The Somme: Bloodiest Day in British Military History (WW1 Documentary)
On the morning of 1st July 1916 120,000 men left their trenches in a concerted assault against heavily defended German positions on the Somme Battlefields in France.
Despite intense artillery bombardments and thorough preparation, the day was largely a disaster, with close to 60,000 men becoming casualties. This video will explore just one battalion that day, the famous 1st Lancashire Fusiliers who assaulted the fortified village of Beaumont Hamel.
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Written Sources:
G. Ashurst, A Lancashire Fusilier at War
G. Malins, How I Filmed The War
M. Middlebrook, the First Day on the Somme
War Diaries of the Great War (CD-ROM Version)
M. Magniac, 29th Divisional Reports
Video/Audio Sources:
G. Malins, The Battle of the Somme (1916), NARA
G. Ashurst, Interview, IWMSA
R. Holmes, War Walks
A. Robertshaw, The Attack on Beaumont Hamel
General archive Sources:
National Library of Scotland (NLS)
Google Earth (Web & Pro Versions)
Imperial War Museum Sound Archive (IWMSA)
Bundesarchiv (German National Archives)
US National Archives (NARA)
National Archives NextGen Catalog
Maptiler Pro (Desktop Version)
Memory Map Trench Maps
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Credits:
Research: Dan Hill & Simon Bendry
Script & Narration: Dan Hill
Editor & Sound Design: Shane Greer
Thumbnail Design: Linus Klassen
Music & Sound Effects: Epidemic Sound
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😊😊
I met a soldier that survived the Somme. I was a firefighter called to assist an elderly person trapped/stuck in his bath back in 1979/1980 He was naturally embarrassed, but we were all humbled when he said "survived the Somme only to get stuck in the bath". In over 30 years of service this is one of a handful of incidents that stuck with me.
Lol
Huzzah!!!
@@badcampa2641I would like to thank you for taking the time out of your successful and extremely busy life to post your comment. I wish you all the best.
@@Imightbewrongbutsomightyou 😄
That is a delightful little story to tell, and it made me smile. Thank you for sharing this for us all
My great grand uncle was one of those Lancashire Fusiliers who died on that first day. He died of his wounds at a nearby aid station, which is where he was buried. As said in the video, this would have meant that he didn't get very far into no man's land before somehow getting back to the trench and then the aid station. He was only 17, a few weeks shy of his 18th birthday. I have visited his grave 3 times, the first time I was also 17. I felt immense guilt combined with gratitude, I wished that I could have let him live his life instead of me getting the chance to live mine. As weird as it may seem to some, a man who died 78 years before I was born, has been a major influence and source of motivation for me to live the life he should have had the chance to, had he not been born at the wrong time, instead he was unfortunate enough to be a part of that lost generation of heroes.
That's a great post sir, very touching and how fitting that you remember him and have visited his grave. I've also been to Beaumont Hamel and the rest of the battlefield. I've got an 18 year old son myself.
I’m 24 bro and I look back on shit like this and feel like a looser for not being the one who was there
Good man
You saying this, visiting his grave and living in a form of his guidance means his sacrifice was not in vain. His actions have a profound effect on you it seems, which has resulted in you being more insightful and appreciative. I’m sure he’d be proud of you.
wonderful story . thank you for sharing. may your uncle rest on peace .
I visited the sunken road in 2016, one hundred years after the event. To stand on the spot and reflect on what took place was an honor. Lest We Forget.
I visited there as well, very moving. I wish I had seen this amazing video before I went as I would have had a better idea of my surroundings.
Visited the sunken Rd as well 100th anniversary in 2016 there was a memorial stone to the lancashire fusiliers which was later smashed broken somehow 🤔 a couple years ago hopefully this has replaced.
@@andrewmiller6344 Yes, I saw that too. It was a lovely stone and I was shocked to see it broken the following year.
My grandfather fought and was wounded on the Somme and was laid in no man’s land for 48 hours before anyone could get to him. Eventually he was rescued and given treatment losing one of his legs and later in a Red Cross field hospital had the other leg below the knee removed as gangrene had set in. Word got to his mother to say that unless he gets proper treatment the chances are that her son will not survive and will die from his injuries. She then got in touch with the Red Cross and Salvation Army and between them they managed to get my grandfather back over to England where he got the treatment and care that he so badly needed. After the war my grandfather drove trams in Newcastle upon Tyne with the use of his false legs rubbing paraffin into his stumps to harden the skin as his false legs rubbed into him making him so sore. I never knew my grandfather as he died well before I was born, he was 57 when he died from a heart attack. But he would say that the top brass of the British army like Kitchener and Hague should have been put against a wall and shot for their actions leading to so many men’s deaths, like ordering men to walk and not to run and ordering attacks which they had been told by many officers on the ground that its senseless and thousands will die before they get five yards. He apparently hated them with a passion saying they were legalised murderers. We must never forget those brave men who fought and died during both world wars and in todays conflicts we must always remember and teach our children and their children that what they have today is through what they gave back then. Lest we forget. I have all his paperwork from his enlistment to when he was injured and demobbed which I’ve found to be fascinating and sad part of his life. I served with the Green Howards and when things got sketchy for me as daft as it sounds I’d look up and say.. Grandad we never met but please watch over me, and I’d like to think he was.
