The Gloucestershire Regiment was formed in 1881 as a line infantry regiment of the British Army, and at the outbreak of World War I it comprised two regular battalions, three territorial battalions, and a reserve battalion. As the war progressed, it raised 18 more battalions, most of them New Army battalions of citizen soldiers answering Lord Kitchener's call to arms. The Battle of the Somme was one of many battles to involve the Gloucestershire Regiment in World War I. It was a major offensive launched on 1 July 1916 by the British Army, with French support, on the River Somme between Montauban in the south and Serre in the north. Initially planned to break through the German lines and restore mobile warfare to the Western Front, a stubborn defence by German forces in well-defended positions forced the British into a succession of battles and a lengthy war of attrition that was brought to a halt by bad weather on 18 November 1916.
Nine battalions of the Gloucestershire Regiment serving in six divisions saw action during the Somme offensive. Of this number, two – 1st and 10th Battalions – had already seen action in major battles, but for the remainder, other than trench warfare and raids, it was their first significant experience of battle. 8th Battalion was the first of the Glosters to see action during the offensive when it went into action around La Boiselle on the third day, and also the last when it was involved in the capture of Grandcourt on the final day of the offensive. In between, the various battalions of the regiment fought at Contalmaison, Bazentin-le-Petit, Ovillers, Pozières, the Leipzig Redoubt, High Wood, Guillemont, Morval, and on the Ancre. For actions during the offensive, one award of the Victoria Cross (VC), two awards of the Distinguished Service Order (DSO), 29 awards of the Distinguished Conduct Medal, and numerous awards of the Military Cross (MC) and Military Medal (MM) were made to men of the regiment.
Background
The Gloucestershire Regiment was formed as a result of the Childers Reforms of 1881, and further restructured following the Territorial and Reserve Forces Act 1907. At the outbreak of World War I in 1914 the fighting establishment of the Gloucestershire Regiment comprised two regular and three territorial battalions, supported by a home-based unit, the 3rd (Special Reserve) Battalion, which trained new recruits and fed them into the line battalionsDaniell pp201–202 During the course of the war the regiment raised an additional 18 battalions, ten of them New Army battalions recruited as a result of Kitchener's call to arms.Daniell p203 Of the 24 battalions of the Gloucestershire Regiment, nine saw action in the Battle of the Somme:
Regular army: 1st Battalion, 3rd Brigade, 1st DivisionLittlewood p1 Territorial Force: 1/4th (City of Bristol) Battalion, 144th (Gloucester & Worcester) Brigade, 48th DivisionLittlewood p37 1/5th Battalion, 145th (South Midland) Brigade, 48th DivisionLittlewood p59 1/6th Battalion, 144th Brigade, 48th DivisionLittlewood p87 New army: 8th (Service) Battalion, 57th Brigade, 19th Division 10th (Service) Battalion, 1st Brigade, 1st DivisionLittlewood p139 12th (Service) Battalion (Bristol's Own), 95th Brigade, 5th DivisionLittlewood pp147 13th (Service) Battalion (Forest of Dean), divisional pioneers, 39th DivisionLittlewood p159 14th (Service) Battalion (West of England), 105th Brigade, 35th Division (Bantams)Littlewood p167
1st Battalion was deployed to France at the start of the war, and had already seen extensive action. The territorials were deployed to France in March 1915, had served in the trenches and conducted patrols and raids, but had not been involved in any set-piece battles. 8th Battalion arrived in France in July 1915 and was in reserve during the Battle of Loos, but did not see any action. 10th Battalion arrived in France in August 1915, and had suffered very heavily as one of the assault battalions in the Battle of Loos. 12th Battalion arrived in France in December 1915, but had not been in action. The pioneers of 13th Battalion arrived in France in March 1916. 14th Battalion arrived in France in February 1916, and had been in action in a battalion-sized raid in June, but not in any set-piece battle.Littlewood pp1–7, 37, 59, 87, 117, 139, 147, 159, 167
At the Chantilly Conferences of 1915 the allies agreed to a coordinated effort designed to overwhelm the Austro-German defences. Part of this effort involved an Anglo-French offensive on the Somme, though the Battle of Verdun denuded French forces to such an extent that the Battle of the Somme became a predominantly British operation. The Somme had been a comparatively quiet sector, allowing the German 2nd Army ample time to prepare a defence in depth consisting of wide belts of wire, trenches, fortified villages and deep dug-outs.Sheffield pp66–69
The BEF commander, Sir Douglas Haig, favoured a breakthrough and return to mobile warfare. He planned for the Fourth Army – 25 divisions organised in 5 Corps – to overrun the German front line between Montauban in the south and Serre in the north, and capture the second line along the ridge between Poziéres and Miraumont on the River Ancre. He then hoped to break through the second line between Poziéres and Ginchy, capture the German third line in the area Morval–Flers–Le Sars, and threaten Bapaume. General Rawlinson, commanding the Fourth Army, favoured a more limited 'bite and hold' approach based on artillery bombardment and limited tactical advances. The artillery was, however, inadequate to the task, and the first day of the offensive was the bloodiest single day in British military history. Only in the southern sector, at Montauban and Mametz, did the British achieve their first-day objectives, advancing about on a front of some , but Rawlinson did not seize the opportunity to exploit these, and the Somme offensive became a succession of battles and a lengthy war of attrition.Littlewood pp7–8
