| Source A |
|
Source B |
The German machine-guns and infantry must have been preserved
owing to their deep dug-outs. These were numerous and elaborate,
most of them thirty or forty feet below ground level , with two
or three entrances. The enemy w ire entanglements had everywhere
been completely destroyed by our artillery.
A Lieutenant B.L Gordon , King 's Own Yorkshire Light
Infantry. |
I was in the first wave. My first
impression was the s ight of unexploded mortar bombs... they
were supposed to destroy the German wire which was almost untouched.
I doubt if one had exploded.
A Private G.S. Young , North Staffordshire
Regiment. |
| |
|
| Source C |
Investigation |
We went down into a (German)
dug-out and actually found the electr ic lights still burning.
So much for the artillery preparation.
A Private A. McMullen. Donegal and Fermanagh Volunteers. |
You are the investigator!
You must prepare a report for the British
commander Douglas Haig. Write a paragraph on each of the following:
• The main a ims for the day and why there should be no
German opposition.
• Did the bombardment achieve
its planned purpose?
• How did so many Germans survive the bombardment?
• Why were the surviving Germans able
to inflict so many casualties?
Finish your report with a final paragraph wh ich puts forward your
proposals for solving any the problems which you have discovered
in the planning of the first day's attack. |
| |
| Source D |
When the English started advancing
we were very worried; they looked as though they must overrun
our trenches. We were very surprised to^see them walking, we
had never seen that before. The officers were in front. I noticed
one of them walking calmly carrying a walking stick. When we
started firing, we just had to load and reload. They went down
in their hundreds. You didn 't have to aim, we just fired into
them. If only they had run, they would have overwhelmed us
A Private Karl Blenk. 169th Regiment. German Army. |
| Source E |
I could see away to my left and
right, long lines of men. Then I heard the 'patter patter *
of mach ine-guns in the distance. By the time I 'd gone another
ten yards there seemed to be only a few men left around me;
by the time I'd gone twenty yards I seemed to be on my own.
Then I was hit myself.
A Sergeant J. Galloway , 3rd Battalion. Tyneside Irish
. |
