Cimetière de Beaumont Hamel (REDAN RIDGE N°1°) (80)
Beaumont-Hamel est une commune française, située dans le département de la Somme en région Nord-Pas-de-Calais-Picardie.
Ce secteur fut atteint le premier jour de la première bataille de la Somme mais ne fut finalement pris qu’en novembre 1916, après des combats acharnés. Ce cimetière renferme les tombes de 154 soldats britanniques tombés dans ces engagements.
Le cimetière n°3 de « redan ridge » qui est tout proche renferme les tombes de 67 soldats britanniques.
Cimetière de Beaumont Hamel (REDAN RIDGE N° 3°)(80)
Beaumont-Hamel est une commune française, située dans le département de la Somme en région Nord-Pas-de-Calais-Picardie.
La commune, située plusieurs mois sur la ligne de front ou très près du front, a été fortement marquée par de violents combats. Le 1er juillet 1916, le régiment des volontaires de Terre-Neuve, est quasiment anéanti : le Royal Newfoundland Régiment (régiment royal de Terre-Neuve n'a plus que68 hommes une demi-heure après le déclenchement d'une des attaques majeures de la Bataille de la Somme.
C'est là que l'armée britannique a utilisé pour la première fois en quantité importante un nouvel et puissant explosif à base de nitrates, de TNT et d'aluminium, l'ammonal, en 1916, dans la mine de la redoute d'Hawthorn Ridge, lors la Bataille de la Somme. Dix-huit tonnes d'ammonal ont pulvérisé une position allemande, laissant dans le sol un énorme cratère, à l'ouest de Beaumont-Hamel.
Le secteur ne sera plus attaqué par les alliés jusqu'au 13 novembre. Lors du lancement de la Bataille de l'Ancre, les sapeurs anglais ont alors posé une autre mine, sous la mine de la redoute d'Hawthorn Ridge, cette fois, avec 13 tonnes d'explosifs. Elle a permis aux Anglais de reconquérir la zone (dont le village de Beaumont-Hamel).
En novembre 1918, truffé de tranchées, mines et sapes, il ne restait presque plus rien du village. Celui-ci, parallèlement à une phase de « désobusage » (enlèvement et destruction, neutralisation ou exportation des munitions non-explosées), a été classé en zone rouge en raison de la gravité des séquelles laissées par les combats. Il a ensuite fait l'objet d'une longue reconstruction.
Beaumont-Hamel, Sunken Lane & Hawthorn Ridge, by Drone
The Sunken Lane, and Hawthorn Ridge Crater near Beaumont-Hamel on the Somme.... some footage taken from my drone in May 2016. The original footage of the men in the Sunken Lane and the Mine exploding, come from a film called The Somme filmed by Geofrey Malins, in 1916. My original plan was to fly the drone right down the lane looking the way the original was filmed, but with the overhanging branches, it just wasn't possible.
Cimetière militaire d’Aveluy (AVELUY WOOD CEMETERY)(80)
Situé dans le bois d'Aveluy, ce cimetière militaire, édifié en juin 1916, contient les corps de trois cent quatre-vingts combattants. Le bois d'Aveluy fut entièrement détruit au cours de la Grande Guerre et au moment de la Bataille de la Somme, en 1916, il abritait une partie de l'artillerie britannique. C'est par ce bois que de nombreuses unités passèrent pour monter au front et mourir au combat le 1er juillet.
Située au bord de la D50, en provenance d'Albert par Aveluy, dans le bois portant le nom de ce village, cette nécropole contient 380 corps (354 Britanniques et 26 Australiens). Dans un premier temps appelée Lancashire dump, elle fut édifiée en juin 1916 et utilisée par les unités combattantes et les ambulances de campagne jusqu'en mars 1917, au moment du repli allemand derrière la ligne Hindenburg. D'autres corps seront toutefois inhumés ici en septembre 1918 tandis que, après l'armistice, 100 tombes isolées dans le bois y seront regroupées, et, en 1923, 124 autres provenant du proche champ de bataille.
Le bois d'Aveluy fut entièrement détruit au cours de la guerre. Au moment de la Bataille de la Somme, en 1916, il abritait une partie de l'artillerie britannique et c'est par ce bois que de nombreuses unités passèrent pour monter au front le 1er juillet. Plus tard, au cours de leur offensive du printemps 1918, le bois fut capturé par les Allemands : dans la nuit du 26 au 27 mars, ces derniers réussirent à s'y infiltrer et, malgré la résistance des 12ème, 47ème et 63ème divisions, il fut entièrement capturé le 5 avril. Il faudra ensuite attendre la fin du mois d'août pour qu'il soit définitivement libéré.
Battle of Beaumont Hamel 85th Anniversary
Zero hour on Sunken Lane 2006
The re-enactors wait for the signal to go over the top. But these soldiers at the sound of the signal march to a view over-looking Hawthorn crater and stand in remembrance of those that fell in 1916. The local French villages mark the event by ringing out the church bells, which echo in the stillness.
