Before the infantry attack, a successful bombardment had demolished many German front line trenches, 14 July 1916
The grandly named 'Battle of Bazentin Ridge' for which Haig tried to take the credit
On 3 July 1916 Haig's officers were taking things into their own hands. Henry Rawlinson, effectively Haig’s deputy, began planning to capitalise on the uncharacteristic successes at the southern end of the line (by the French and XIII Corp). But Haig vetoed the plan.
Rawlinson told Haig what he thought of him, and the attack was finally launched on 14 July. What makes it significant is that, with Haig’s bungling interference this time kept to a minimum, the British were able to put into practice everything that had been known for months but which Haig had until then vetoed.
Noel ‘Curly’ Birch, in command of artillery, had told Haig plainly it was madness to spread his big guns so thinly. This time Birch collected two thirds of the big guns that had been available on 1 July and concentrated them on a front that was much less than a third as long and much less deep. And Curly Birch made sure they used delayed action fuses to blow up the deep German dugouts. The attackers would also get out into no man’s land under the cover of darkness and attack at dawn.
The pre-bombardment worked! The infantry reported that the German lines had been so comprehensively shelled, that they crossed over several of them before they even realised it. It confirmed, once again, that trench defences were by no means an insuperable problem. The key thing you had to do was to ignore Douglas Haig. Oh, and do your artillery preparation properly.
Episode 07 - The King, the lies and the whitewash



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