“The Nation must be taught to bear losses” – British Commander-in-Chief France & Flanders General Sir Douglas Haig

An exhibition on The Battle of the Somme, curated by TV historian Andrew Robertshaw, opens at the National Army Museum on 1st July to mark the 90th anniversary of one of history’s most controversial battles.

On 1st July 1916 the British Army suffered the heaviest losses ever inflicted on it in a single day, at the beginning of a five-month campaign that would achieve an uncertain victory at a cost many then, and since, believed too high. The battle has fuelled debate throughout the past ninety years, and has been interpreted in many different ways by historians. The Somme exhibition has been planned to explore the facts and the perceptions of the Somme, and allow visitors to decide where they stand on a battle in which over 1,200,000 soldiers became casualties.

The result is an exhibition that offers multiple perspectives on the Battle of the Somme: those of the British politicians faced with substantial Allied losses, to the generals, their critics, and the voices of those who fought at the Somme, and who died. The political, strategic, and technological imperatives that influenced the campaign are investigated, and the effect of the battle – on the progress of the War, public opinion about it, and in long-term popular culture - explored.

Robertshaw sees the sheer volume of the casualties as the main reason why the anniversary of the Somme is relevant today. In 1914 Britain had fielded an army smaller than that of Belgium, but by 1916 Kitchener’s volunteer (and conscripted) force formed Britain's first mass citizen army. War service touched nearly every family – and so too would the casualties.

Originally planned as the ‘Big Push’ that would break the German line and the stalemate of attrition, the Battle of the Somme won only a few miles of territory. As a result, the reputations of British commanders responsible for the campaign became mired in controversy after accusations of stupidity, arrogance and complacency. Mud sticks - as the soldiers who fought for them had occasion to know – and the supposed ignorance of the British command has been pilloried in popular culture from Oh What a Lovely War to Blackadder: “Are we all going to get killed? Yes. Clearly, Field Marshal Haig is about to make yet another gargantuan effort to move his drinks cabinet six inches closer to Berlin…” said Edmund, in the fourth, and final, Blackadder chronicle.

One of the tragedies of the Somme was that many British soldiers who fought in the battle were civilian volunteers who had never seen a major engagement. Many would never see another. Commander-in-Chief General Sir Douglas Haig was well aware of the inexperience of his force - ‘I have not got an army in France really, but a collection of divisions untrained in the field’, reads a diary entry from 1916 – but was forced, by the needs of coalition war, to attack German positions along the Somme earlier than he would have liked.

Whole communities at home were swamped in grief, as Pals Battalions were annihilated – with battalions from Ulster, Accrington, and Tyneside suffering tremendous losses. "I remember when the news came through to Accrington that the Pals had been wiped out. I don't think there was a street in Accrington and district that didn't have their blinds drawn, and the bell at Christ Church tolled all the day,” wrote Percy Holmes, brother of an Accrington Pal. After their attack on Hawthorn Ridge on 1 July, 5 out of 6 men of the Middlesex were listed killed, wounded or missing; these figures were reflected in other parts of the line. The battle marked a watershed in public opinion of the War. The silent film of the battle was watched in cinemas around the country by almost half the total population of Britain – more than any other single film until Star Wars in 1977. The Somme came to define popular perceptions of the First World War – both had been heralded as a speedy victory, and both dragged on in attrition.

“Today, the Battle of the Somme is inescapably associated with needless suffering and incompetent generals”, explained Andrew Robertshaw, leading the exhibition team. “Our exhibition asks ‘Is this justified’? We don’t pretend to have a definitive answer. No one does. Our visitors can decide for themselves.”

Somme opens to the public at 10.00am on Saturday 1 July. Admission is free.

The exhibition opening on 1 July is supported by a programme of events and activities the National Army Museum has planned to mark the 90th anniversary. A free event weekend (8-9 July) follows the weekend of opening. Ticketed events include acapella trio Coope, Boyes & Simpson – who perform one of their first performances of the First World War-inspired Private Peaceful album on 25 June, and Martin Middlebrook, author of the classic The First Day of the Somme, who speaks at the Museum on 29 June; History Channel users can purchase tickets at a discount.

Somme Anniversary Activities by the National Army Museum in 2006

25 June:

Coope, Boyes & Simpson perform a number of songs about the events of the First World War, at the National Army Museum.

26-30 June:

Commemorative march along Somme front lines.

29 June:

Martin Middlebrook, best-selling historian, analyses the first day of the Somme. Click Here for your chance to win tickets to this event.

1 July:

The Somme exhibition opens at the National Army Museum. Commemorative football match between British, French and German re-enactors.

8-9 July:

Event weekend at the National Army Museum, including a staged interview with Field Marshall Haig; hear him defend his battleplan.

September:

National Army Museum The Somme resource packs launched for the autumn term.

4-5 November:

Annual First World War Conference at the National Army Museum.