A gross over-simplification and heinously erroneous description of the British Army's execution of the battle.
Thanks for sharing your story, what was your grandfather's name?
My goodness.....what a story. I am very moved by it here in Brisbane Australia.
@@bravo2966 Thomas Patterson
@@PiperX1X Thank you, RIP Thomas Patterson, lest we forget.
My wife's grandfather, fought at the Somme, he was a 16 year old boy, who volunteered and he survived. We have the Parchment from the King, thanking him for his service, to Great Britain 🥇
if he would had know what the UK became, he had surrendered to the Germans, with a smile on his face!
@@Arltratlo Keep your dog-whistle Fascism in the bin of history, cheers.
Great -highly informative video;especially the Sunken Lane part. They never grew old....
My grandad was in the first world war and he was only 16. Because he was so fit he was used as a messenger between trenches, he told me and my brothers of the horrific things he saw like people blown to bits and soldiers coming over the trench without arms or legs falling back bleeding to death. We were only about 6 to 8 years old at the time and I still remember it now. Imagine the horror he experienced
Imagine the horror of waiting to be the next victim, truly horrific for anyone let alone a boy.
I wonder how many 16 yr olds would volunteer today if the same were to happen again? Not many I’d imagine for sure. Half of them don’t even know what’s going on in the world as it is, ask them what’s happening on reality tv series or PlayStation they’ll know everything!
@@PiperX1X Probably more than we would think because at 16 you think you're invincible until you're not.
@@PiperX1X 16 year olds have no place in a war zone!! 16 year olds today are more wise and wont blindly follow politicians war cries.
@@PiperX1X Every generation since 2500 BC has had elders who lamented that society was collapsing and that the young were all given over to "wine, love, and music," (to put it delicately.) Every generation. Forgeting the wasted time and wine, women, and songs they had in *their* young years. Youth surprise elders when they are called upon. They always have, and always will. As for world knowledge and awareness, how many American kids in 1940 could find Japan or Germany on a map... Much less Guadelcanal or Bastonge. Or Korea, or Vietnam on a map. Youth surprise their elders when tested. They always have. And when not tested, they have "wine, women, and song"... As we all did when we were their age. We millennials are now middle age. With kids in junior high and high school. A few million of us served in the two longest wars in American history, while trying to make career progress in the second worst economy in 120 years (2007-2011 or so.) And yet we were ridiculed beyond description, while walking around with shrapnel in us working 60 hour weeks for peanuts while rich boomers in beach houses took the profit our productivity. When I passed through those years, I vowed I would never ridicule the younger generations, but have faith that they would surprise us, as we all ultimately surprised our elders. Boomers are mostly retirees now... But they need to remember how the generation before viewed them in the 60s. Boomer kids were viewed as the end of Western Civilization... (As all kids have been by their elders since prehistory.)
My Grandfather went over the top at the Somme, he told me that they were an understrength battalion. The next day as the roll call was been taken the Officers and NCO's had tears streaming down there faces, there was only 73 left.
My grandad fought on the Somme - he began as a lance corporal but was promoted to second lieutenant when his regiment ran out of field officers
I met a WW1 veteran when I was still a child, he was the grandfather of my cousin. My family explained to me that he permanently damaged his lungs in a gas attack at the front line, when he was only 17 years of age. Years later, that thought still haunts me. At 17, I didn't have a care in the world, except for passing exams at school, and getting home after a party. He was also very confused when I met him, and he just walked out on a family diner, getting lost in our street. We went out to find him (which was exciting as a child), but much later, a farmer living in a street nearby brought him back to our house. That incident triggered a never-stopping interest in both world wars, as it brought home the insanity of it all. Young men having their youth, their innocence, and often their lives taken away from them. This veteran that I met had not only taken his youth away, but also his health. A couple of years ago, we visited Ypres (Ieper), and the Tyne-Cott cemetry. We looked and found the grave of Private E Grant, with the famous inscription from his mother "Would some thoughtful hand in this distant land, please scatter some flowers for me". Even though it was still winter, we found some flowers and put them on his grave. I still can't comprehend the insanity of all this, of war in general.
in1958 when I was 16yrs old my 3 mates and I were talking to this oldish man about early sixties ,he said he had been badly wounded in the war ,we thought it was WW2 but he told us it was WW1 ,he lifted his shirt and showed us his scars he was riddled with bullet scars it was a miracle he survived !
I am a history buff and this is one of the best videos I've seen.
Agree, very well done 🙏
Yes! This is the best of what KZhead contains.
I agree, it's so good
My mothers brother uncle Jimmy died on this day, he was with the `York's & Lancaster's ` he lied about his age , joining up at 16 yrs, he was 17 for just one week when he was killed. what a terrible waste of life.
God bless him..he was a true hero! If it wasnt for his sacrifice..the world would be a worst place..he bought us our freedoms and liberties we all enjoy...❤
@@tinyfriends9103 Thank you for your kind thoughts...
That man fought and died for ideas and beliefs that were not a waste. He lives on through all who remember what they fought and died for. RIP heroes
@@tinyfriends9103the world is a worse place - his death has proven to be for nothing. I’d prefer to be speaking German
My father's mother's brothers sisters aunties cousins niece made shell casings.
