Who achieved most on the First of July...

[Glesga Highlander]

I have just returned from the Somme and I am rather confused as I have several conflicting stories as to who penetrated furthest into German territory on the opening day of the Somme. So does anyone have any definitive proof as to which regiment . battalion etc., got the furthest on that fateful day back in 1916.

[Paul Reed]

Good question - units from 56th Division got into Gommecourt, elements of 4th Division made it to a copse south of Serre and men from 34th Division got into Contalmaison; where the 15/16 Royal Scots monument is now. Aside from the capture of Mametz and Montauban, I suspect the Contalmaison incident must rate as one of the greatest depths of penetration into German lines on that day.

[bmac]

I suspect it is between the Royal Scots and elements of the 36th Division at Thiepval. Need to get a map and ruler out!

[Glesga Highlander]

I suspect it is between the Royal Scots and elements of the 36th Division at Thiepval. Need to get a map and ruler out!

Yes both these units claim to have reached certain objectives on the day but did any of them actually hold them for a certain length of time before having to give them up and retreat...there was also another regiment mentioned but their name escapes me at the moment.

[eltoro1960]

I think that it could be one of the 34th Division units either the Tyneside Irish, who virtually ceased to exist after attack, or the 16th Royal Scots some of whom made it into their objective of Contalmaison, a distance I reckon of about 4,000 yards however they were captured and the ground lost.

John

[bmac]

The only ground permanently held was south of the Albert-Bapaume Road, i.e. around Fricourt, Mametz, Montauban and Lochnagar and the Leipzig Redoubt at Thiepval. Other parts, i.e. the 56th Division at Gommecourt and the 36th Division held onto ground for several hours but were eventually forced out. The Royal Scots at Contalmaison were a small party who somehow advanced fairly deep but were then surrounded and killed or captured.

[Unixman]

I guess it would have been part of the French forces in the southern sectors. Will need to look up exactly which ones though.

[truthergw]

I agree that the greatest advances and territory held would be in the French sector. There was also territory captured and held in the adjoining British sector where French artillery aided the attack.

[auchonvillerssomme]

Absolutely, there are so many variables, the defenses, the training of the Bn's, the achievements tempered with losses and the achievements gained and kept.

mick

[per ardua per mare per terram]

The people "Who achieved most on the First of July" and leading up to it and following it were the Mercantile Marine without whom there would have been no British troops or their equipment over there.

[chrisharley9]

18th Eastern Division seems to be very successful

Chris

[Desmond7]

Not being flippant but - the greatest achievement militarily on 1st July must be awarded to the engineers and pioneers amongst the German forces who recognised how to use the terrain to best advantage thus giving their comrades in the infantry the best possible chance of surviving an artillery onslaught and enabling them to put down such a weight of fire that (in most cases) advance was either impossible, temporary or limited (i.e. the forces which did so well in the southern sector could only go 'so far' given the situation elsewhere on the British section of the front).

[per ardua per mare per terram]

The best German achievement was to capture the ground in 1914.

[Petroc]

The people "Who achieved most on the First of July" and leading up to it and following it were the Mercantile Marine without whom there would have been no British troops or their equipment over there.

..To which might be added the Royal Navy, railway workers, coal miners, quarrymen, farmers, trawlermen, Canadian lumberjacks, Indian cavalrymen and the mothers and fathers of Australian and New Zealand volunteer soldiers!!

With all due respect, I think the original question was quite specific in its intention to relate to the purely 'military' aspects of July 1st....

[sjustice]

Good question - units from 56th Division got into Gommecourt, elements of 4th Division made it to a copse south of Serre and men from 34th Division got into Contalmaison; where the 15/16 Royal Scots monument is now. Aside from the capture of Mametz and Montauban, I suspect the Contalmaison incident must rate as one of the greatest depths of penetration into German lines on that day.

Tough call.

On a pure map shout it would have to be Contalmaison. It's a looooong way.

If that's the case it follows that the party of 24th & 27th (Tyneside Irish) Northumberland Fusiliers, who wandered north of Scots Redoubt and got into Contalmaison itself, got furthest. I think the Royal Scots at Birch Tree Wood are shy by a hundred yards.

On that basis it may just be too close to call.

Kind Regards,

SMJ

[per ardua per mare per terram]

With due respect I copied and pasted the question posed to head the topic. In the purely military aspect the greatest achievement was by the Army Service Corps along with the Royal Engineers.