As before in making this small film I have decided against heavy editing to keep the raw feel of what it was like on the day. Were you there on this day? Please let us know your impressions.
James Trueman Editor
Le Newfoundland Regiment Partie III Les suites de Beaumont-Hamel
Cette vidéo retrace les activités du Newfoundland Regiment après la bataille de Beaumont Hamel. Parmi les sujets abordés, on y trouve les périodes de service du régiment en Belgique, en France et en Allemagne et son démantèlement éventuel après l’armistice du 11 novembre 1918. La vidéo décrit également le rôle du régiment dans les victoires importantes à Monchy-le-Preux et Courtai, comment le régiment s’est vu décerné le titre prestigieux «Royal» et comment le courage du soldat Thomas Ricketts lui a valu la Croix de Victoria.
Somme101 - The 101st anniversary of the Battle of the Somme.
1st July 2017 marks the 101st anniversary of the Battle of the Somme, one of the deadliest battles of World War One – This three minute video explains some of the facts, figures and details of the battle.
The Somme - Beaumont Hamel 100 Years !!
This video is dedicated to those who fought in The Somme 100 years ago, especially, The Battle of Beaumont Hamel. By 09.45 many of the men in the regiment were either dead or wounded. 801 men went into battle at 09.15. By next day only 68 men were at roll call. 255 men had been killed, 386 men were wounded and 91 were classed as missing. I also would like to dedicate it to my Mothers brother who spent 3 years of hell in a Japanese concentration camp during the second world war.
Somme Remembrance 2006
Thousands of people have gathered to honour those who fell at the Battle of the Somme during the First World War.
About 20,000 British and empire troops fell on 1 July 1916 - the bloodiest day in British Army history. Robert Hall reports.
Hawthorn Ridge Mine Crater, France
Edit July 2010: Since making this I have seen a WWI documentary (Battle of the Somme by yap films Productions in 2006) which fortunately agrees 100% with my investigation that the mine explosion was filmed from this location in July 1916.
An attempt to find the location from where the famous Hawthorn Ridge mine explosion of 1st July 1916 was filmed.
Using Google Earth views, original footage and new footage, I attempted to find the site from where Geoffrey Malins filmed the massive explosion.
I believe the two key elements in the original film are the road/hedgeline across the image and the slope of the ground from the position of the explosion, to the left. In attempting to identify the original location I kept these two factors in mind.
With regard to the explsion itself, Geoffrey Malins said,
The ground where I stood gave a mighty convulsion. It rocked and swayed. I gripped hold of my tripod to steady myself. Then for all the world like a gigantic sponge, the earth rose high in the air to the height of hundreds of feet. Higher and higher it rose, and with a horrible grinding roar the earth settles back upon itself, leaving in its place a mountain of smoke.
The location where I believe the camera recorded the event is now covered with large bushes and trees, making it impossible to re-create the view. The final clip was taken a few yards below this spot.
Want to travel to this location but do not know how to find it? Battlefields By GPS ( has self-drive tours of the Somme with full GPS packages for Garmin sat nav devices.
Please take a look at Video History Today , the first web site to offer unique collections of re-usable original video clips designed for teachers and students.
July 1 2006 Sunken Lane - a ceremony of remembrance
At dawn on 1st July 2006 a re-enactment group marched from Auchonvillers to Sunken Lane in remembrance of those men who went over the top 90 years before in 1916. Among the bystanders our group was privileged to share this event. Each soldier was given an envelope of the name of a man who took part in this on the day with a summary of what happened to them.
In making this small film I have decided against heavy editing to keep the raw feel of what it was like on the day. Listen for the piper who should not have piped. Were you there on this day? Please let us know your memories.
James Trueman Editor
Thiepval Wood - 90 Years on
Short extract from the documentary.
The 1st of July 1916 saw the big push on The Somme. Thiepval Wood was the jump off point for the 36th Ulster Division. 90 Years on Thiepval Wood, now owned by The Somme Association, has seen a team of archaeologists excavating and restoring some small sections of the extensive trench system in the wood.
A DVD was released for the official opening of the wood for guided tours on the 1st of July 2006, follows the Community Archaeology Project, undertaken by The Somme Association and No Man's Land, The European Group for Great War Archaeology.
DVD available from The Ulster Tower or via
100 Anniversary of WW1 Somme PT:1 Thiepval Memorial
The Thiepval Memorial to the Missing of the Somme is a major war memorial to 72,195 missing British and South African men who died in the Battles of the Somme of the First World War between 1915 and 1918 with no known grave and 300 British Commonwealth and 300 French graves lies at the foot of the memorial. A visitors' centre opened in 2004 (wikipedia)
Music is from the YouTube Audio Library.
The Somme
Finding Harry. A short video of our visit to the Somme battlefields and our search to find the grave of Jan's great uncle Harry, who was killed in action.
