The Battle of the Somme

Short History Of...

Noiser

History

4.7 • 4.9K Ratings

🗓️ 31 March 2024

⏱️ 49 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

The Battle of the Somme was supposed to be the joint British-French offensive that would win the First World War. A string of battles spread over five months, it involved everything from cavalry charges, poison gas, and the debut of the tank. But the Somme was anything but victorious….on the first day alone, over 19,000 British soldiers were killed and more than 57,000 wounded, making it the single bloodiest day in British military history. So what was the Allied war plan, and how did it fail so spectacularly? What was its significance to the future progress of the war? And at what cost? This is a Short History Of the Battle of the Somme. Written by Dan Smith. With thanks to Alex Churchill, historian, director of the Great War Group, and author of the forthcoming ‘Ring of Fire: A New People’s History of the World at War, 1914’. Get every episode of Short History Of a week early with Noiser+. You’ll also get ad-free listening, bonus material, and early access to shows across the Noiser network. Click the Noiser+ banner to get started. Or, if you’re on Spotify or Android, go to noiser.com/subscriptions. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:35.0	It's Saturday the 1st of July, 1916.
0:38.0	Just before half past 7 in the morning, in an allied trench along the river Somme in northern France,
0:42.0	the middle of the First World War.
0:47.0	Down in his dugout with the rest of his battalion is Johnny Jackson, a 19-year-old
0:51.7	British soldier.
0:53.5	As he grips a trench ladder, his head thumps
0:57.0	with the skull-rattling percussion of shellfire.
1:00.4	An incessant soundtrack for most of the last week.
1:03.0	His own side have been bombarding the German positions two or three hundred yards away, ready for a big advance.
1:16.7	It's a dry, bright day, and Johnny is sweating in his regulation woolen uniform. On his head is a wide-brimmed round steel helmet and his legs are
1:26.7	wrapped in long strips to stave off the dreaded trench foot that breaks down skin through
1:31.9	exposure to the cold and wet.
1:35.4	He chews his lip.
	...

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