My Irish grandfather (1st Battalion - Royal Munster Fusiliers) took part in the battle of the Somme ,having previously fought in Gallipoli. He survived, went on to the south of Ypres. He then took part in the assault on the Messines Ridge and took part in the first battle of Cambrai. He died in 1976.
What a lucky man to come out of all that fighting alive.
Your Grandfather had “the luck of the Irish”. To have survived those battles is amazing.
Bravest man in the family
@@stevenclark8225 one of them, my father fought in the resistance in Poland after the Nazis invaded, took part in the Rising of Warsaw, survived the concentration camps for the last year of the war. My brother has just retired after 41 years in the Fire Service.
He was a failure,since all these attacks were disastrous
That was one heck of a documentary. Well done! I watch a lot of these things, and this is one of the best.
Yes. This was excellent.
I couldn't agree more! 👍
My grandfather on my mother's side fought at Somme. He always said that there was no glory in war just suffering. He lost his left eye and part of his left hand from a shell burst. He had health issues which plagued him until he passed away in 1988.
damn i was born on 88 may 5th also for WW2 in Holland its Vday wow
Excellent video, having just visited the Somme, Sunken Lane, Hawthorn Ridge, Beaumont Hamel memorial park etc. it goes a long way to filling in and linking all of these areas especially with the aerial graphics and trench lines. The personal accounts add so much to bringing valuable comprehension to such an awful event in our history. Thank you.
An ancestor on my mother's side, Ernest Luke Moss was one of those killed on the first day of the Battle of the Somme. Fighting with the 1st Batallion Somerset Light Infantry. He was 28. When i first learned about him i was a teenager. 28 seemed old. Now, many years later, i realise how young that is, how much of his life he sacrificed.
Thanks for keeping this alive ...what brave men they were! 😢
Pointless war and the Great British working class and many upper class officers died for absolutely nothing. The heart ripped out of a nation.
Only to get robbed and stabbed on their 100th birthday in London
@@michaeld4326 you know it👍this country and has/is run by criminals
They died to make rich folk richer… you obviously don’t understand the profits from war
Every war, my friend . Every war is pointless
@michaeld4326 they were fighting for better lives for the millions of pakis that'll call the UK home. I think of they knew what a shithole Europe would become all the armies would seize fighting cause there's no point fighting for it
Song "1916" by British rock band Motörhead: 16 years old when I went to the war To fight for a land fit for heroes God on my side, and a gun in my hand Chasing my days down to zero And I marched and I fought and I bled and I die And I never did get any older But I knew at the time, that a year in the line Was a long enough life for a soldier We all volunteered and we wrote down our names And we added two years to our ages Eager for life and ahead of the game Ready for history′s pages And we brawled and we fought and we whored 'til we stood Ten thousand shoulder to shoulder A thirst for the Hun, we were food for the gun And that′s what you are when you're soldiers I heard my friend cry and he sank to his knees Coughing blood as he screamed for his mother And I fell by his side and that's how we died Clinging like kids to each other And I lay in the mud and the guts and the blood And I wept as his body grew colder And I called for my mother and she never came Though it wasn′t my fault and I wasn′t to blame The day not half over and ten thousand slain And now there's nobody remembers our names And that′s how it is for a soldier
My great grandad joined the Leeds Pals and took part in the Somme. He survived the Somme, but was later badly wounded - he was leaning against a wall having a cigarette when an artillery shell exploded behind him... he got large shrapnel gouges in his back, legs and arse. My Grandad said even after healing, the gouges were so big you could fit your fist in them. He died in the 50's, his medical records account his death to these war wounds.
A friend of my father was in the machine gun corp. He was wounded the same way. Down his back, buttocks and his legs. He was a huge man, I remember seeing him in the wearing shorts in the summer of 76. He had the gouges in the back of his leg, deep enough to run your fingers through. My dad was a retired Sgt Major and this man was always a honoured guest at the annual regimental reunion, my dad told me he was 17 and a Sgt at the time he was wounded, had been in France for 18 months, none of his mates survived. They were all killed by the shell that wounded him.
Although Australians were not present at Beaumont Hamel or on the first day of the Somme, I visited that site in 2018 when touring where my great grandfather and great uncle had fought. I visited the sunken lane and the position from where the mine explosion was filmed, and the crater.
Amazing... what were your thoughts on the area.. our team were out there recently to research putting this together.
I realise that your great uncle and great grandfather are no longer with us but as a Brit may I offer you thanks for their service. My great uncle is still out there somewhere.
Visited the same spot spoke about where the camara man was. And hia view of the battlw amd explosion. The only one ever filmed ? Those poor lads we were told, had concerns of enemy machine guns in that area but were assured that after the explosion none would survive. A short distance from that area where they are filmed is a war cemetary Where most if not all were buried after being killed by enemy machind guns. Ps. You see these lads talking. In THEY SHALL NOT GROW OLD. and what they actually talk about. By lip readers
@@paulmcintyre7630I saw the cemetary. I also visited the Lochnagar crater on the Somme and those at Messines.
@@BattleGuideVT Yes it was very moving. You can't help thinking of the men killed. I also went to the nearby Newfoundland park.
good film. As a Newfoundlander, Beaumont Hamel holds a special place as our army suffered horrendous casualties that day with over 90% of the men who went over the top that morning not returning. Although our loss only made up 710 of the 5000+ British casualties that day in BH, those 710 came from a country that only had 240,000 and therefore there was hardly a family in the country who did not lose a family member or a friend. Even today on July 1st, as Newfoundlanders, now Canadians, celebrate Canada Day, we also remember our young men who never came home on what we still call Memorial Day. Hopefully in Lancashire, and other communities there are still those who remember those who died that day.
