The Somme - From Defeat to Victory
Encyclopedia
The Somme – From Defeat to Victory is a BBC
documentary film
made to commemorate the 90th anniversary of the Battle of the Somme.
and was intended to go beyond the standard histories that end with the British defeat at the end of the first day to demonstrate how the British learnt from their failures and developed radical new tactics that would help the allies to win the war. The film mixes dramatic re-enactments and archive footage augmented by readings from the diaries, letters and reports of the men involved.
was one of the Pals Battalions that had been created to allow friends and colleagues to fight side-by-side. On 21 June 1916, Cpl. Stephen Sharples quells the fears of Pvt. Walter Fiddes and best friend Lnc-Cpl. Thomas Mellor that the war would be over before they could see action with the announcement that their battalion would soon take part in the big push. The three men were among the volunteers that had joined up in 1914 in response to Lord Kitchener
’s call to make up the bulk of the British Army
. In response to pleas for relief from the besieged French troops at Verdun
an Anglo-French diversionary attack is to be launched at the River Somme. German battalion commander Gen. Baron Franz von Soden relies on the experience of veterans such as Cpl. Friedrich Hinkel against the biggest British military deployment in the war thus far. The British go over-the-top at 7.30 am on 1 July expecting little resistance after 7 days artillery bombardment of enemy positions but are met by machinegun fire within minutes.
Cpl. Hinkel faces the 36th (Ulster) Division, which is quickly forced into retreat while 500 yards away Cpt. Thomas Tweed leads the 2nd Salford Pals’ B-Company in an attack on the Thiepval
Plateau that sees the death of Mellor. The Ulster division regroup to take the stronghold of the Schwaben Redoubt
and Maj-Gen. Sir Edward Percival recommends committing the reserves to secure the position and take Thiepval from the north but corps commander Lt.-Gen. Sir Thomas Morland
rejects the new plan. With two-thirds of his company dead or wounded Tweed takes refuge for 2-hours behind a bank in no-man’s land. Sharples disappears attempting to capture the enemy machine gun nest and Fiddis is wounded taking a message to battalion requesting withdrawal. Moorland, some 3-miles from the front, follows the failure of the first and second attacks on Thiepval by sticking to the battle plan and ordering a third. The more adaptive German commanders retake the Redoubt rescuing Hinkel’s position and forcing the Ulstermen into a bloody retreat.
The bloodiest day in British military history ends with 19,240 dead and 37,000 wounded devastating communities like Salford
but this was just the beginning of a battle that would last for 4-months. The British learn from their failures and over the following month they make steady gains along the front by removing inflexible commanders like Morland and delegating command decisions to officers on the spot such as Brig-Gen. Herbert Shoubridge who commands the September 26 attack on Thiepval spearheaded by Lt-Col. Frank Maxwell V.C. Artillery launches the innovative creeping barrage with the 12th Battalion, Middlesex Regiment
following immediately behind to easily overrun the first German trenches but failing to keep up Maxwell’s men comes under fire from Infantry Regiment 180. The slaughter is however averted when British tanks take to the battlefield for the first time forcing the terrified German’s into retreat only to be ditched and disabled a short time later.
Soden is distracted at this key moment by an official visit from the Kaiser’s adjutant Gen. Hans von Plessen and when communication lines are cut he is rendered helpless. Meanwhile the British General’s were kept up to date reports by artillery observers and air observations allowing them to order re-bombardment of enemy held positions. Maxwell had moved forward with his men to set up a command post at the Thiepval Chateau from where he makes key tactical decisions. With the heavily depleted infantry rapidly running out of officers it is left to the innovation of men from the ranks like Pvt. Frederick Edwards to secure a British victory. Plessen waits for six hours at Soden’s HQ for news of the attack by which time it is too late to order a counterattack and Thiepval is lost. The victory allows the British to secure all their objectives from July 1 and the French at Verdun are able to launch a counter-attack to push back the Germans. Thiepval is now the site of the Thiepval Memorial to the Missing of the Somme commemorating the 70,000 of the 432,000 British casualties with no known grave including Sharples, Mellor and Fiddes.
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
documentary film
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
made to commemorate the 90th anniversary of the Battle of the Somme.
Production
The film was produced in conjunction with the Open UniversityOpen University
The Open University is a distance learning and research university founded by Royal Charter in the United Kingdom...
and was intended to go beyond the standard histories that end with the British defeat at the end of the first day to demonstrate how the British learnt from their failures and developed radical new tactics that would help the allies to win the war. The film mixes dramatic re-enactments and archive footage augmented by readings from the diaries, letters and reports of the men involved.
Plot synopsis
The 16th (Service) Battalion (2nd Salford), Lancashire FusiliersLancashire Fusiliers
The Lancashire Fusiliers was a British infantry regiment that was amalgamated with other Fusilier regiments in 1968 to form the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers.- Formation and early history:...
was one of the Pals Battalions that had been created to allow friends and colleagues to fight side-by-side. On 21 June 1916, Cpl. Stephen Sharples quells the fears of Pvt. Walter Fiddes and best friend Lnc-Cpl. Thomas Mellor that the war would be over before they could see action with the announcement that their battalion would soon take part in the big push. The three men were among the volunteers that had joined up in 1914 in response to Lord Kitchener
Herbert Kitchener, 1st Earl Kitchener
Field Marshal Horatio Herbert Kitchener, 1st Earl Kitchener KG, KP, GCB, OM, GCSI, GCMG, GCIE, ADC, PC , was an Irish-born British Field Marshal and proconsul who won fame for his imperial campaigns and later played a central role in the early part of the First World War, although he died halfway...
