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THE SHORT BUT TERRIBLE RUSH...”
1 July 1916
Diary of Private William Roberts, 18th Durham Light Infantry
Opened a violent bombardment on the German lines. 7am a village blown up by our mine and 7.30am advance started. We were the 4th Battalion to go over, which we did about an hour later.
The short but terrible rush through the erce curtain re with men falling on all sides I shall never forget. High explosive shells fell all round us. The sights I saw are too terrible to write about and men almost blown to pieces were lying side by side.
Unable to proceed further, the order to retire was given and I thanked God that I came through the terrible ordeal unhurt.
I went to work in our front line at night but had to come away as it was almost blown to pieces.
There again I saw dead and wounded lying side by side. Some were moaning and others had so far lost their reason that they were laughing and singing.
Killed at Etrun, Pas-de-Calais on 15 June 1917, age 23
“The memories of those heartbreaking days will last forever. The name Serre and the date July 1st is engraved deep in our hearts, along with the faces of our ‘pals’, a grand crowd of chaps. We were two years in the making and ten minutes in the destroying.”
A soldier of the 14th Royal Irish Rifles recalls:
"There was a carpet of dead and dying Ulstermen and Germans. Blood lay like a layer of and, do you know, you couldn't tell one blood from the other..."
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2016/07/04 08:51:18
I always find the past so much more alive and relatable in colour. Thankfully, there are people out there who provide colour for shots like these, to bring to life those who passed away.
Troops of the 10th Battalion, Royal Fusiliers (37th Division) marching to the trenches, St Pol (Saint-Pol-sur-Ternoise), November 1916.
Somme, In late July 1916. The 23rd RI fighters in a trench.
The Battle of Ancre Heights 3 - 11 November 1916: Canadian troops returning from the trenches pass pack mules loaded with ammunition on a muddy road to a forward area.
German soldier with a telephone wire drum in shell ruined and deserted Peronne, 1916.
A group of pilots of No 303 Polish Fighter Squadron RAF walking toward the camera from a Hawker Hurricane after, purportedly, returning from a fighter sortie.
A Boche prisoner, wounded and muddy, coming in on the 13th
British soldiers eating hot rations in the Ancre Valley during the Battle of the Somme, October 1916
British soldiers walking across part of the Somme battlefield. 1916.
Three officers making themselves comfortable, near Miraumont-le-Grand, France. Steel helmets had many more uses than the War Office might have intended.
Whilst not in colour, the slightly less cheerful side. Spoilered for the sensitive.
Spoiler:
British casualties The Somme
Entering No Man's Land during the Battle of the Somme, 1916
British troops are seen in no man's land advancing on enemy lines during the Battle of the Somme during World War I
Somme German dead in shell hole between Montauban and Carnoy Jul.1916
Royal Army Medical Corps men search the packs of the British dead for letters and effects to be sent to relatives after the Battle of Guillemont, Somme
The bodies of men killed in fighting near Guillemont Farm lie with their grave markers ready for burial.
Never again.
This message was edited 3 times. Last update was at 2016/07/02 20:21:56
Please don't attach non wargaming images to Dakka. You nned to use off site hosting and image tags if you wish to share any such images.
Reds8n
The poor man really has a stake in the country. The rich man hasn't; he can go away to New Guinea in a yacht. The poor have sometimes objected to being governed badly; the rich have always objected to being governed at all
We love our superheroes because they refuse to give up on us. We can analyze them out of existence, kill them, ban them, mock them, and still they return, patiently reminding us of who we are and what we wish we could be.
"the play's the thing wherein I'll catch the conscience of the king,
An interesting article from the German perspective, apparently some historians argue that the German army actually emerged from the Somme a more formidable opponent than before.
Please don't attach non wargaming images to Dakka. You nned to use off site hosting and image tags if you wish to share any such images.
Reds8n
Mmmmm not really understanding this? Only my images removed, are you removing all non war games images, because there are thousands of them on the off topic forums? Or have you got a problem with my images?
Ie Do NOT put them onto our system using the attachments feature.