There is a wonderful statue of a moose atop of a memorial wall in honour of all the Newfoundlanders who made the supreme sacrifice including merchant seamen. I visited in September 2016 just over a century since the day the battle began but still within the time of the duration of the battle. Young Canadians act as guides and manage the Information Centre on their break from University studies. I took some photos I can pass on if you provide a email address. Best wishes from South Australia
Thanks for the offer. I have photos already. We have replica of it in St John’s too (and at other wwi Newfoundland battle sites). It’s actually a caribou and not a moose (as a kid I thought it was a moose too). The caribou (like a reindeer) was the symbolic animal for Newfoundland (sort of like the kangaroo for Australia). There is one now near Gallipoli too, the Newfoundland Regiment fought with the ANZAC forces there too.
Many people in Britain even now, those who know something about the Great War, are still aware of the sacrifice of Newfoundland on that day and later in the war. I've been to Newfoundland Park (I think it's called that, I may be wrong) at BH and seen the caribou memorial and walked over the ground from where the Newfoundland Regiment set off towards the German lines. It's a long way and many of the men were killed or wounded before they even reached the British front line as they had to jump off from the rear. It must have been devastating for Newfoundland with so many of their young men gone. The regiment did go on though. Respect and gratitude to our Newfoundland brothers.
WW1 is, without doubt, the most brutal, futile, and tragic war of all time... It was a lethal mix of stubborn Generals old tactics being used alongside modern weapons, horrendous living conditions, and medical facilities were still in their infancy... An entire generation wiped out in 4 brutal years 😳
You are wrong on all counts. WW2 was by a large margin the worst war in history. The casualties of civilians was higher than the military casualties.
Its great to be able to visualise these places. I like that you are showing the positions not just on the maps but on exact aerials of the battlefield.
This was simply amazing, the intricate detail, the obvious knowledge & presented in such an interesting format; thank you for posting!👍🇺🇸
Your editing was amazing at the 12:25 mark. Showing the map, informing us of the geography, and putting us in the eyes of what these soldiers saw in their last moments was very powerful
Extremely well put together documentary. I particularly liked the map graphics which helped to explain movements much clearer. A lot of material in there compared to the usual somme narratives that I hadn't heard before which is really refreshing. Well done, thank you👌
An outstanding film and a very poignant memorial to the fallen on both sides. Thank you for such an informative post and excellent video. 🇬🇧👌🏻
Thanks buddy, very informative & moving. From a former British soldier 🇬🇧🙏🏻
What an outstanding video you have presented, thank you! My Grandfather was from Accrington and was a medic with the ST. John's Ambulance Brigade. They served with the Accrington Pals throughout the war. I still have his whistle that was hit by a bullet and saved his life. He told me he was out trying to attend to the wounded in one attack when he was shot in the leg and fell into a shell hole half full of ice water (It was in winter). He was waist-deep unconscious and when he woke up he realized the cold water had helped to stop him from bleeding to death. There was a counterattack by the Germans and a wounded German soldier fell into the same shellhole. My Grandfather treated him the best that he could as the soldier had a belly wound. Anyhow, they exchanged tunic buttons before my Grandfather left him that night to crawl back to the British front line. I still have that German tunic button, along with a myriad of machine gun cap badges that he had obtained. He rarely spoke of the great war, only that it was a slaughterhouse filled with pain caused by incompetent leaders. He volunteered as a Medic in the Navy the same day that war was declared with Germany in 1939, and was at sea throughout the whole war serving on HMC Cossack, a destroyer until it was torpedoed in late 1941. HMC Cossack became famous for the boarding of the German supply ship Altmark in Norwegian waters, and the associated rescue of sailors originally captured by Admiral Graf Spee. My hero died at age 86. May God Bless him and all servicemen everywhere who have given their lives for their country.
Bud this channel is incredible. INCREDIBLE. I keep coming back for more. Simply brilliant.
Never seen such a concise account of this conflict. Thank you. As a Lancashire lad, it is very poignant. And your team, because of your research, have honoured the memory of all who took part. My Dad's uncle was shot in a leg, patched up, and sent back to the front line to be shot again in the leg. He came back. Not sure to be honest if it was this actual advance. But it was said that at the first wave of the advance the German machine gunners aimed low to cut the Lancashire lads down with leg wounds and create casualties that screamed in pain and slowed the others up. Not sure how true that was, but it made sense, and that was my great uncles' story. He was from Preston. Thanks again for your well presented portrayal of our Counties experience in this hell in earth. Bill Leyland, great nephew of Peter Leyland, shot twice but lived. x
It really is horrible to know that those poor sods only had minutes to live after being filmed. Like men waiting on death row for their execution. Heartbreaking.
You should not compare gallant men to criminals.
@@anthonycaruso8443 LOL. Seems it's you who has done the comparing to criminals, not me.
You can see the terror in some of their eyes. Haunting.
