The Battle of the Somme lasted from 1st July to 18th November, 1916. A joint British and French offensive launched to break German lines on the Western Front, the nearly five-month campaign became one of the bloodiest and most costly of WW1.
Initially, British generals expected a swift victory following a week-long artillery bombardment, where over 1.5 million shells were fired. However, when the British soldiers were sent “over the top” to seize the German trenches, they were instead faced with a wall of machine-gun and artillery fire.
Battle of Somme Casualties and Injuries
On that first day alone, the British Army suffered roughly 57,470 casualties*, while German forces suffered between 10,000 and 12,000*. It was the bloodiest single day in the history of the British Army.
Soldiers on both sides of the trenches faced catastrophic injuries. With explosions from shells, grenades, and gunfire raining down from all directions, shrapnel wounds and blast-induced amputations became horrifyingly common.
Not only did soldiers have to fear machine guns or shell fire. WW1 ushered in a new terrifying era of industrial warfare. During the Battle of the Somme, chlorine, phosgene, and tear gas were used by both sides to kill and traumatise.
Beneath their feet, waterlogged trenches triggered severe injuries and potential infection. If left untreated, "trench foot" could progress into gangrene or life-threatening sepsis, potentially resulting in amputation or death. Meanwhile, the relentless bombardment of shells inflicted deep psychological trauma. Known as “shell shock,” it left many men suffering from uncontrollable shaking, severe anxiety, and a loss of speech or memory.
By the end of the Battle of the Somme, both sides suffered devastating losses and life-changing injuries. It’s estimated approximately 420,000* British soldiers, 204,000 French soldiers and 500,000* German soldiers were wounded or lost their lives during the Battle of the Somme. Combined, there were over a million casualties.
British Soldier, Wilfred Whitfield’s Harrowing Experience
Wilfred Whitfield was a British Lieutenant Signaller who fought in the Battle of the Somme. Part of the 4th Battalion Yorkshire Regiment, his job was to establish communication wires between units and then sneak into No Man’s Land to repair breakages.
Wilf kept and published his journal, retelling the events of his experiences during WW1 and the Battle of the Somme. Entitled Wasted Effort, Wilf recalls the harrowing experiences of the Battle of the Somme:
As the whistles sounded, our barrage came. The sky dropped with a roar and crash, just in front. An officer jumped out and waved. We were out. Running. Machine gun bullets were zipping now. One heard them over the roar…As we stepped over those who fell, I realised the high ground was reached and enemy machine guns were taking their toll, and another change in the type of inferno told us we were among enemy shells.
In November, 1916, Wilf was hit by a shell. In his diaries, he recalls the day that changed his life: "On the way back a trench too wide saved my life. As I clambered out of the other side, I heard the shell coming. Instinctively freezing, the crash came. My arm, reaching up to the trench top, jerked and something happened to my shoulder and then the arm went numb."
Wilf was evacuated to a field hospital in France, where his arm was amputated before he was transported back home to England.
But for Wilf, and thousands of amputees like him, the struggle did not end with the Armistice. There was no hero’s welcome back home. Doors were shut in his face, and he was refused employment for three years. As Britain plunged into the Depression of the 1920s, disabled veterans found their benefits slashed by a nation struggling to cope.
The grim reality facing this generation of broken young men became the catalyst for the creation of Blesma.
Wilf was instrumental in setting up the Teesside branch of what was then the Limbless Ex-Service Men’s Association. He campaigned tirelessly for the 40,000 WW1 veterans who had lost limbs or eyesight, only to find that fewer than one in ten could find work. For the rest of his life, Wilf fought for the rights of injured ex-servicemen and women until his death from lung cancer in 1958. We will remember him.
Today, 110 years after the Battle of the Somme, Blesma’s work continues. We remain the only national Armed Forces charity dedicated to supporting limbless veterans for the duration of their lives.
If you would like to support our vital work, your donation can make a profound difference to the lives of veterans who sacrificed so much for our country.
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*Source: Imperial War Museum the Battle of the Somme by numbers
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