’s call to make up the bulk of the British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
. In response to pleas for relief from the besieged French troops at Verdun
Verdun
Verdun is a city in the Meuse department in Lorraine in north-eastern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department.Verdun is the biggest city in Meuse, although the capital of the department is the slightly smaller city of Bar-le-Duc.- History :...
an Anglo-French diversionary attack is to be launched at the River Somme. German battalion commander Gen. Baron Franz von Soden relies on the experience of veterans such as Cpl. Friedrich Hinkel against the biggest British military deployment in the war thus far. The British go over-the-top at 7.30 am on 1 July expecting little resistance after 7 days artillery bombardment of enemy positions but are met by machinegun fire within minutes.
Cpl. Hinkel faces the 36th (Ulster) Division, which is quickly forced into retreat while 500 yards away Cpt. Thomas Tweed leads the 2nd Salford Pals’ B-Company in an attack on the Thiepval
Thiepval
The Thiepval Memorial to the Missing of the Somme is a major war memorial to 72,191 missing British and South African men who died in the Battles of the Somme of the First World War between 1915 and 1918 who have no known grave...
Plateau that sees the death of Mellor. The Ulster division regroup to take the stronghold of the Schwaben Redoubt
Schwaben Redoubt
The Schwaben Redoubt lies between the Thiepval Memorial and the Ulster tower. It was a German strongpoint on the western front in the First World War. Consisting of a mass of gun emplacements, trenches and tunnels, this warren of defensive works helped anchor the German line on the Somme until late...
and Maj-Gen. Sir Edward Percival recommends committing the reserves to secure the position and take Thiepval from the north but corps commander Lt.-Gen. Sir Thomas Morland
Thomas Morland
General Sir Thomas Lethbridge Napier Morland KCMG, DSO was a British general during the First World War.-Biography:Born in Montreal, Canada East, Morland was the son of Thomas Morland and Helen Servante...
rejects the new plan. With two-thirds of his company dead or wounded Tweed takes refuge for 2-hours behind a bank in no-man’s land. Sharples disappears attempting to capture the enemy machine gun nest and Fiddis is wounded taking a message to battalion requesting withdrawal. Moorland, some 3-miles from the front, follows the failure of the first and second attacks on Thiepval by sticking to the battle plan and ordering a third. The more adaptive German commanders retake the Redoubt rescuing Hinkel’s position and forcing the Ulstermen into a bloody retreat.
The bloodiest day in British military history ends with 19,240 dead and 37,000 wounded devastating communities like Salford
County Borough of Salford
Salford was, from 1844 to 1974, a local government district in the northwest of England, coterminate with Salford. It was granted city status in 1926.-Free Borough and Police Commissioners:...
but this was just the beginning of a battle that would last for 4-months. The British learn from their failures and over the following month they make steady gains along the front by removing inflexible commanders like Morland and delegating command decisions to officers on the spot such as Brig-Gen. Herbert Shoubridge who commands the September 26 attack on Thiepval spearheaded by Lt-Col. Frank Maxwell V.C. Artillery launches the innovative creeping barrage with the 12th Battalion, Middlesex Regiment
Middlesex Regiment
The Middlesex Regiment was a regiment of the British Army. It was formed in 1881 as part of the Childers Reforms when the 57th and 77th Regiments of Foot were amalgamated with the county's militia and rifle volunteer units.On 31 December 1966 The Middlesex Regiment was amalgamated with three...
following immediately behind to easily overrun the first German trenches but failing to keep up Maxwell’s men comes under fire from Infantry Regiment 180. The slaughter is however averted when British tanks take to the battlefield for the first time forcing the terrified German’s into retreat only to be ditched and disabled a short time later.
Soden is distracted at this key moment by an official visit from the Kaiser’s adjutant Gen. Hans von Plessen and when communication lines are cut he is rendered helpless. Meanwhile the British General’s were kept up to date reports by artillery observers and air observations allowing them to order re-bombardment of enemy held positions. Maxwell had moved forward with his men to set up a command post at the Thiepval Chateau from where he makes key tactical decisions. With the heavily depleted infantry rapidly running out of officers it is left to the innovation of men from the ranks like Pvt. Frederick Edwards to secure a British victory. Plessen waits for six hours at Soden’s HQ for news of the attack by which time it is too late to order a counterattack and Thiepval is lost. The victory allows the British to secure all their objectives from July 1 and the French at Verdun are able to launch a counter-attack to push back the Germans. Thiepval is now the site of the Thiepval Memorial to the Missing of the Somme commemorating the 70,000 of the 432,000 British casualties with no known grave including Sharples, Mellor and Fiddes.
Cast
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Benedict Sandiford Benedict Sandiford is a British actor who is best known for his role as son Neil on the British sitcom Barbara. He also made guest appearances on Heartbeat, Peak Practice, A Touch of Frost, Touching Evil, At Home with the Braithwaites ,Pie in the Sky, Cadfael, This Life, 'Foyle's War, Midsomer... as Captain Johnston Erich Redman Erich Redman is a Russian-born German actor working primarily in English-language feature films. He played the controversial part of the German passenger in United 93 and the character 'Gasman' in the BBC comedy series 'TLC '. Other appearances include Saving Private Ryan, U-571 and The... as Hässler Ben Goddard Ben Goddard is a founding partner of the public affairs firm Goddard Claussen. He is widely regarded as the godfather of issue advocacy advertising and is credited with creating the genre of national issue advocacy advertising with the Harry & Louise campaign in the early 1990s.-Career and... as Lt. Walton |
External links
- The Somme - From Defeat to Victory at Open University
- Battle of the Somme at BBC HistoryThe Somme - From Defeat to Victory}}