They were... if they didn't or could not leave the trench an officer killed them by firing at their neck and the family was informed they died as deserters. A lot of these "deserters" were very brave men who knew perfecty well they had no chance or because their feet had frozen. Same thing happened for the french and for the germans... my grand father explained to us that after the bombings they could not recognize the landscape: hills had vanished, some flat areas were transformed in hills, etc... he said during the bombing before the battles and the bombings during the battles, earth was mooving like waves on ocean. Now you can understand why so many soldiers suffered from bombshell and why so many never recovered their sanity... hatred kept the survivors, hate against their officers, not against the ennemy because they were so near they could see the "ennemies" were treated the same way. I had confirmation because my best friend's grandfather was a german soldier and said the same to his children...
By the way, my grand father had a great consideration for the scottish! He found them to be the bravest of them especially the bag pipers and those with the flag: when they were killed another scottish soldier took the banner or the bag pipe to replace them. One of them who spoke french explained to my grand father that the flag could not stand on the ground and bagpipes gave them courage.
A very powerful short documentary. Thanks for upload. RIP to all the brave men who died doing their duty. Lest we forget.
Very informative and well done. Thanks!. One of the best WW1 videos i have seen , well done..
Extremely well put together and very informative👍
Incredible production. Honestly one of the best history videos I’ve seen. Shed light on an event that has so much of the same information regurgitated by others. Thank you
Wow, thank you!
Beau travail, bien documenté et parfaitement illustré. Félicitations pour ce travail sur la bataille de la somme ! 👍
I just found this channel. Thank you so much for sharing this. Lest we forget.
One of the best documentaries I have seen about any battle, anywhere. I did know a little bit about The Sunken Lane, but this puts the location into the 'bigger picture '. You have certainly done your homework. Thank you. I think the saddest part of this story is that the men were running towards the ground where they are now buried. This happens of course.
One of the best WW1 videos i have seen , well done.
Powerful video. The narration of the testimony and the footage, especially of the headstones, was particularly powerful. It saddens how many were killed and how so many whose bodies are still in the Somme. Excellent video. I did not know much about the battle before and I found this video to be infornative and well made as always
Thank you for the kind words.
@@BattleGuideVT You're welcome. Happy Sunday!
By far the best video regarding this battle.... excellent use of overlays against the actual modern day maps.... superb. 😊
Absolutely excellent video! Brings everything together really nicely, plenty of detail, landscape analysis and research. Brilliant!
Glad you enjoyed it!
Thanks a lot, very good work combining old fotos and todays views. My grandfather fought there, too, on the other side, with Reserve Infanterieregiment 110, a Regiment from southwestern Germany, Baden. Being a Saxon (with a strong and unique dialect), he probably he felt somewhat exotic, especially as he was, by profession, a musical conductor, giving concerts in Bapaume during the easy times before the battle. (Brits in front, Wagner behind you). A good base camp to explore the field is the Camping gorund Bellevue in Authuille, friendly French staff, a restaurant at hand, just a (classic) walk to Thiepval.
@@paulrowe9604 true, my friend! Last year a friend and I visited the Somme, Meeting once a group of Brits. We had a very nice talk and, so to say, fraternized.
What a terrible world we live in. Unfortunately as we see today, it never changes.
It never will until the tribe are destroyed
Be Hopeful.More democracies created since WW1.Democracies,generally,do not start wars.
@@anthonycaruso8443 you heard of America
@@mattcarroll3469 Too right
@@anthonycaruso8443it looks like most major wars of the last 120 years are either started or at least involve a ‘’democratic’’ nation.
Best mini doc I've watched. I love how you made it into a parallel story of what happened then, to what it looks like today. It really puts it into perspective ❤
Thank you so much for all the hard work. You did another great one ! One of the best battle history channels if not the best out there. Keep up the great work.
Very informative and well done. Thanks!
Thank you for this and to your watchers for the stories/comments. Hope you don't mind me putting my little story here. Two of my great grandad's brothers crossed each other just before 1 July 1916, Jack Foster going away from the frontline and James going towards it. James was killed on day 1. My GGF was injured - left hand - at Gallipoli (no, not self-inflicted) he went back to the front after being treated on one of the ships, was sent to Egypt and was shot through the chest attacking Basra. The three of them met in north France and had a photo taken together. Tom Cook and his kid brother, Jack, survived the war. Sorry, I can't put the photos up here. Hope I didn't bore you all 😁
Not boring at all. Thank you for sharing.
Great history. ✝️🇬🇧
How terribly sad & heroic. God bless them in fields afar.
Was unaware of this battle and great loss of soldiers. Thank you for sharing 💯👍
I've got to say I've just discovered the channel and the in depth and respectful delivery is amazing to see. Thanks for keeping this history alive. The hard work to piece together these events is appreciated.
Much appreciated!
I did a battlefield tour with 2 Royal Regiment of Fusiliers, B coy, covering the Fusiliers involvement in these sectors. It was very humbling for everyone, especially the Sunken Road. As modern soldiers it was difficult to comprehend assaults expected of the soldiers fighting there and surprising how much evidence of the battles you can find on the ground. We even formed up as a company in the Sunken Road and walked the line of assault, it put in perspective the carnage they faced that day. Great video, thanks.
70,000 no known grave. That's so heart breaking. All those young lads never to become fathers, husbands, left children and wives behind. Overwhelming to say the least. It's too bad those in charge can't be charged. I wonder if they had to do it all over again, if things might have been different. In 1920 the next generation were being prepared for the upcoming conflict-WW2! How dreadful!
