For the first time, a , propaganda film the Battle of the Sum , seized most of the horrors of the modern war by including images resulting from the first days of the battle.

Precondition

The decision of launching an offensive in Flanders is made with the conference of Chantilly the December 6th 1915. But in January, Joffre obtains a change for the Picardy because with the back, particularly in the political circles, one shouted with the scandal by thinking that troops “rested”.
When the German army launches its offensive on Verdun, the February 21st 1916, the British commander-in-chief proposes to come to help its ally. The French military chiefs decide that they can face without this support while asking a relief by an attack elsewhere on the face.

In 1916, the British army in France missed experiment, its professional part, six divisions, having been eliminated. Most of its manpower was made up of volunteers of the territorial forces and the new army of Kitchener. The officers had been promoted quickly and missed at the same time formation and of experiment. Haig itself had obtained a promotion flash.

Allied aviation had just surmounted the plague Fokker and had even acquired a superiority, which enabled him to cut down the balloons and to have a much better force of recognition. It is only in September that the introduction of new planes returned to the Germans the control sky.

The ground

The Germans occupy heights almost everywhere. Their face is composed:

  • - of a strong first position, with trenches of first line, support and reserve, as well as a labyrinth of deep shelters comprising all modern comfort besides;
  • - of a second intermediate line, less strong, protecting from the batteries of countryside;
  • - finally, a little behind, of a second position almost as strong as the first.
With the back, are “strengthened” wood and villages connected by bowels, in order to form a third and even a fourth line of defense, the whole largely concreted and profiting from qualities of the chalky rock which was cut easily and hardened while drying.

Transformation of the back

The back had been transformed into a gigantic warehouse with what was done best for the roads, the railway one and the Aviation. The Artillery, including monsters on railway of 380 and 400 mm, reached tops of destroying power.

Battle order

Combined

French Les:
- Life armed (Fayolle) with 3 army corps (1st, 20th and 35e CA);
- Xe armed (Micheler) with 5 army corps.
They add up 14 divisions on line, 4 of reserve and 4 of cavalry on a face of 15 kilometers. The artillery aligns 696 parts of countryside, 732 parts heavy, 122 parts A.L.G.P. (Heavy artillery with Great power) and 1100 mortars of distinct (with a provisioning of 6 million shell of 75,2 million blow for the door and 400.000 for artillery of distinct).

Les British:
The group of Haig armies which includes/understands:
- IVe armed (Rawlinson) with 5 bodies (8th, 10th, 3rd, 15th and 13th CA);
- IIIe armed (Allenby) with 1 army corps (7th);
- The reserve army (Gough).
That is to say a manpower of 26 divisions on line and 3 of cavalry on a face of 25 kilometers, with the support of 868 parts of campaigns and 467 heavy parts (respectively supplied to 2600000 and 1163000 blows).

German

IIe armed (Fritz von Below) with three groupings (von Stein, von Gosler and von Quast) is 8 divisions on line and 13 of reserve. They have 454 field guns and 390 heavy, which represents hardly one the third of the firepower of the allies, as well as 129 apparatuses vis-a-vis the 300 Franco-British ones.

Preparation of artillery

The preparation of artillery, initially planned for 5 days, begins on June 24th by shootings from adjustment and destruction. It intensifies from the 26 by a general and continuous bombardment of the German lines. The 28, the offensive is deferred 48 hours because of the bad weather. In one week, the Britannique artillery draws 1.732.873 blows.

First days

July 1st in the morning, it is by a time is beautiful and clear that the final bombardment of the allies starts. From 6:25, the shooting of artilleries reach a rate of 3500 blows per minute producing a noise so intense which it is perceived as far as England.

With 7:30, with the whistle, the Britannique infantry crosses the parapets bayonet with the gun and share with the attack of the unfavourable trenches. The men are lourdements charged with more than 30 kg with equipment.

