The story of the great war
William Stanley Braithwaite
Paperback
(RareBooksClub.com, May 22, 2012)
This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1919 Excerpt: ...line, 3,500 prisoners captured with a quantity of material and machine-guns. But the British had lost 50,000 men. They paid this price for a mile of territory. The French action in the whole Somme battle was mainly in support of the British. But the seasoned veterans under General Foch's command swept forward five miles on this first day, capturing many villages and 6,000 prisoners. They struck east towards Peronne, and north towards Combles. After the first day of fighting General Haig, the English commander, was confronted with a perplexing problem. Severe as the opening bombardment had been, the German positions were not destroyed. The attacking waves of British infantry were met and separated by the artillery barrages of the Germans thrown from the heights they held, which commanded the whole area of fighting. Machine-gunners came out of the dugouts with their deadly instruments and mowed the British down like grain. General Haig's problem was whether, after the failure to smash through, on a wide front, he should fight an infinite series of local engagements and so eat his way into the German systems of forts, trenches and redoubts, and force a retirement. On the 2nd of July the British commander declined to burrow a hole through the two wings of the German front, get at the enemy's rear and thus loosen his grip on the territory between the two wings. The Battle of the Somme became what is known as a battle of attrition, that is to wear and tear down the enemy's man power by forcing him to throw in reserves that could not be replaced. For nearly two weeks after the battle began the British were engaged in clearing up the territory between the captured first-line German trenches and the second line that was to be attacked. Now began that long series of ...