It was a cull of the young men of the day!…..all the generals and the politicians giving out the orders whilst smoking their cigars and drinking wine.
It's really crazy to think how humanity was trying hard to destroy itself in the first half of 20th century
Well said Sir what a complete F..k up
Where did you get the 70,000 from?
Thiepval Memorial perhaps? @@anthonyeaton5153
Fantastic content, it brought new dimensions and clarity of understanding to a much covered topic here on YT. Thank you for your efforts. RIP the fallen.
Awesome, thank you!
Nice work. Very interesting presentation with high visibility documentation. Congrats for historical research and sightseeing.
Thanks for keeping this alive ...what brave men they were! . Thanks buddy, very informative & moving. From a former British soldier .
I cannot tear up looking at old photos of soldiers whom we all know were most likely lost. EACH ONE OF THEM WAS LOVED BY SOMEONE! EACH ONE OF THEM WAS SOMEONE'S WORLD, 😢!
Instantly subbed to your channel during this first visit. So well explained and I love the presentation of your work. Thank you!
Welcome aboard!
My great uncle died that day in the attack on Hawthorn Ridge. Remembered now on the Thiepval memorial , one of so many casualties that terrible day.
My great grandfather was in this battle. His daughter (my Nan) brought me up. She told me many stories. He survived the war but died a few years later due to lung damage from mustard gas. A different era when people were strong and brave
How terrible would it be to survive the war only to die a few years later as a result of the damn war? Life is completely unfair sometimes.
@@nooodles939 ❤️
My grand father was gassed twice, he was never the same again, Born in 1892 enlisted in 1914 and died in 1964. The gassing left him with the use of one lung but what was worst were the life long psychological effects of what we now call PTSD. Horrific nightmares and flashbacks all his life. As a small child, I remember he would suddenly gaze off into no where for hours, his body was in the room but his mind was still on the Western Front. My nan would come and give him a big hug and a kiss when it happened and that would bring him back. He was a driver in the Royal Field Artillery and because of that had a life long love of horses.
@@bepolite6961war is horror. That’s a lovely story though, thanks for sharing your memories ❤
What an amazing video, truly. I didn’t want it to end. Rest easy, to the fallen..
Excellent documentary, one of the best I've watched regarding the Somme, thank you.
Wow, thank you!
My grandfather enjoyed a fine time in the army in India before the war but was a reserve when the war started and was straight back in. fought from day one to the end. At the end he worked on the graves for two years building those cemeteries and burying by hand thousands of comrades. Since he didn’t marry until after that he was an old father. He never spoke about it apparently (except to say he looked after the horses) but from my fathers personality i would say he was traumatised and traumatised his children somewhat. Two of them joined the army instead of national service and one loved it (paras) the other hated every minute and had to be bought out. I would say it takes three generations to recover from this crap that the elites put the working class through.
Combat ..War ..So emotional...No words and Small Explaining would Do.. And the Experiences are Contained..
And some prick in the Ukraine is doing just the same. Peace be unto you.
This was brilliant!! Very very well made! Should be on BBC!
Very informative, the excellent graphics really bring it to life and make it easy to understand the position on the ground.
Glad you enjoyed it!
Wonderful portrayal of the battle. Very interesting indeed. Great video. Thanks
A death every 4.4 seconds; and for what? Freedoms that we've given away.
Which freedoms are you referring to?
@@Nastyswimmer Ah; you must be younger than 70 years old, because if you weren't you'd know the full import of my statement.
@@NickPenlee I'm 63 so you'll need to explain.
@@NastyswimmerI had no freedom 2 years ago
@@seanmoran2743 A most profound statement! Thank you.
Excellent professionally produced documentary. I’ve been interested in the history of the western front since a small child and have seen this footage - and stills - many times, so I’m always very interested to see how technology has revealed more and more over time. In this instance the use of a drone to give the exact position of the sunken road relative to both front lines. Through the power of technology, Many of the participants have now been fully identified and few years a ago a lip reader deciphered some of the conversation in the sunken road - one chap lying down and smiling was apparently in a mortar team and so not 'going over the top'
10/10 for this video as it’s excellently written, concise and to the point.
awesome video! the graphics really helped me to understand how the battle progressed.
Eine beeindruckende Dokumentation!!! Hochinteressant und informativ. Vielen Dank dafür.
Danke :)
My grandpa was there but never said to anyone what happened. Not one person. He refused to talk about any of it. When asked why he would just look so sad
Great channel! keep up the super work! Very detailed with great story telling!
ablsolutely incredible presentation. Solid work
My dads old regiment the Lancashire Fusiliers as i am 75 and born in 1948 i am one of a fewer and fewer crowd who can say their dad was in WW1 he was a sergeant and was gassed and fought on the Somme .
My Mums sister, lost her Brother in Law, Robert Howat, Gordon Highlanders, on the Somme. His body was never found. My cousin was named after him. My goal is to play Amazing Grace on the pipes at Thiepval, where his name is recorded.
