New Zealand and the First World War
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.
First World War casualties by month
This graph shows the monthly New Zealand casualties (including those killed, wounded, missing and taken prisoner) during the First World War. Note that the date refers to when the casualty was reported in New Zealand, so there is often a delay - eg the first Anzac casualties (from 25 April 1915) are not reported until May.
Reading the casualty list
On 27 July 1916 the Auckland Weekly News had on its cover a photograph captioned ‘The Casualty List’.
The publication of death notices in local newspapers – often with heavy black lines around the entry and a banner reading ‘For the Empire’s Cause’ – informed the wider community of a family’s loss. Almost every newspaper in New Zealand also published the Roll of Honour, widening the community of mourning to the nation.
Auckland Weekly News, 27 July 1916
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