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Military Re-enactment
- The Battle of the Somme
If ever there is an example of the futility of war,
it is the Battle of the Somme, where there were over a million
casualties in a fierce six-month battle which achieved virtually
nothing for either side. The battle, which took place between
July and November 1916, was an attempt by mainly British forces
to break through the German lines on a 15-mile front north
of the River Somme in France. The British officer in charge,
General Haig, was a former cavalry officer who believed that
a head on charge of infantry was the best way to attack the
enemy.
Haig thought that a week-long artillery bombardment of the
German trenches would destroy their defences and that the
British troops could over-run them with a minimum of casualties.
The Germans, however, had dug in deep, and were able to mow
down the advancing troops as they went over the top into No
Man’s Land. On the first day of the conflict alone,
the British army suffered 57,470 casualties, 19,240 of which
were fatal. After five months of constant conflict, they had
managed to advance a total of ten kilometres. Newhaven Fort
has arranged a day of activities to mark the 90th anniversary
of that terrible first day of the battle. There will be a
lecture by historian Andrew Denley, a military re-enactment
by the Croix de Lorraine Society, and an exhibition detailing
the role of Commonwealth soldiers in the war. Lest we forget.
AG
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