My da was in third battle Ypres Gordon's Survived .Dreadful place for slaughter and for what?
very powerful, thanks for sharing, we should never forget
Heartbreaking and profoundly cautionary. Was national curriculum when i was at school in the 90s. I hope it still is. Great video. Thanks
All brave men ,the bravery they showed will live forever, God bless each and everyone of them
4:53 Full combat line of advance….in kilts no less. As an ex Highland Regiment reservist, this image, for me, epitomizes not just the time spread, but the utter thoughtlessness of tactics and common sense of that whole war. Those young men so full of that rare depth of courage, audacity and determination to uphold what they believed to be true must never be forgotten. The reality gap between those men and their military and political leaders is truly abysmal. I suppose it still is. 8:32 My father was from Wigan. He enlisted in the Lancashire Fusiliers in 1936. Seeing no opportunity to learn a trade good for civilian life he transferred to the RAF where he the mastered aero engine trade. The Lanc’s were later wiped out. One of his many bits of luck (Dunkirk via Marseilles and Gibraltar, long story that! … B of B, Malta, North Africa, D Day +10, that allow me to write this. RIP Staff Sergeant L.T. Martlew RAF RCAF.
What I can't imagine, is that their commanders thought it was ok to attack a full 10 minutes from the time of the land mine going off, my great uncle Thomas was killed 1917 member of the Highland Light Infantry at 18 years of age RIP.
🏴🇬🇧🙏🏻
Very well done. Thank you!
a regiment of 800 men from the tiny Dominion of Newfoundland went over the top right next to the Lancashire 1st Battailon Fusiliers (the Newfoundlanders were also with the L1BF at Suvla Bay) at Beaumont-Hamel 710 of them were killed, wounded or went missing in action in that deadly hour the carnage at this particular location was so bad, that it's reported(by G.J. Meyer, A World Undone, 2006) that at dusk on July 2nd, German soldiers came silently out of their trenches to help the British gather their dead July 1st is Canada's national founding holiday. In the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, it is also Memorial Day.
Unbelievable that he didn't even mention the Newfoundland Regiment.
@@cam4772 Do you want him to mention every regiment that fought at the somme?
@@Luke_Sandy_High_Ground i want a complete picture of what happened at beaumont-hamel that morning…it’s actually a travesty to discuss that part of the somme on july 1 without discussion of what happened to the newfoundland regiment…. wiped out two thirds of a brigade wiped out, not just one outfit. that’s the whole story.
WW1 was Scary! Civil war tactics w/modern weaponry, poor men suffered& died for little or no gain 😢
New sub. The quality of this video is excellent, far superior to many I’ve seen that are produced by broadcasters. Looking forward to watching more.
Wow, thank you!
This is excellent. Well done.
My GrandDad and one Great Uncle were in the Somme. Grand Dad was in the Scots Guard I believe. He was a Machine Gunner and spent time as a sniper. Of the three brothers who went to war from the start 2 were at the Somme and one was at Galipoli. Another Great Uncle by marriage was with Allenby. They all survived the war. This was unusual because many of the Scots Regiments had very high casualties. The Uncle that served with Allenby contacted Malaria I believe and recovered but was disabled for the rest of his life. He still managed to run a large farm in Scotland.
Amazing that they all came home! God must have been watching over a Mother's prayers!
@@jimksa67 our family have often said that Devine Intervention kept our Grand Dad alive.
My grand father luckily survived and he had great admiration for the scots, they had more casualties because: they were brave and because they fought with the piper and the banner in front of them: when (not if...) the piper died another soldier took the bagpipe and played, same for the banner...
In the context of the Somme Battle, we have to remember it was the British Army's largest offensive in Europe in about 100 years, & also the new technology & state of the Army. The British Empire spent around 30% of it's GDP on the Navy, the Army was very small & underfunded in comparison (couple of hundred thousand incl reserves). Fighting the Boers in South Africa had given it some limited modern combat experience, but nothing like the conditions of the Western Front. The first 2 years of the war were a massive learning curve, with the British Empire Army still trying to adapt, be trained & equipped enough for the new conditions, & logistics for such a massive undertaking. The British Empire Army High Command were far from 'Donkeys', but they did have serious shortcomings due to lack of experience, institutions, training, & lack of equipment. Most of the soldiers with experience of the 'new' war were either still in the line, captured, or dead. The masses on new divisions only had basic tactics training, the main impetus was to get them into the line. The German & French armies were far larger (by millions) at the start of WW1, & most importantly, far better equipped with artillery, especially the heavier calibres, which were vital. The German fortifications were a new problem the British Empire army wasn't really equipped to deal with in 1916, but HAD to attack before they were ready, to help relieve the French at Verdun, & take the war (even if just attrition) to the Germans. The British Empire Army needed about 13 heavy guns per mile to deal with the German fortifications, but they only had about 8. As they'd only had about 5 up until then, they thought it would have to do. The British artillery also wasn't trained as well as the French, i.e not having 'individual spotters' who would confirm if strongpoints had been hit or not, & correct fire with heavy guns. The other thing was technology, the fuses hadn't been designed yet to go off at the right height, to destroy the wire. This is the main reason the French on day one of the Somme did so much better, they had the equipment, & far more experience to incorporate the lessons learned. The Allies also couldn't use gas effectively as the wind blew in the wrong direction most of the time. The troops were also not thought of as well trained, so would need simple tactics to keep them in formation & be effective, which is why they used the formations they did (coupled with the thinking the Germans would have been neutralised). Note that DESPITE developing Stormtrooper tactics, the German Army in 1918 STILL used massed waves attacks, so they were by no means uncommon, especially in 1916. Stormtrooper, infiltration & clearing trenches & dugouts properly tactics hadn't been developed. There were meticulous plans for 'after' the British Empire Army had got through the German front line, but that's where the whole plan fell down. Weapons to beat the trench deadlock, like tanks, were being developed, but due to Verdun, the British Empire Army had to attack ASAP. There was LARGE scope for improvement, such as rushing forward (like the Irish battalions did), halving the bombardment but making it last twice as long to disrupt supplies & morale & attacking earlier then 10 minutes after mines had been blown - - This was a major failing, & relatively simple changes MAY have may a BIG difference. However, the main issue was the 'maths' of war meant the advantage lay with the fortified defenders. We have to give credit to the German Army, it's army was the best in the world overall in 1916, & it had the right equipment & training. Units (& supporting artillery) were kept in the same place on the line, so they knew every inch of ground. It had made the best use of it's time in the Somme area to fortify it. Going up against these veteran troops were large numbers of new, untried British Empire troops. The British Empire Army did sadly pay a huge toll for it's lack of unpreparedness, but that was the price paid for investing most of it's resources in the Navy, which then gave it the logistics & blockade capability to help it win the war. From the Somme, better combined arms tactics, artillery, tanks, APCs, SPGs, aircraft, communication, weapons etc were all developed, which helped win the war.
