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\nBattle of the Somme<\/p>\n
\nBattle of the Somme<\/p>\n
The Battle of the Somme, which took place from July to November 1916, began as an Allied offensive against German forces on the Western Front and turned into one of the most bitter and costly battles of World War I.<\/p>\n
British forces suffered more than 57,000 casualties\u2014including more than 19,000 soldiers killed\u2014on the first day of the battle alone, making it the single most disastrous day in that nation\u2019s military history. By the time the Battle of the Somme (sometimes called the First Battle of the Somme) ended nearly five months later, more than 3 million soldiers on both sides had fought in the battle, and more than 1 million had been killed or wounded.<\/p>\n
Prior to the attack, the Allies launched a week-long heavy artillery bombardment, using some 1.75 million shells, which aimed to cut the barbed wire guarding German defenses and destroy the enemy\u2019s positions. On the morning of July 1, 11 divisions of the British 4th Army (many of them volunteer soldiers going into battle for the first time) began advancing on a 15-mile front north of the Somme. At the same time, five French divisions advanced on an eight-mile front to the south, where the German defenses were weaker.<\/p>\n
Allied leaders had been confident the bombardment would damage German defenses enough so that their troops could easily advance. But the barbed wire remained intact in many places, and the German positions, many of which were deep underground, were stronger than anticipated. Along the line, German machine gun and rifle fire cut down thousands of the attacking British troops, many of them caught in no man\u2019s land.<\/p>\n
By James Rogers<\/strong><\/p>\n A British soldier\u2019s battered World War I diary recounting the bloody Battle of the Somme has been discovered in a U.K. barn.<\/p>\n The diary, which was written in pencil by Private Arthur Edward Diggens of the Royal Engineers, starts on Feb.13, 1916 and ends on Oct. 11 of that year. His diary entry for July 1, 1916, describes the first day of the Battle of Somme.<\/p>\n “Something awful,\u201d he wrote. \u201cNever witnessed anything like it before. After a bombardment of a week the Germans mounted their own trenches and the infantry reckon that every German had a machine gun.”<\/p>\n Hansons Auctioneers in the U.K. will be auctioning the diary on March 20.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~<\/p>\n Diggens\u2019 diary was in a box found in a barn in Leicestershire, which is in England\u2019s Midlands region. Other unrelated military items were also in the box, according to Hansons. \u201cThe owner had no idea who any of the items related to but said his mother had been the recipient of old family heirlooms,\u201d said Hansons’ expert Adrian Stevenson, in a statement. \u201cIt\u2019s a complete mystery how this Somme diary ended up in the Midlands, particularly as Arthur was born in London. I\u2019m just relieved such an important piece of military history has been found and can now be preserved.\u201d<\/p>\n After its discovery in the barn, the diary was brought to a Hansons valuation event. Stevenson said that, when he saw that the diary ended abruptly on Oct. 11, 1916, he feared the worst for Diggens. \u201cBecause of this we feared Arthur must have been a casualty of the conflict but my research proved otherwise,\u201d he explained. \u201cNot only did he survive the First World War, he returned to his loved ones in England and became a husband and father.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n