' Y' Sap Mine
A small group of Tyneside Irish make towards Contalmaison 1500 yards away
Ovillers
La Boisselle
La Boisselle
Lt Col Sandys
2nd Middlesex had
Almost 750 yards of
No-Mans-Land to
Before reaching the
German front line.
20th Tyneside Scots
23rd T/S
C&B Coy
followed by D&A
Coy
25th Tyneside Irish
British Front Line
27th Tyneside Irish
German Front Line
The Grimsby Chums
10th Lincolns
26th Tyneside Irish
24th Tyneside Irish
The Germans were fully aware that the attack was coming. It did not need a scientist to work that out. They had been watching the British build up for weeks. The question was when? This vital piece of information was supplied to them by none other than a British Staff Officer. When Rawlinson's eve - of - battle message had been sent over the telephone to a forward unit in the 34th Division at 2.45 am, a German listening post at the
Glory Hole had picked up the last part of it. It was sufficient to tell the Germans that the attack would begin that morning, and the message was passed on to all their nearby units. ( The Glory Hole was an area where the British and German trenches were only yards apart. It was an area full of shell holes and mine activity from previous fighting in the area as can be seen from the thumbnail image above )
As Zero hour approached a new danger menaced the British. The German artillery which had until now, been firing steadily on the British gun positions, the rear and the trenches. But once it was clear that the British were attacking, the German batteries opened their defensive barrage on the centre of No-Mans-Land and the British front-line system. The scale and accuracy of the German shell fire was a rude shock to the British, who believed that the seven day bombardment had destroyed most of the German batteries. Along the centre of No-Mans-Land a long line of bursting shells could be seen. The accuracy was astonishing; as each battery fired, the fountains of earth and black smoke appeared as straight and as evenly spaced a row of trees. The time had come to advance.
The sun was shining and the grass and crops were still tall in the fields. Officers blew their whistles, some walking along the top of the parapet encouraging their men. Those who had not already entered No-Mans-Land climed the wooden ladders leaning against the trench wall and made their way through the gaps in their own barb wire, forming up as directed. The tension amongst the men as they waited to go over must have been terrible.
page being constructed.
Glory Hole had picked up the last part of it. It was sufficient to tell the Germans that the attack would begin that morning, and the message was passed on to all their nearby units. ( The Glory Hole was an area where the British and German trenches were only yards apart. It was an area full of shell holes and mine activity from previous fighting in the area as can be seen from the thumbnail image above )
As Zero hour approached a new danger menaced the British. The German artillery which had until now, been firing steadily on the British gun positions, the rear and the trenches. But once it was clear that the British were attacking, the German batteries opened their defensive barrage on the centre of No-Mans-Land and the British front-line system. The scale and accuracy of the German shell fire was a rude shock to the British, who believed that the seven day bombardment had destroyed most of the German batteries. Along the centre of No-Mans-Land a long line of bursting shells could be seen. The accuracy was astonishing; as each battery fired, the fountains of earth and black smoke appeared as straight and as evenly spaced a row of trees. The time had come to advance.
The sun was shining and the grass and crops were still tall in the fields. Officers blew their whistles, some walking along the top of the parapet encouraging their men. Those who had not already entered No-Mans-Land climed the wooden ladders leaning against the trench wall and made their way through the gaps in their own barb wire, forming up as directed. The tension amongst the men as they waited to go over must have been terrible.
page being constructed.
Film 1 Film 2
Those who had been able to get out of their trenches and form up into waves without being fired upon started their advance. As far as the eye could see, lines of men moved forward, their rifles held across their chest or on their shoulders, bayonets glinting in the morning sunshine. One soldier described the following " As we advanced out of our trenches the sun was shining gloriously and it seemed as if every bird in the sky was trying to outsing the noise of the guns " At La Boiselle another competed with the din of the battle; the four Tyneside Scottish battalions' pipers played their men into action. South of La Boiselle, the Grimsby Chums ( see map above ) managed to beat the Germans to the Lochnagar crater. They lined the lip nearest to the Germans and consolidated this important foot hold in the German line. Gradually wounded and lost men from many units found their way in from the naked expanse of Sausage Valley and took shelter in the crater. The prominent feature soon became the target for German fire. One Grimsby Chum soldier described how " I saw a man near me, shot through the head. He rolled over and over right to the bottom of the crater."
The fortified village of La Boisselle was the key to the advance to Pozieres and any eventual breakthrough to Bapaume. The task of capturing the village had been given to Maj-Gen Ingouville-Williams's 34th Division. he had placed two Brigades in the front line whose duty it was to capture the German trenches on either side of the village and then the village itself. Behind the British front line, and separated from it by Avoca Valley was the Tara-Usna Line astride the main road. This is where the Tyneside Irish Brigade would leave their trenches. Their task was to pass through the leading brigades after these had captured the German trenches and the village and push into the rear helping to create the gap and therefore the push to Bapaume. In an unusual decision Williams the Divisional Commander, decided to move all twelve of his battalions simultaneously towards the German front leaving none in reserve. This meant that the Tyneside Irish Brigade had almost a mile of open country cross before they even got to the British Front line. The Irish would be exposed on the skyline as they advanced and then sitting targets as they slowly advanced down hill on the open exposed slopes towards the front. Their fate was sealed in a single moment of sheer madness.
The fortified village of La Boisselle was the key to the advance to Pozieres and any eventual breakthrough to Bapaume. The task of capturing the village had been given to Maj-Gen Ingouville-Williams's 34th Division. he had placed two Brigades in the front line whose duty it was to capture the German trenches on either side of the village and then the village itself. Behind the British front line, and separated from it by Avoca Valley was the Tara-Usna Line astride the main road. This is where the Tyneside Irish Brigade would leave their trenches. Their task was to pass through the leading brigades after these had captured the German trenches and the village and push into the rear helping to create the gap and therefore the push to Bapaume. In an unusual decision Williams the Divisional Commander, decided to move all twelve of his battalions simultaneously towards the German front leaving none in reserve. This meant that the Tyneside Irish Brigade had almost a mile of open country cross before they even got to the British Front line. The Irish would be exposed on the skyline as they advanced and then sitting targets as they slowly advanced down hill on the open exposed slopes towards the front. Their fate was sealed in a single moment of sheer madness.
