*VIRTUAL TOUR - The Somme Offensive Continued* Newfoundland Park

NEWFOUNDLAND PARK

Newfoundland Memorial

The conventional story told about the terrible events here at Newfoundland Park on the 1st day of the Somme Offensive focuses on the single Newfoundland Regiment; not surprisingly, because Newfoundland Park is named in honour of the Men of that Regiment who fought and died here. The Newfoundland Regiment, of only one Battalion and about 800 strong, arrived in the reserve trench (which can be seen running parallel to the road as the Park is entered) at 08:45hrs on the 1st July 1916. 

How the Battle unfolded. Firstly, the Hawthorne Redoubt mine, arguably the main failing of the whole attack in this area. It is undeniable that setting off the mine at the incorrect time started the catastrophic chain of events, that led to so many thousands of unnecessary deaths, some 250 Soldiers of whom still lay unburied here as they fell. All 19 mines tunnelled under strategic German defences along the 60-mile Somme Offensive line were set off at the correct, pre-set time of 07:28hrs. Unfortunately, the Hawthorne mine was set off at 07:20hrs. The 1st Battalion to attack across Newfoundland Park was the 2nd South Wales Borderers. On their right were the 1st Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers. The Men of both would have heard the explosion of the Hawthorn Ridge mine and seen its debris rising into the air at 07:20hrs. The War Diary of the 2nd South Wales Borderers indicates that: 

on the explosion of the mine, the men immediately commenced getting out of the trenches and through our own wire 

Hawthorn Ridge Mine

But the Germans, who were forewarned by the Hawthorn Ridge explosion, quickly prepared for the attack, hitting the advancing South Wales Borderers with intense machine-gun fire and shrapnel shells, as they reached the outer edge of their own defences. By 07:30hrs, the two leading companies had lost all their Officers and about 70% of their Troops. The Battalion's objective, the German Front-Line, was not reached, and the War Diary indicates a total of 399 killed, wounded and missing. The Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers fared scarcely better than the South Wales Borderers and in terms of casualties, worse. Their War Diary indicates that: 

Immediately our lines appeared on the parapets the enemy brought heavy machine gun cross fire to bear 

None of the Inniskilling Fusiliers were able to gain further ground than the enemy's wires.' They suffered 568 casualties. 

Shortly after the launch of these two attacks white signal flares were seen; white flares were the pre-arranged British signal to indicate the capture of the German front-Line. However, to the Germans, who had actually fired the flares, they meant that their Artillery should increase its fire on the British positions and No-Man's-Land in the area. Consequently, at the very moment when German Artillery fire was intensified, the 1st Border Regiment, and 1st King's Own Scottish Borderers were ordered to follow in the wake of the first wave units into the attack, through horrendous Shrapnel Shells, and extremely heavy machine-gun fire from the Hawthorne Ridge Redoubt. 

The Regimental War Diaries of the first and second wave attacking Battalions, state that the bridges which enabled them to cross over to their Front-Line trench: 

had been targetted by the German Machine Gunners the previous day 

Therefore, they met with very heavy losses while crossing these bridges, and passing through the lanes cut in our own wire. Thousands of Men now lay dead or wounded in and around the Front-Line trenches, those who had not been killed, had taken shelter in shell holes. By 08:10hrs, the advance was brought entirely to a standstill. 

At 09:00hrs, Commanders ordered the Reserve Battalions, the Newfoundland Regiment, the Essex Regiment, the 4th Worcester Regiment, and the 2nd Hampshire Regiment to attack. On the right of the 1st Border Regiment, was the 1st King's Own Scottish Borderers following in the footsteps of the Royal Inniskillings. They began their attack at 07:52hrs under heavy machine-gun fire. The Battalion War Diary indicates at 08.10hrs: 

Our attack not progressing owing to intense enemy machine gun fire. Attack on left (by the 1st Border Regiment) observed to be equally unsuccessful 

At 08.45hrs the attack ceased; 552 were killed, wounded or missing. At 09:15hrs, The Newfoundland Regiment had to leave the cover of the St John’s Road Trench, and venture into the open. Due to the Communications Trench leading up to their start position being clogged with the dead and the dying from the previous attacks; this placed them on their own, and without support. It could also be argued that the ground between St John’s Road trench and the forward area was in a slight dip in the ground, allowing the Troops to advance under cover. However, from Thiepval, across the valley, German machine gunners were able to concentrate all their fire towards these Men, which resulted in 95% of Casualties, even before they got to the British Front-Line trenches. The remaining Troops had to make their way through narrow gaps in our own barbed wire, to try to get to their Assembly Point, before their attack could begin. However, the German machine gunners and Artillery had these gaps covered; shrapnel shells and heavy machine-gun fire poured into them. Of the 800 Newfoundlanders who went into the attack 684 were killed and wounded within the first few minutes. The Newfoundland Memorial marks the spot where most of the Newfoundlanders fell; however, a few Men did make it as far as the lone tree. 

It is worth mentioning that the direction of the Newfoundlanders' attack was different to that of the previous attacks. They did not advance directly towards the German Front-Line in the direction the South Wales Borderers had taken; but more in the direction of where 'Y' Ravine Cemetery is now. The original plan had been for the Newfoundlanders to advance beyond the German lines and to the East of Beaumont Hamel on the assumption that the German positions would have been captured in the earlier waves. Although the War Diary of the Newfoundland Regiment indicates that they were told by their Brigade Commander that the: 

situation was not cleared up In the German Front-Line, and that their objective was now to take it, and then to push on towards their old objective, it seems very likely that this change of plan could not be communicated to the Troops already in the process of advancing 

Evacuating The Wounded

Hence the different direction of their attack. This change may also explain why the Newfoundlanders’ casualties were higher than those of any of the other Battalion which went into action in this area. Their advance took them, according to the South Wales Borderers' sketch map, directly towards 3 German machine-guns, and exposed them to another firing into their right flank. On the right of the Newfoundland Regiment was the 1st Essex Regiment; they too, were held up in clogged trenches, but their Commanding Officer (CO) was more cautious than the Newfoundlanders' CO. At this point the CO of the Essex Regiment asked Brigade HQ for permission to stall their advance, so they could clear the communications trench to allow them through to the Front-Line; this request was granted. After clearing the Communication Trenches of the dead and wounded, the 1st Essex Regiment moved to the Front-Line and commenced their assault at 10:50hrs; they too were met by machine-gun fire and heavy bombardments; their attack was called off at 11:10hrs. Now it was the turn of the 4th Worcester Regiment, and on their right the 2nd Hampshire Regiment; at 11:30hrs they began to move towards the Frontline and immediately suffered casualties from shellfire. At 13:00hrs Major General de Lisle, Commander of the 29th Division, called a halt; at 14:25hrs, the order was given to hold the line in preparation for a German counterattack. No further attacks took place on this site until November 1916.