Trench Warfare- The Battle of the Somme

Source: Royal Irish Rifles

On Friday after play, when we returned to our classroom, it had turned into the Western Front at the Battle of the Somme in 1916.

The platoon of St. Clare were met by Field Marshall Parrott and Lieutenant Cook who gave strict orders for their expectations of bravery and conduct on the battle field. Following a uniform inspection and orders for the men to face death as a glorious sacrifice for King and country, we entered the trenches. It was dark on the Western Front and the sounds of heavy artillery boomed around us. We had to crawl through the tunnels and trenches to keep our heads below the parapet, to avoid the enemy sniper fire.

Following a period of quiet reflection in the trenches and time for the men to write letters home, we heard the barrage end and knew it was time for us to go over the top.

Sadly, this was not the battle to end the war, as we had initially believed and the enemy had known we were coming. The barrage had not been as successful as we had thought and we suffered heavy casualties.

After participating in the Battle of the Somme for ourselves, we took some time to look at some real footage from the battle and learned about the tactics and errors of the Allied Forces. We compared the trenches and artillery of the Allies and Central Powers. We were lucky to have Abel from Year 6 to help Mrs Parrott to teach about the Battle of the Somme, as he is a real military expert!

Source: Honourable Artillery Company

 

On Friday afternoon, we were very fortunate to have a talk from Mr. Conlon, a real soldier! He told us about life in the modern army and about the importance of peace. He shared with us information about what his regiment did in World War One and showed us some photographs of his own army experiences.