I have read your synopsis but do not fully understand it due to being a complete novice. I am very, very impressed with your knowledge & just wanted to acknowledge your knowledge. I will read it again & glean what I can from it. Thank you.
Put simply. The Germans on so many levels were superior to our forces in numbers, equipment and technique. Our men were brave lions. The navy had more funds &, fundamentally helped but our troops on the ground suffered through lack of funding, resources & experience. How sad. My grandfather was there (Ypres) at age 14. God bless them.
Congratulations on this Superb little production
At 11:11 showing the location as it is today then switching to 1916 as the bomb exploded was seamless and impressive. It gave me goosebumps and it felt like I transported back in time to see firsthand the explosion - amazing work
My moms uncle fought at Beaumont hamel with the Lancashire fusiliers, he was wounded badly and managed to crawl back at night so my grandad told me , strange thing is my family are from Birmingham,I know this is true cause I’ve seen the photos of him wearing the uniform and then him wearing a wounded badge in civilian dress , he was one of the lucky ones.
Hard to believe you can present on Beaumont Hamel without speaking about the Newfoundland Regiment.
As a Newfoundlander, I stopped watching after I read this comment. I know NL played a small role in the war, but not in that battle, not on that day.
The British snob class structure looked down on the 'colonists' to whom they owe a lot.
@@jimksa67 Now both countries have gone to sh*t.
Guys this video is about the 1st wave assault of the Lancashire Fusiliers. 29th Division consisted of 12 Battalions, all of whom played a major role that day. Do you feel the same about the other 11 we did not mention? We will no doubt cover the assault of the Newfoundlanders in due course, but it wasn't filmed and so it made much more sense to cover this action in which we actually had footage to explore first.
@@BattleGuideVT Thanks for the response. That's a good point about the footage. I did watch the entire video after and found it fascinating and learned a lot. I'm from Newfoundland where the legacy of Beaumont Hamel can't be overstated. As you likely know, July 1st is Canada Day. Newfoundland didn't join Canada until 1949. To this day in Newfoundland July 1st is Memorial Day. It's a dual official holiday. Many observe Memorial Day in the morning and there is a ceremony at the National War Memorial and then Canada Day festivities begin after that. That day shaped our history like no other. The war debts from the Great War crippled out economy and set the Dominion on a course towards confederation with Canada 33 years later. All that said, I knew little of Beaumont Hamel outside of the stories of the Royal Newfoundland Regiment. I learned a lot in this video. A broader perspective is important. Cheers for that!
I watched the original documentary that forensicley studied this famous footage, in relation to the modern landscape & worked out units & individuals in it. I find this generation fascinating & as many of us I have family that served in WW1 . This post is amazingly well done & adds to the documentary mentioned that was done for the centenary ( Which I highly recommend) & adds a personal touch to the men that fought in the terrible slaughter that was the Somme. Very sobering piece of a very brave generation that found themselves caught up in a War fought on a unimaginable industrial scale. Thank you for doing this. Lest we forget ❤️
Thank you for sharing, much love. xx ❤
The truly awful scandal of the ineffective bombardement ; going on for literally days most of it fell nowhere near the target area and the German trenches were pretty well unaffected by the entire exercise
Stop beeing stupid! The bombings were effective and many soldiers were buried alive in the trench, germans, french, and anglo- saxons. You should visit the battlefields, in Somme, in Champagne and near Verdun, the towns were rebuilt ( Reims, Verdun etc...) the villages were not. Nowadays bombs still resurface in towns and country.
Today I have several good friends in England and the usa. That is what we must protect 🏴❤️🇩🇪.
Brilliant historical video. I don't know much about world war 1 but thank you for your efforts to share the story.
Very good video. Well put together. I learned a lot from this so thank you.
My Grandfather fought for the Canadian s He was born in London in 1890 He fought in the trenches and survived the War only. to die at 38 years old of hardening of the arteries which fighting in the trenches for 3 years caused