Battle of Albert Battalions involved: 8th
The Battle of Albert (1–13 July 1916) was the opening battle of the Somme offensive, and in the Albert–Bapaume road sector 34th Division attacked towards the village of La Boiselle. Although some gains were made along Sausage Valley south of La Boiselle, by the end of the first day the village itself remained in German hands, and the badly mauled 34th was relieved by 19th Division. Congestion caused by the withdrawal of 34th Division delayed 19th Division's deployment, and on 2 July only its 58th Brigade was able to get into action, capturing the western half of the village at 21:00.Rawson pp36–38 & 54–55Littlewood p117
In the early hours of 3 July, 8th Battalion North Staffordshire Regiment and 10th Battalion Worcestershire Regiment, both from 57th Brigade, attacked from the west and north of La Boiselle and with 58th Brigade captured the rest of the village. Shortly after, a German counter-attack regained the eastern end, and the remaining 57th Brigade battalions, 8th Glosters and 10th Battalion Royal Warwickshire Regiment, were sent into the village. As the fighting raged on, the commanders of the other three 57th Brigade battalions became casualties, and the 8th Glosters' commanding officer, Lieutenant-Colonel Adrian Carton de Wiart, assumed control of their commands.Rawson pp54–55 The village was finally captured on 4 July, and 8th Battalion was relieved the next day, having suffered 6 officers killed, 14 wounded and 282 other ranks killed, wounded or missing.8th Battalion War Diary p115 For his actions in averting a serious reverse at La Boisselle Lieutenant-Colonel de Wiart, attached to 8th Battalion from the 4th Dragoon Guards (Royal Irish), was awarded the Victoria Cross (VC), which he credited to the 8th, "for every man in the Battalion has done as much as I have".GliddonDaniell p223 The battalion adjutant, Captain Parkes, was awarded the MC, and Private Lugg was awarded the DCM for rescuing the wounded under heavy fire.
Battle of Bazentin
Battalions involved: 1st, 1/4th, 1/5th, 1/6th, 14th
The Battle of Bazentin (14–17 July) was an attack by seven divisions of the Fourth Army on the German second line from north of Contalmaison on the left flank to Longueval on the right.Wyrall p153 On the left of the attack the Reserve Army carried out subsidiary operations around Ovillers to divert attention from Fourth Army's attack.Rawson pp79 & 100 On 14 July, 34th Division advanced to just south of Pozières, and to their right, 1st Division gained ground north of Contalmaison. On the right of 1st Division, 21st Division captured Bazentin-le-Petit Wood and the village beyond,Rawson pp83–84 and on the far right flank 18th Division captured Trônes Wood, some south-east of Bazentin le Petit Wood.McCarthy pp45–46 & 52
The Glosters' 1st Battalion went into the line north-east of Contalmaison overnight on 14–15 July and, discovering that the ground in front of them was unoccupied, advanced the line some and occupied Contalmaison Villa.Wyrall p151 On the night of 16–17 July, 1st Battalion was part of an intricate attack by 3rd Brigade that occupied the German front-line and support trenches northwest of Bazentin-le-Petit Wood. Strongpoints were established in the communications trenches that ran between the two former enemy lines, and one of these trenches was renamed Gloster Alley. The attack cost the battalion three killed and 25 wounded.Daniell pp219–220McCarthy p51
As 1st Battalion consolidated its position, the regiment's three front-line territorial battalions were moving into the line west of Ovillers, to the west of Bazentin-le-Petit, and first into action on 16 July was 1/4th Battalion. For the next two days the battalion fought alongside 1/7th Worcesters to capture the German trenches west and northwest of Ovillers, while troops of the 25th Division captured Ovillers itself (on 17 July), at a cost to the 1/4th of 275 casualties.Wyrall pp155–158Daniell pp221–222 A DSO, two MCs and two DCMs were awarded for acts of gallantry during the fighting.Littlewood p38
On 18 July, 35th Division relieved 18th Division at Trônes Wood. The Glosters' 14th Battalion went into the line at the northern end of the wood, and on 19 July it suffered 107 casualties.Westlake p138
Battle of Pozières Battalions involved: 1st, 1/4th, 1/5th, 1/6th, 8th, 10th
Prelude
Prior to the Battle of Pozières (23 July–3 September), 48th Division was engaged in pushing its line forward north and north-east of Ovillers.Wyrall p159 On 19 July, 1/5th Battalion went into the line north-east of the village, and the next day it was involved in a three-hour attack north-eastwards towards Pozières. The battalion suffered 115 casualties, but failed to gain any ground.Littlewood p59. According to Wyrall's account, p159, the battalion was involved in two attacks, one on the night of 19 July, which advanced the barricades a little, and a second the next morning, but both accounts give the same casualty listings amongst the officers.
On 20 July, 1/6th Battalion relieved 1/4th Battalion north of Ovillers, and in the early hours of the next morning it attacked the German trenches north of the village. C Company carried its objective and inflicted heavy casualties when the Germans vainly tried to regain their trenches. A Company twice gained its objective, but was twice expelled from it. The leading platoons of B Company took numerous casualties from machine-guns on both flanks, and the company was unable to reach its objective. Losses to the 1/6th in this action were 11 killed and 92 wounded or missing.Wyrall pp159–160Littlewood p88 In a letter to his mother, now held by the Regimental Museum, Captain L. Cameron Nott, serving with 1/6th Battalion, gives a mournful roll-call of some of the many officers who fell during this period, amongst them Lieutenant Arthur Roughton Smith, to whom he had lent his tunic, who was wounded on 21 July,