Newfoundland Memorial Park help.

[andalucia]

Hi All

The photo below is taken from the Caribou Memorial looing over the trenches and battlefield. I am reading up on events here and have read that the first line of trenches we see are the lines that the Newfoundlanders attacked from on 1st July 1916, and that the second line further out is the front line that was created for the attack later in the year. Anybody know if this is true please.

Cheers

Ant

[Mick D]

It is true, used during the November attack that the 51st Highland division successfully took Beaumont Hamel.

Mick

[nigelcave]

No, these were the forward lines on 1st July. Further down, beyond the so-called Danger Tree, you can see another, less distinct line, which was Wellington Trench, dug by the end of July (and which de Lisle would like ideally before 1st July); this was one of the jump off points on 13 November. the Newfoundland Regiment was never in the front line as a jump off trench on 1st July - it was in the second wave, original objective the line above Beaucourt, and they moved forward from St John's Road - trenches to your left and right as you enter the site) on 1st July and this is where they began their attack, moving over the top. towards their new objective, from westerly point of Y Ravine to a point now without the site, with 1/Essex on their right,

[derekspiers]

As I understand it the Newfoundlanders suffered heavy casualties on July 1st due largely to the fact that they elected to approach the jumping off lines on the SURFACE as the communications trenches were not passable due to wounded men and equipment obstacles.

They therefore presented a ready target to the enemy as they negotiated the gaps in the British wire.

[andalucia]

Thank you for the replies.

[nigelcave]

No, not so. They would have found using the communication trenches extremely difficult, as they were full of wounded (and damaged) from the initial assault. On the other hand, 1/Essex to their right more or less had to use them. The difference was in the lie of the ground. The Nfd regiment did what was in their original orders, ie over the top (Hadow was told at 0830 that an attack was urgent and so did not see how he could change the original instructions, especially as tactically it made little difference) - and they were in dead ground (which did not stop them being hit by indirect mg fire and artillery, of course). Naturally, once they crested the ridge (in the approximate area of the caribou), they were open to German direct fire. Their casualties were largely a consequence of the fact that they were the only organised body of troops at that time - after 9 am - moving in this particular sector. 1/Essex were, fortunately, eventually able to stop their attack - which started considerably later than that of the Nfd Regt, because of their vulnerability to direct fire from the other side of the Ancre, amongst other places - before the whole battalion suffered from advancing across such impossible terrain.

[egbert]

Brit line extended in saps up to Lone Tree, visible in the center of picture....

[green_david]

After moving to Newfoundland and learning about the Royal Newfoundland Regiment, I was amazed and pleased to learn that on either side of them that day were the 1st Battalion Essex, my paternal grandfather among them, and on the other side not far away apparently were the Worcestershire Regiment, in which my maternal grandfather served (before being invalided out of the army after being severely wounded in May of 1915).