THE BATTLE OF THE SOMME (1916)

“The two bloodiest battles ever fought
“On earth.” So Lloyd George described the onslaught
On the Somme, and the ruinous defence
Of Verdun, in his Memoirs. No pretence
Did he make of the cost, which was immense.
Over 300,000 of the best,
The bravest, as both sides rose to the test,
Died on the Somme. The huge losses sustained,
For no significant advantage gained,
“Were not only heavy,” reports explained,
“But irreplaceable”. The allies,
Badly wrong-footed, were cut down to size
By the enemy assault on Verdun.
The great Somme offensive should have begun
In the spring. With the Germans on the run,
The allies could have broken through. Job done.

It was not to be. The French commitment
To Verdun’s defence meant, in the event
That the British had to extend their share
Of the line. Haig, all too well aware
Of the risks, sought to delay the attack.
Joffre was insistent. To put it back,
As Haig would have liked, was not (repeat, not)
In the allied interest. A grim lot,
The French. Who cared how many British died?
Haig, out of a sense of mistaken pride,
And egged on by the British High Command
(Viz. Kitchener), succumbed to the demand.

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