*VIRTUAL TOUR - The Somme Offensive Continued* The Sheffield Pals and the Battle Of Serre, 1st July 1916

THE SHEFFIELD PALS AND THE BATTLE OF SERRE



On Saturday 24th June, the British Artillery opened a bombardment that, over a five-day period, was intended to destroy the German defences. Each night the Battalion sent out raiding and wire-examining parties; worryingly, the German wire was found to be uncut. On the 28th June, word was received that the attack would be postponed for two days because of the poor weather. The new time for the start of the offensive was 07:30hrs on Saturday the 1st July 1916.

The day before the Offensive began badly, with the news that Lt-Col. Crosthwaite was seriously ill, requiring his hurried replacement by Major Plackett. At 03:45hrs on the 1st July, the Battalion was in position in the assembly trenches, finding them already in a terrible condition from German shellfire. Patrols from the fourth and seventh Companies of the 169th (8th Baden) Infantry Regiment defending Serre noted the build-up. With the appearance of daylight at 04:05hrs, German Artillery began to shell the British Front-Line.

Brigade working parties placed direction posts out of view of the Enemy; these were to mark the lines of advance for each Battalion, from their designated Assembly Point, up to their own Front-Line. The working parties also fitted bridges, for crossing our own trenches, in place on the night of the 30th June/1st July 1916.

At Zero Hour - 0.1 (07:20hrs) on Z-Day, the rescheduled commencement of the Somme Offensive, the Mine at Hawthorn Ridge was detonated, signalling the end of the massive Artillery Bombardment; the main Infantry Offensive was due to begin at 0 hour (07:30hrs). As previously discussed, was this an error or bad planning? To the North, the 31st Division was to advance towards John Copse and perform a 90-degree left-hand turn while crossing four lines of German trenches, and take Serre; this was to form a defensive shield for the Divisions attacking to the South.

At 07:20hrs the Soldiers of the first wave left their trenches, passed through the British wire and lay down in No-Man's-Land, waiting for the end of the British bombardment. It ceased at 07:30hrs, and when the whistles blew in front of Serre, Men of the Sheffield Pals and the Accrington Pals who were the 1st wave, stood up and tried to cross No-Man's-Land. They encountered heavy machine-gun fire and shrapnel from Pusieux to the North; this led to Troops veering to their right and bunching in the centre of No-Man's-Land, as a result, they were mown down, and there was an almost total lack of success here; the 31st Division suffered at least 2,000 casualties before 08:00hrs. The attack was then suspended, with no gains made whatsoever; this was not a good thing for Battalions to the South, who were due to attack in the second wave. On the right of the Sheffield Pals, the Accrington Pals made greater inroads into the German trenches, but were unable to hold on to their hard-won gains. After the Battle, the remnants of the Battalion were taken out of the line in the evening of the 3rd July, having lost 513 Officers and Men killed, wounded or missing; a further 75 were slightly wounded. Throughout the long months of the Somme Offensive, Serre remained uncaptured, falling into British hands only after the German withdrawal to the Hindenburg Line in February 1917. Although the Battalion was gradually returned to strength, the Pals character was unrecoverable.


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