Sunken lane - Beaumont-Hamel WW1 Battlefield
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 16 ต.ค. 2024
- The sunken lane from which the 1st Bn Lancashire Fusiliers advanced from on the morning of 1st July 1916 the first day of the battle of the Somme.
From the lane they advanced forward into no mans land. Those that made it 50 paces forward were only 10% of their battalion. The other 90% had already become a casualty or killed in action.
On the video you can see the crater surrounded by trees called the Hawthorn ridge mine. This was detonated during the attack but unfortunately the position was taken by the German machine gun crews before the British had arrived.
Also there are videos taken before the attack of the men about to enter the battle.
I researched my Great Uncles war record through Forces War Records. He was a North Staffordshire man but enlisted with the Essex Regiment. His division were were in reserve on the first day of the battle of the Somme, 1st July 1916 at what is now known as Newfoundland Park. He subsequently saw action in several of the Somme battles. He was killed in action on the first day of the Battle of the Selle three weeks before the end of the war.
Because of this knowledge We visited the Somme Battlefields in September 2019. Including Newfoundland Park and the lane where you shot most of this video. I had previously watched the footage in this very lane where members of the Lancashire fusiliers were awaiting to go over the top. I cannot imagine how they must have felt, they look terrified.
Most of the area as returned back to agriculture. But even so these are very extroardinaraly powerful and evocative places to visit, you can certainly still sense the fear and loss of life, which is engraved within the landscape.
Thank you for posting it.
It is a fitting tribute to this incredible generation, that this area has been left how it was over a hundred years ago.
In my country it would probably be a developed area.
Thank you for posting this video 🇬🇧
very interesting and informative...this is by far the best view of this battlefield I've seen on the internet...thank you !
Excellent video. One of the best I have seen from the sunken lane.Thank you.
A great addition to the small library of drone footage of this famous spot. Particularly liked the clever section where the camera slowly creeps out of the lane through the foliage (approx minute 7.00), advances towards the German lines and then rises by 100ft or so to give the birdseye view.
Thanks for your comment. I’ve a few more videos to post of the Somme area but haven’t got round to it yet, been a little busy abroad.
During the night before the attack, 400 troops came through a covered communications which was dug to the sunken lane to take up position at a lay up point. The attack was scheduled to commence at 0730 and the 18 500kg mine was detonated at 0720. This detonation alerted the Germans of the impending attack and gave them 10 mins to prepare their machine guns to what was about to occur. A very costly event. Lest We Forget.