#fraser-tytler

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General Gough | ANZACs | 28 Jul 1916

General Gough | ANZACs | 28 Jul 1916

Battle of the Somme In Pozieres, the battered and bruised 1st Australian Division is being removed from the line and replaced with fellow Gallipoli veterans the 2nd Division. Time to rewind a bit; don’t worry, we’re coming back to a relevant point. When the concept of a Reserve Army was created, General Haig did so on the grounds that he was creating a force of exploitation, with plenty of…

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Pozieres | Guillemont | 23 July 1916

Pozieres | Guillemont | 23 July 1916

Battle of the Somme Oh Christ, here comes another big attack at the Battle of the Somme. Let’s go round from the south again, like we did on the 1st. The map: Cropped in to the relevant area of the front. There are three areas of interest: the southern attack away from Trones Wood towards Guillemont, the northern attack in and around High Wood, and Reserve Army’s push for Pozieres. In theory,…

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61st Division | Fromelles | 18 Jul 1916

61st Division | Fromelles | 18 Jul 1916

Delville Wood It has been calculated that about 20,000 German shells were fired into a square mile of ground today. The wood is disappearing around its defenders. Lieutenant Owen Thomas was yesterday extremely pessimistic. Today he’s all but broken as he reports his situation. I am now the only officer left in A Company. One Lewis Gun crew have been blown up. Can you send another crew? I have…

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Charteris's intelligence | 6 Jul 1916

Charteris’s intelligence | 6 Jul 1916

The Power of Positivity There is at least one person in the whole of the British Army who is entirely confident in his own performance over the last little while. That would be General Charteris, head of BEF Intelligence. He’s had his men hard at work for the last five days, analysing everything they possibly can find in the old German trenches. From captured orders, to identification markings on…

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Eve of the Somme | 30 Jun 1916

Eve of the Somme | 30 Jun 1916

Eve of the Somme It’s the last day before the Battle of the Somme. There’s very little more to say. We’ve been building up to this for most of 1916. Time to find out whether General Joffre’s grand offensive is going to succeed in changing the face of the war. Something, somewhere is going to have to give. Whose and where? That one’s still up for grabs. Check back later. General Haig is doing…

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Hunter-Weston | Serre | 27 Jun 1916

Hunter-Weston | Serre | 27 Jun 1916

Battle of the Somme Not everyone in the BEF is entirely content with the plans for the Battle of the Somme. General Hubert Rees will be in charge of one of the left-most attacking BEF brigades on Z Day. Working under General Hunter-Weston, it will be his brigade’s job to capture the fortified village Serre. Now, before we have his thoughts, I do want to point out that they are not representative…

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Retaking Mont Sorrel | Mecca | 13 Jun 1916

#OTD in #WW1 Canadians recapture #MontSorrel in sneaky fashion; street fighting in #Mecca as rebels call for help

Battle of Mont Sorrel At the Battle of Mont Sorrel, the Germans are not overly concerned by another 30-minute Canadian artillery bombardment. Leaving only a few sentries, most of them take shelter in such dugouts as haven’t been pulverised by 10 days of withering fire and counter-fire from both sides. There’s still a good couple of hours to go before the danger hour around dawn. There’s nothing…

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Smuts | Deserters at Verdun | 30 Jan 1916

#OTD in #WW1 #Smuts takes command in East Africa; a stream of German deserters is coming across at #Verdun

Battle of Verdun The worst-kept secret on the Western Front continues to be terribly kept. There’s a steady stream of deserters coming across No Man’s Land into the French trenches at night. None of them can, as yet, give any concrete details about anything. However, they’re all talking about leave being suspended, more artillery (and more heavy artillery) being brought in, unofficial warnings…

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