If you wish to share any images like this you need to link to an offsite host -- like Mr Ketara has done above.
The poor man really has a stake in the country. The rich man hasn't; he can go away to New Guinea in a yacht. The poor have sometimes objected to being governed badly; the rich have always objected to being governed at all
We love our superheroes because they refuse to give up on us. We can analyze them out of existence, kill them, ban them, mock them, and still they return, patiently reminding us of who we are and what we wish we could be.
"the play's the thing wherein I'll catch the conscience of the king,
Wishing for the deaths of others isn't polite, remember rule 1
This message was edited 2 times. Last update was at 2016/07/20 23:30:01
Kote!
Kandosii sa ka'rte, vode an.
Coruscanta a'den mhi, vode an.
Bal kote,Darasuum kote,
Jorso'ran kando a tome.
Sa kyr'am nau tracyn kad vode an.
Bal...
Motir ca'tra nau tracinya.
Gra'tua cuun hett su dralshy'a.
Aruetyc talyc runi'la trattok'a.
Sa kyr'am nau tracyn kad, vode an!
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Mental illness caused by an extremely traumatic event. 100 years ago it was simply considered cowardice and a lot of armies shot the victims for this reason.
1. Is it the same thing as Shellshock?
2. Is the WW1 the first time the PTSD is discovered?
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Mental illness caused by an extremely traumatic event. 100 years ago it was simply considered cowardice and a lot of armies shot the victims for this reason.
1. Is it the same thing as Shellshock?
2. Is the WW1 the first time the PTSD is discovered?
Soldiers from the American Civil War were sometimes diagnosed with "Soldier's Heart", which was there term for PTSD (or at least one form of it) at the time.
"A guy who don't know the fearsomeness of money shouldn't be offering up opinions about society." -Kaneo Takarada, Kill la Kill
Big Mek Sparkz and his Band of Sparky Ting Huntas: 4,000 points
Our Lady of the Generous Heart: 2,000 points
Thousand Sons: One unbuilt Daemon Prince
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Mental illness caused by an extremely traumatic event. 100 years ago it was simply considered cowardice and a lot of armies shot the victims for this reason.
1. Is it the same thing as Shellshock?
2. Is the WW1 the first time the PTSD is discovered?
Soldiers from the American Civil War were sometimes diagnosed with "Soldier's Heart", which was there term for PTSD (or at least one form of it) at the time.
I'm told my grandfather was deployed in the Somme by questionably reliable sources - is anyone aware of publicly accessible deployment lists or similar? Though he survived I never met him but I figure it'd be nice to have some context.
Some people find the idea that other people can be happy offensive, and will prefer causing harm to self improvement.
malamis wrote: I'm told my grandfather was deployed in the Somme by questionably reliable sources - is anyone aware of publicly accessible deployment lists or similar? Though he survived I never met him but I figure it'd be nice to have some context.
Sadly whilst its relatively easy to find those who died its difficult to find records on those who survived. You can find relatives who died on the war graves commissions site.
Its an excellent service you can easily loose a few hours finding info on family members. I just recently found an uncle of my wifes grandmother who was killed on the first day of the somme. We were given a medal, 'mary tin' and a few badges belonging to him by a far out relative, sadly a medal and death penny are missing and we cannot find any photos of him. WW1 medals are inscribed with great details for research.
Unfortunately and somewhat ironically most of the service records relating to Commonwealth soldiers in ww1 were lost in a bombing raid during ww2! I think only around 40% survived and most of these are not available digitally. Locally here i know regimental museums have some pretty good records. Its in the centre of Armagh town and the curator is extremely helpful. I'm imagining most military museums will help the amateur researcher!
The legion are doing another run of the Somme poppies. Each made out of spent artillery fuses with the centres made from soil from the Somme region. A fantastic piece of art.
EAT - SLEEP - FARM - REPEAT 
4945.jpg)
5000 
Big Mek Sparkz and his Band of Sparky Ting Huntas: 4,000 points
Our Lady of the Generous Heart: 2,000 points
Thousand Sons: One unbuilt Daemon Prince 