The Observer's Lewis Gun mounted on Scarff Ring in a De Havilland No.4 Bomber. September 1917.

Herbert James Gunn (British, 1893-1964), The Eve of the Battle of the Somme, 1916. Oil on canvas, 80 x 87 cm. The Fleming Collection, London

The Battle of the Somme took place between 1 July and 18 November 1916. It was one of the largest battles of the First World War, in which more than a million men were wounded or killed, making it one of the bloodiest battles in human history - by John Warwick Brooke (1886 - 1929), English

Men of the Wiltshire Regiment advancing to the attack through the wire, Thiepval, 7 August 1916.

Clearing of Captured Trenches The complete clearing up of captured trenches in which there are deep dug-outs requires a considerable amount of careful arrangement. The following method is suggested:- A party of men should go forward with each of the leading lines. The men with the first line should remain in the front trench captured. The men with the second line should remain in the second trench captured and so on. These men should act as ‘Caretakers’ to the trench until the arrival of the proper clearing up party. They should all be supplied with P[hosphorous] bombs, which they would thrown down into all dug-outs in their portions of the trench. It is believed that the 7th Division used these P bombs with great effect, as they set fire to the dug-outs and the occupants were burnt alive, asphyxiated or forced to come out. The ‘Caretakers’ should take no prisoners. The reason for this is that should the enemy’s barrage prevent our supporting lines following up the leading lines, captured Germans might be able to empower their guards and then shoot our leading men in the back. They actually did this more than once e.g. La Maisonnette, where a whole position was recaptured by the prisoners. Larger parties should advance with the supporting lines and carry out a systematic clearing up of captured trenches.

17/9/16 – II Corps – G. 339. Miscellaneous Notes gathered from Divisions who have taken part in recent offensive operations.

A British No 26 white phosphorous grenade, or P Bomb. Literally just a tin can filled with white phosphorous and intended to produce a smoke cover. Troops also found them very useful for clearing German bunkers.

Headquarters of all units and formations had the responsibility to collect reports and analyse them for lessons that could be learnt from each of the operations they undertook. Every so often documents such as this, compiled from subordinate units, would be disseminated by corps or army headquarters. They're not really official doctrine or rules to be followed, but points for discussion and analysis by commanders. This one covers the first couple of months of the Battle of the Somme.

One of the key issues new units ran into was not "mopping up" positions they'd just captured and a lot of effort was put into remedying this after 1916.

Unlikely friendships between two footbal clubs.

Leyton Orient 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 & Edinburgh’s Heart Of Midlothian 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

A friendship that dates back the early part of The Great War (1914 ~ 1918). Players of Hearts and then-named Clapton Orient led the way as the first professional footballers to volunteer en-masse for what became known as the “Pals’ Battalions”. Both Battalions suffered terrible losses and heavy casualties, with three Orient players and three Hearts players killed on the first day of the Battle of the Somme alone.

To celebrate 150 years of Heart Of Midlothian, next year the Scottish club will host Orient in a pre season friendly at Tynecastle Park. ⚽️

#OTD in Irish History | 18 November:

1657 – Death of Franciscan friar and historian, Luke Wadding, in Rome. Born in Co Waterford, Wadding founded the Pontifical Irish College for Irish secular clergy in Rome. In 1900, Wadding’s portrait and part of his library were in the Franciscan friary on Merchant’s Quay, Dublin. Through Wadding’s efforts, St Patrick’s Day became a feast day. 1703 – The Commons hears a petition from Sir Kildare…

View On WordPress

Stupid thing 😂😂😂

Un Long Dimanche De Fiancailles - A Very Long Engagement (2004)

Officers of the 2nd Kings Shropshire Light Infantry with skulls excavated during the construction of trenches and dugouts at the ancient Greek site of Amphipolis, 1916.

“We are not youth any longer. We don’t want to take the world by storm. We are fleeing. We fly from ourselves. From our life. We were eighteen and had begun to love life and the world; and we had to shoot it to pieces. The first bomb, the first explosion, burst in our hearts. We are cut off from activity, from striving, from progress. We believe in such things no longer, we believe in the war.”

- All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque

1916-Battle of Fromelles: 

British and Australian troops attack German trenches as part of the Battle of the Somme.

The operation was conducted by XI Corps (Lieutenant-General Richard Haking) of the First Army with the 61st (2nd South Midland) Division and the 5th Australian Division, Australian Imperial Force (AIF) against the 6th Bavarian Reserve Division, supported by the two flanking divisions of the German 6th Army. Preparations for the attack were rushed, the troops involved lacked experience in trench warfare and the power of the German defence was significantly underestimated, the attackers being outnumbered 2:1. The advance took place in daylight, on a narrow front, against defences overlooked by Aubers Ridge, with German artillery on either side free to fire into the flanks of the attack. Another attack by the 61st (2nd South Midland) Division early on 20 July was cancelled, after it was realised that German counter-attacks had already forced a retirement by the Australian troops to the original front line.

On 19 July, General Erich von Falkenhayn, head of Oberste Heeresleitung (OHL, the German army supreme headquarters) judged Fromelles to be the offensive he expected against the 6th Army. The attack gained no ground but inflicted some casualties; next day the failure was evident and a captured operation order from XI Corps revealed the limited nature of the operation. In 2012, a study of German records showed that no German division opposite XI Corps moved until four to nine weeks later; Falkenhayn sent divisions from the Souchez–Vimy area, 20 mi (32 km) south instead, which had been misinterpreted in earlier accounts. The attack was the début of the AIF on the Western Front and the Australian War Memorial described it as "the worst 24 hours in Australia's entire history". Of 7,080 BEF casualties, 5,533 were suffered by the 5th Australian Division; the Germans suffered 1,600–2,000 casualties and lost 150 prisoners.

Indian cavalry await the order to advance on the Somme, 14 July 1916

I always enjoy a little bit of logistics, so here's a little on the ammunition that a single British division was allotted for the opening of the Battle of the Somme.

Small Arms Ammunition (SAA): 170 per man 200,000 reserve per Brigade 5,500 per Lewis Gun 3,000 per Vickers Machine Gun 2,188,000 Divisional total

Mills Bombs (hand grenades) – 67,554 Rifle grenades – 5,180

There were 12 British divisions that attacked on that first day, so we're looking around the 25 million rounds of rifle ammunition for that attack alone.

The original bugle played by Drummer Jack Downs of the 10th Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers at Thiepval during the first day of the battle of the Somme sounds the advance once again during the remembrance anniversary.