The First Day of The Somme

The First Day of The Somme

Dan Explains the first day of The Somme which remains the bloodiest day in the history of the British army; a symbol of the senseless carnage of the First World War. At 7:30 a.m. on July 1 1916, the British soldiers climbed out of their trenches and advanced towards the German lines. They were met with a bombardment of machine gun fire, artillery barrages, and a hail of bullets from the well-entrenched German troops. It was a bloodbath.


It wasn't supposed to happen like that- beforehand, the British had spent several days bombarding the German lines, believing they would destroy their enemy trenches and barbed wire defences, making the British advance straightforward and almost painless. They didn't know just how well-fortified the Germans were in their deep dugouts. When the bombardment stopped, the Germans manned their defences, waiting for the British to walk right into their line of fire.


In chilling detail, Dan retells the astonishing story of that fateful first day of The Somme- determining what really happened in the days leading up to it and what the men endured when they went 'over the top', using the diaries of the men who were there.


Produced by Mariana Des Forges and edited and sound designed by Dougal Patmore.


Discover the past on History Hit with ad-free original podcasts and documentaries released weekly presented by world renowned historians like Dan Snow, Suzannah Lipscomb, Lucy Worsley, Matt Lewis, Tristan Hughes and more. Get 50% off your first 3 months with code DANSNOW. Download the app or sign up here.


We'd love to hear from you- what do you want to hear an episode on? You can email the podcast at ds.hh@historyhit.com.


You can take part in our listener survey here.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Avsnitt(1488)

A Short History of Pirates

A Short History of Pirates

Swashbuckling, murder and robbery on the high seas! We're bringing back the fan-favourite episode on Dr Rebecca Simon's 'Pirate Queens: The Lives of Anne Bonny & Mary Read' from our archive.She takes ...

3 Juli 202425min

The Inside Story of the Brexit Referendum

The Inside Story of the Brexit Referendum

On the eve of the 2024 General Election, we're joined by Tim Shipman, chief political commentator at The Sunday Times, to hear about how things really work in Westminster.Tim draws on his first-hand ...

2 Juli 202435min

How did Brexit Happen? A History

How did Brexit Happen? A History

On the eve of the 2024 General Election, we're tackling one of the UK's most divisive topics; Brexit.The 2016 referendum on EU membership split voters in two, creating two entrenched camps - Brexiteer...

1 Juli 202444min

How WWI Started

How WWI Started

110 years ago today, the heir to the Austro-Hungarian Empire was struck down by an assassin's bullet. His death triggered one of the most destructive wars in human history, a conflict that set the sta...

30 Juni 202454min

Origins of the Silk Road

Origins of the Silk Road

The Silk Road was a pivotal ancient exchange network that connected the grassy steppes of Asia and the Middle East with the Western world. The passage of goods, ideas and technologies along this bustl...

26 Juni 202444min

The Real Moriarty with Ben Macintyre

The Real Moriarty with Ben Macintyre

Adam Worth was the quintessential criminal mastermind. He faked his own death, robbed banks in the US, stole diamonds in South Africa and amassed a fortune that helped him evade capture for decades. A...

24 Juni 202425min

The Rosetta Stone

The Rosetta Stone

In 1798, the young French General Napoleon Bonaparte invaded Egypt. After successfully taking Alexandria, he ordered the reconstruction of a fort at the nearby city of Rosetta. As his soldiers did the...

24 Juni 202425min

John the Baptist

John the Baptist

Not long after the turn of the first millennium, a Jewish prophet emerged from a period of desert solitude in the Jordan River valley. He wore simple camel hair garments and ate nothing but locusts an...

23 Juni 202427min

Populärt inom Historia

motiv
massmordarpodden
p3-historia
historiska-brott
historiepodden-se
olosta-mord
historianu-med-urban-lindstedt
rss-brottsligt
rss-massmordarpodden
rss-seriemordarpodden
konspirationsteorier
krigshistoriepodden
nu-blir-det-historia
podme-bio-4
rss-historien-om
militarhistoriepodden
vetenskapsradion-historia
harrisons-dramatiska-historia
rss-arkiv-stieg
rss-borgvattnets-hemligheter