The Germans accommodate them with shootings of Mitrailleuse S which mow them in mass. The officers are easily locatable and are particularly aimed. The Germans are amazed to see the British soldiers coming to the step. In fact, the English command feared that the troops lose the contact while running and while dispersing. Persuaded that German defenses had been destroyed by the bombardments, they required that the men advance with the step. At midday, the British staff cancels this order, and retains the following waves of assault: it, in the first day, 60.000 died, wounded there or disappeared, that is to say the most fatal day of the 20th century. sad record is doubtful and is subjected to controversy, the bombardment of Hiroshima successor in title the only August 6th, 1945 more than 80.000 dead…

When the British arrive at the German trenches, they are too very few to resist a counter-attack. Certain units like that, Canadian, from Newfoundland are eliminated to 91%.

The July 3rd, they consolidate their positions while seizing the wood of Mametz, in the south of Contalmaison: it is there that more than 1.000 prisoners are gathered in only one thicket.

French assessment

In ten days, the 6th French Army, on a face of almost twenty kilometers, had progressed on a depth which reached in certain items ten kilometers. It was entirely main plate of Flaucourt which had been assigned to him like objective and which constituted the principal defense of Péronne. It had made 12.000 prisoners, almost without losses, taken 85 guns, 26 minenwerfer, 100 Mitrailleuse S, a considerable material. It was more the nice success obtained since the Bataille of the Marne.

Transfer of German divisions

Thirty-five divisions are withdrawn from the sector of Verdun to reinforce the face in front of Bapaume.

Of July 20th at the end of August

The last week of July is of a heavy and dusty heat.

During this week, the Gough army, British reserve, get a foothold in the strong position of Pozières and begin again to the Germans, second once, Delville wood and Longueval. It fails, on the other hand, during wild combat which last during more than one week, on Guillemont.

From September mid-November

The rain starts to fall, making the battle field muddy.

The September 3rd, as of the first hours of the attack, Guillemont is pris.
the 4, in the south, Xe armed removes all the first position between Deniécourt and Vermandovillers. Soyécourt and Chilly is taken, with 2.700 prisoners; Chaulnes was directly threatened by Lihons.
The 6, the I {{Re}} French Army seizes most of Berny-in-Santerre.

Tanks

The September 15th appear the first Tanks which help to take Courcelette, Martinpuich, the wood of Foureaux, the village of Flers with 4.000 prisoners.

The 17, Armed Anger takes Vermandovillers and Berny.

26 finally, glorious day: the two allied ones take together Combles, the “key” between Bapaume and Péronne. In addition, completely in north, the British remove Thiepval after the use of mines. The offensive ceases.

February 24th 1917 the German army makes a strategic retirement while destroying very behind it to shorten its line of defense on the Ligne Hindenburg.

Consequences

In spite of the very weak territorial profits, the Germans were very impressed by the bombardment of preparation of the allies. It is following the battle of the Sum that the German High-command decided the underwater Guerre with excess, which caused the entry in war of the the United States (shipwreck of the Lusitania) and the swing of the power struggles.

Assessment

In 5 months, the allies increased by 12 kilometers to the north of the Sum between Maricourt and Sailly-Saillisel and 8 kilometers to the south. The so much awaited opening by which Joffre hoped to return to a mobile warfare is tranformée once more in a battle of wear, as in Verdun. None of the two main aims which are Bapaume and Péronne are reached.

The British made 31076 prisoners, taken 102 field guns, 29 guns heavy, 111 mortars and 453 machine-guns. The French made to prisionniers 41605 Germans (including 809 officers) and seized 71 parts of campaigns, 101 heavy parts, 104 mortars and 535 machine-guns.

For such results, the allowed losses are of 419654 men out of engagements for the British (including 127751 died and 78531 missings) and 202567 for the French (39187 died and 27501 missings). Thus, for similar results, the tactics of the French proved paying than that of the British whose men of the Kitchener army missed experiment still cruelly. The Germans as for them lost at least 437322 men.

To visit the battle fields

The battle of the Sum was of a considerable width, by the number of implied nationalities, deaths, missings or wounded on both sides and by the traces which it left in the ground even. A circuit of the memory makes it possible to collect and discover the principal sites of the battle fields of the Sum.

References

  • “the battle of the Sum” - '' oral Histoires of the First World War: War veterans of 1914 to 1918 '' with Bibliothèque and Files Canada

References

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