Battle of the Somme 90th Anniversary 1st July 2006
Photographs of the various ceremonies held that day at the Sunken Lane, Beaumont Hamel, Newfoundland Park and Thiepval. Thanks to Robin Payne for use of his photographs.
I have used the music used is from Shindler's List as the background music as the Great War was a holocaust of youth. This remains the copyright of MCA Records. I hope they don't mind me using this for to highlight the video in this test video.
First day on the Somme | Wikipedia audio article
This is an audio version of the Wikipedia Article:
00:03:59 1 Background
00:04:08 1.1 Strategic developments
00:08:58 1.2 Tactical developments
00:16:42 2 Prelude
00:16:52 2.1 Anglo-French offensive preparations
00:17:03 2.1.1 Aircraft
00:19:29 2.1.2 Artillery
00:21:46 2.1.3 Cavalry
00:23:32 2.1.4 Infantry
00:26:34 2.1.5 Supply
00:29:10 2.1.6 Intelligence
00:31:31 2.1.7 Mining
00:33:34 2.2 Plan of attack
00:39:41 2.3 German defensive preparations
00:45:58 3 Battle
00:46:07 3.1 French Sixth Army
00:46:17 3.1.1 XXXV Corps
00:49:51 3.1.2 I Colonial Corps
00:51:34 3.1.3 XX Corps
00:54:29 3.2 British Fourth Army
00:54:39 3.2.1 XIII Corps
00:56:45 3.2.2 XV Corps
00:56:54 3.2.2.1 Mametz
00:59:33 3.2.2.2 Fricourt
01:02:31 3.2.3 III Corps
01:02:40 3.2.3.1 La Boisselle
01:05:01 3.2.3.2 Ovillers
01:07:23 3.2.4 X Corps
01:07:32 3.2.4.1 Leipzig salient and Thiepval
01:09:52 3.2.4.2 Schwaben and Stuff redoubts
01:12:20 3.2.5 VIII Corps
01:12:58 3.2.5.1 Beaumont-Hamel
01:15:34 3.2.5.2 Serre
01:18:52 3.3 British Third Army
01:22:48 3.4 Air operations
01:35:28 3.5 German 2nd Army
01:42:02 4 Aftermath
01:42:12 4.1 Analysis
01:50:16 4.2 Casualties
01:54:28 4.3 Subsequent operations
01:57:52 5 Commemoration
01:58:40 6 Victoria Cross
02:00:11 7 Notes
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SUMMARY
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The first day on the Somme, 1 July 1916, was the opening day of the Battle of Albert (1–13 July), the name given by the British to the first two weeks of the Battle of the Somme. Nine corps of the French Sixth Army and the British Fourth and Third armies, attacked the German 2nd Army (General Fritz von Below) from Foucaucourt south of the Somme northwards across the Ancre to Serre and at Gommecourt, 2 mi (3.2 km) beyond, in the Third Army area. The objective of the attack was to capture the German first and second positions from Serre south to the Albert–Bapaume road and the first position from the road south to Foucaucourt.
The German defence south of the road mostly collapsed and the French had complete success on both banks of the Somme, as did the British from Maricourt on the army boundary, where XIII Corps took Montauban and reached all its objectives and XV Corps captured Mametz and isolated Fricourt. The III Corps attack on both sides of the Albert–Bapaume road was a disaster, making only a short advance south of La Boisselle, where the 34th Division had the largest number of casualties of any Allied division on 1 July. Further north, the X Corps attack captured the Leipzig Redoubt, failed opposite Thiepval and had a great but temporary success on the left flank, where the German front line was overrun by the 36th Ulster Division, which then captured Schwaben and Stuff redoubts.
German counter-attacks during the afternoon recaptured most of the lost ground north of the Albert–Bapaume road and more British attacks against Thiepval were costly failures. On the north bank of the Ancre, the attack of VIII Corps was a disaster, with large numbers of British troops being shot down in no man's land. The VII Corps diversion at Gommecourt was also costly, with only a partial and temporary advance south of the village. The German defeats from Foucaucourt to the Albert–Bapaume road left the German defence on the south bank incapable of resisting another attack and a substantial German retreat began, from the Flaucourt plateau to the west bank of the Somme close to Péronne, while north of the Somme, Fricourt was abandoned overnight.
Several truces were observed to recover wounded from no man's land on the British front, where the Fourth Army had lost 57,470 casualties, of whom 19,240 men were killed. The French had 1,590 casualties and the German 2nd Army lost 10,000–12,000 men. Orders were issued to the Anglo-French armies to continue the offensive on 2 July and a German counte ...
A Cemetary is a good place to kill (Assassin's Creed Unity playthrough pt 17)
Arno's found out where Lafrentiere is going to be: a local cemetery where he's meeting with a bunch of other Templars to talk about secret Templar stuff. Arno think's he finally has De La Serre's killer in front of him, but things may not be what they seem...