The Battle of the Somme
The Western Front, 1916
But all that my mind sees
Is a quaking bog in a mist — stark, snapped trees,
And the dark Somme flowing.Vance Palmer (1885–1959), 'The farmer remembers the Somme'
New Zealand and Le Quesnoy
Overview - the Battle of the Somme
The Battle of the Somme
'Somme. The whole history of the world cannot contain a more gruesome word.' This is how one German officer described the Battle of the Somme in 1916. It was here that, day after day, lines of advancing soldiers were cut down by machine-gun fire; here that the shriek and thud of hundreds of thousands of artillery shells shattered the air. In the desolation of No Man's Land between the British and German lines, men floundered and drowned in the mud or lay in agony, awaiting rescue.
Background
The British and French offensive on the German-held territory around the river Somme in northern France in mid-1916 was intended to be a key breakthrough on the Western Front. Five months earlier, French and German forces had clashed around the medieval French fortress town of Verdun as the Germans aimed to bleed the French dry. It became a war of attrition. Much blood was certainly being spilt, but neither side showed any signs of cracking. With French losses mounting, the British took charge of the plan to attack on the Somme to relieve pressure at Verdun.
The liberation of Le Quesnoy
The New Zealand Division's most successful day
The capture of the French town of Le Quesnoy by the New Zealand Division on 4 November 1918 has special significance in New Zealand's military history. This is not merely because it was the last major action by the New Zealanders in the Great War – the armistice followed a week later – but also because of the particular way it was captured.
Visiting Le Quesnoy - New Zealand and Le Quesnoy
New Zealand history in Le Quesnoy
Just 4 kilometres east of Beaudignies in northern France is Le Quesnoy. This town was in German hands for almost all of the First World War, from August 1914 until the New Zealanders liberated it on 4 November 1918.
New Zealand goes to war - First World War overview
The capture of German Samoa
Before the outbreak of war, Prime Minister W.F. Massey had made it clear that New Zealand’s main contribution would be supplying troops to the major theatre of conflict. After 5 August 1914 preparations to do this were rapidly made. But before New Zealand could commit its troops to Europe, any direct threat in the Pacific region had to be removed. The first objective was to capture German Samoa.
Men and machines - the Battle of the Somme
Men and machines
By the time of the Somme offensive of 1916, the Great War had become shaped by artillery. Villages, woods and fields were reduced to drab wilderness by relentless shellfire and blighted by the squalid apparatus needed to support hordes of soldiers. No Man's Land became so featureless that it was easy to get lost and blunder into the enemy's lines.
The perfection of quick-firing guns that were able to deliver high-explosive shells with accuracy had made such a war possible. The harnessing of economies to the demands of total war since 1914 enabled the deployment of huge numbers of these guns. Munitions stocks were massive; the British army in France received 16 million shells in the second half of 1915. The war had become a clash between machines as much as between men.
Battle accounts, Lieutenant Averill - New Zealand and Le Quesnoy
Leslie Averill remembers the Le Quesnoy attack
Leslie Cecil Lloyd Averill was born on 25 March 1897. He volunteered for the New Zealand Expeditionary Force in 1916 and left New Zealand with the 34th Reinforcements two years later. He was posted as a second lieutenant in the 3rd New Zealand (Rifle) Brigade at Brocton camp. Averill was awarded a Military Cross for exceptional gallantry and fine leadership during the assault on Bapaume in August 1918. The exploit for which he is best remembered took place during the liberation of Le Quesnoy on 4 November 1918, which he describes below.
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