Rob Heard , Hans 72 396 liksvepta miniatyrfigurer kommer i dagarna påminna Londonborna om några av de britter, som stupade under första världskriget, vars kroppar aldrig återfanns.
Artist Rob Heard poses for photos with his installation "Shrouds of the Somme" at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in London, Britain, on Nov. 7, 2018.
Rob Heard , Hans 72 396 liksvepta miniatyrfigurer kommer i dagarna påminna Londonborna om några av de britter, som stupade under första världskriget, vars kroppar aldrig återfanns.
Artist Rob Heard poses for photos with his installation "Shrouds of the Somme" at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in London, Britain, on Nov. 7, 2018.
Rob Heard , Hans 72 396 liksvepta miniatyrfigurer kommer i dagarna påminna Londonborna om några av de britter, som stupade under första världskriget, vars kroppar aldrig återfanns.
Artist Rob Heard poses for photos with his installation "Shrouds of the Somme" at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in London, Britain, on Nov. 7, 2018.
Rob Heard , Hans 72 396 liksvepta miniatyrfigurer kommer i dagarna påminna Londonborna om några av de britter, som stupade under första världskriget, vars kroppar aldrig återfanns.
Artist Rob Heard poses for photos with his installation "Shrouds of the Somme" at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in London, Britain, on Nov. 7, 2018.
Rob Heard , Hans 72 396 liksvepta miniatyrfigurer kommer i dagarna påminna Londonborna om några av de britter, som stupade under första världskriget, vars kroppar aldrig återfanns.
Artist Rob Heard poses for photos with his installation "Shrouds of the Somme" at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in London, Britain, on Nov. 7, 2018.
Rob Heard , Hans 72 396 liksvepta miniatyrfigurer kommer i dagarna påminna Londonborna om några av de britter, som stupade under första världskriget, vars kroppar aldrig återfanns.
Artist Rob Heard poses for photos with his installation "Shrouds of the Somme" at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in London, Britain, on Nov. 7, 2018.
1st Russian Women’s Battalion of Death, being reviewed by the commander of the Petrograd Military District, General Petr Polovstev, with battalion commander Maria Bochkareva.
1917
Soldiers with the remains of the Zeppelin which the late Capt William Leefe Robinson shot down, earning him a VC.
At the time he was a 21-year-old World War I fighter pilot and it was the first airship shot downover England.
FRANCE Western Front ---- No man's land...A destroyed British Army tank in no man's land on the Western Front during World War I. In the background a German shell explodes -- Picture by Lightroom Photos
15th September 1916 – World War I: Tanks are used for the first time in battle, at the Battle of the Somme.
After the taking of Guillemont on the Somme. A "C" Company, Mark I tank (C.19 "Clan Leslie") Chimpanzee Valley, 15th September 1916
Tanks first went into action on this day
FRANCE ---- French army tanks of World War I -- Picture by Atlas Photo Archive
15th September 1916 – World War I: Tanks are used for the first time in battle, at the Battle of the Somme.
