First Day On The Somme - Serre & Beaumont Hamel

Serre & Beaumont Hamel

The northern flank of the Fourth Army's sector was held by Lt.Gen. Aylmer Hunter-Weston's VIII Corps. Three divisions of VIII Corps would attack on the first day while the fourth, the 48th (South Midland) Division, was holding the one-mile (1.6 km) gap between the Third and Fourth Armies.

The 31st Division had the job of forming the defensive flank of the Fourth Army. This involved driving east to capture the village of Serre and then turning north and consolidating. The 31st was the quintessential New Army division, made up entirely of Pals battalions such as the Accrington Pals. Small groups reached Serre village and another party penetrated 1¼ miles but by the end of the day they had been killed or captured and the division was back at its start line, having suffered 3,600 casualties.

The 4th Division attacked between the Serre and Beaumont Hamel and managed to capture the German strongpoint known as Quadrilateral Redoubt. However as this proved to be the only gain on this sector it was subjected to intense German counter-attacks and the position was abandoned on the morning of 2 July by which time the division had suffered 4,700 casualties.

The 29th Division, which had served with distinction at Gallipoli, attacked towards Beaumont Hamel. Part of the division's attack was captured on film by Geoffrey Malins and has since provided some of the most enduring images of the war, including the detonation of the mine beneath Hawthorn Ridge Redoubt which was blown at 7.20am. The British failed to completely seize the mine crater and the explosion alerted the defenders such that when the attack commenced, the infantry were mown down in no man's land without even reaching the German wire.

Another attempt was made mid-morning by two battalions from the 88th Brigade including the 1st Newfoundland Regiment. Because the communications trenches leading from the reserve line to the front line were blocked by dead bodies and unevacuated wounded from previous attacks, the Newfoundlanders were ordered to climb out of the reserve trench, 200 metres behind their actual start line, and advance in plain sight of the enemy. The regiment took many casualties before they even reached their proper start line, but the real slaughter began as they bunched up in order to pass through gaps in the British wire, allowing German rifles and machine guns to concentrate their fire. The few soldiers that survived that gauntlet and made it across no man's land were unable to pass through the thickets of German wire, which had been undamaged by the British barrage. The battalion suffered 684 casualties, 91% of its strength and the second worst battalion loss of the first day.