The son of a wealth whisky distiller, General Sir Dougloas Haig (1861-1928) was born in Edinburgh into a large family of ancient Scottish lineage. He joined the Army in 1884 where he excelled at polo, saw active service in Sudan and South Africa and became a recognised authority on cavalry warfare. Haig's assiduity, aptitude for staff work and social connections enabled him to rise swiftly though the ranks and to secure the prestigious command of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) in France in December 1915. Haig took command at a time when the British Army was locked in entrenched stalemate with the Germans along the Western Front. Under his direction the British Army launched a series of mighty offensive against the German lines, the most famous of which were the battles of the Somme (1916) and Passchendaele (1917). These offensives resulted in huge casualties but failed to break the deadlock or to win significant territory. Haig has since been accused of being an out dated cavalryman wedded to a belief in the possibility of breakthrough, failing to appreciate the realties of the new attritional warfare where success was measured not in territory captured but by the attainment of a favourable casualty ratio. In Haig's defence some historians now tend to blame the horrific casualties more on the nature of trench warfare and by the British Army's inherent shortcomings rather than the mistakes of individual commanders. Haig has also been commended for his commitment to the war winning strategy of defeating the Germans on the Western Front. To this end, he oversaw the greatest expansion of the British Army in its history and worked tirelessly to ensure that it evolved into a mighty and sophisticated instrument of war. By the summer of 1918 the British Army was in the vanguard of the Allied counter offensive which broke the German Army
a huge mine denotated under German lines at Hawthorn Redoubt. It was fired 10 minutes before the assault at Beaumont Hamel on the first day of the Battle of the Somme, 1 July 1916. Around 45,000 pounds of Ammonal exploded. The mine created a crater 130 feet across by 58 feet deep. The Battle of the Somme led to the death of some 1.6 million soldiers on both sides of the conflict -
An assault battalion of the British Army 103rd ( Tyneside Irish ) Brigade advance shortly after zero hour on 1 July 1916 during the Allied attack on La Boisselle. The 3,000-strong brigade attacked across Mash Valley but was caught by German machine-gun fire in no-man's land, sustaining over 1,900 casualties during the day. Some 1.6 million soldiers of both sides died during the Battle of the Somme
British and German wounded, Bernafay Wood, France, 19 July 1916. Bernafay Wood, located near Montauban village, was captured by the 9th ( Scottish ) Division on 3-4 July 1916 during the opening days of the Somme offensive. A dressing station was established there soon after it's capture.
Oil on canvas, by William Barns Wollen (1857-1936), 1917. From 17 July 1916, during the Battle of the Somme (1 July to 18 November 1916), the village of Pozières on the main road running north from Albert to Bapaume, was on the front line. It was attacked on 23 July by 1st Australian Division, supported by the British Territorial battalions of the 145th Infantry Brigade. The position was taken, but with heavy losses. From early 1916, with the German effort 'to bleed France white' at Verdun consuming French reserves, it fell mainly to British and Commonwealth forces to hold the Western Front. On 24 June British artillery launched a week-long intensive bombardment of the German lines north of the river Somme, in preparation for a big infantry attack on 1 July. However, when the attack was duly launched, it was found that the shelling had been largely ineffective. Twenty thousand British and Commonwealth soldiers were killed, the greatest loss of troops ever suffered on one day. Despite the appalling casualties and traumatic experiences of his troops, the British commander-in-chief, General Sir Douglas Haig, continued his tactic of bombardment against the Germans. The campaign deteriorated into a series of minor but very costly actions. In September tanks were employed for the first time to cross trenches and destroy machine guns, but they were unreliable and too few to help secure outright victory. The Somme offensive cost the Allies some 420,000 casualties: the Germans had even greater losses. During these months the Allies advanced barely eight miles
Welsh Guards in a reserve trench at Guillemont on the Somme, September 1916 during the Battle of the Somme. Trenches were not dug randomly, but were part of a complex design. Each of the front line trenches was backed-up by second and third lines: 'support' and 'reserve' trenches. Communication trenches linked them all together. Soldiers did not spend their whole time in the front line. Whilst one unit was at the front others would be in support in case of attack, or out of the line entirely, resting and training in the rear areas -
British soldiers with wounded German prisoners, La Boisselle, 3 July 1916. La Boisselle on the Somme had originally been an objective for capture on 1 July 1916, but fierce German resistance meant that the ruined village was not captured until 5 July. This was after several attacks that all resulted in heavy losses
Bombing the Germans out of their deep dugouts at Martinpaich [sic] during the Battle of the Somme in September 1916. Martinpuich, situated half way between High Wood and Courcelette, witnessed heavy fighting during the Somme offensive. It was finally captured on 15 September 1916 by soldiers from the 15th (Scottish) Division. From a collection of 101 stereoscopic photographs entitled 'The Great War'. The centenary of the infamous battle - in which 1.6 million soldiers died
