On their way to fight in the Battle of the Somme, the Seventeenth Highland Light Infantry, also known as the Glasgow Chamber of Commerce Battalion, marched on dusty roads in the warm temperatures of summer. They had just survived the wintertime trench warfare, and they were on their way to fight again.
Trench warfare during World War I was hazardous in many ways. Staying in a trench meant being a stationary target for artillery. Climbing out of a trench meant sticking one’s head above the protection of the trench while bullets from machine guns passed over the ground like banshees. Advancing on the enemy meant crawling in the dark closer to an enemy trench, placing barbwire in a defensive line, and digging a new trench as quietly as possible. In the case of the Highland Light Infantry, the digging of a new trench in the winter took men 600 yards across no man’s land toward the German trenches under the cover of darkness. There they were able to dig a new trench without attracting the attention of their enemies until all the Highlanders were once again safe in the trench. The Germans discovered the new trench and a closer enemy in the morning.
That was winter, cold, damp, dangerous. Then with rains came the task of rebuilding slumped parts of the trenches and pumping out the muddy water filling the trench bottoms. In that new trench, the Highland Light Infantry had to survive the ensuing bombardment by the Germans. Wintertime trench warfare was a terrible ordeal, but these were brave men. In April 45 Highlanders crawled out of the trench to raid the German trench. They inched toward the Germans while their own artillery whizzed over their heads and exploded before them. They cut and blasted through the barbwire, and jumped into the German trenches, taking prisoners and killing enemy soldiers without any fatalities of their own though eleven Highlanders were wounded.
Successful in trench warfare, the unit was moved out of the danger zone, that is, away from the bombardments and machine guns of the Germans. They were removed a sufficient distance that they could even play sports. But they also trained for, as they report, “a big stunt.” That big stunt would be the Battle of the Somme. In the summer weather and peaceful rest, each could recall the winter’s fighting:
“To each man there remained the joy of remembering days and nights that were unpleasant—for it is a joy to remember, in the comfort and happiness of today, the discomforts and sorrows of yesterday. Now the sun was shining”—so reads the account of their battalion.
The Highland Light Infantry fought in the Battle of the Somme. On the first day of that offensive in July, 1916, the British divisions that included the Highlanders suffered about 57,500 casualties. The Highlanders lost 22 officers and 447 infantrymen. But in those days of rest between the winter and summer fighting there was joy in remembering, in the comfort and happiness of that time, the discomforts and sorrows of the past.
Have you had your wintertime trench warfare? Do you recall your discomforts and sorrows? Is the sun shining now? That you survived to remember in the comfort and happiness of today should bring you some joy. You survived. The sun is shining. Yes, you might have to face “a big stunt,” a future battle of some personal Somme. But today the sun is shining. Find joy because you can remember your personal trench warfare in the comfort and happiness that you have today.
Trench warfare during World War I was hazardous in many ways. Staying in a trench meant being a stationary target for artillery. Climbing out of a trench meant sticking one’s head above the protection of the trench while bullets from machine guns passed over the ground like banshees. Advancing on the enemy meant crawling in the dark closer to an enemy trench, placing barbwire in a defensive line, and digging a new trench as quietly as possible. In the case of the Highland Light Infantry, the digging of a new trench in the winter took men 600 yards across no man’s land toward the German trenches under the cover of darkness. There they were able to dig a new trench without attracting the attention of their enemies until all the Highlanders were once again safe in the trench. The Germans discovered the new trench and a closer enemy in the morning.
That was winter, cold, damp, dangerous. Then with rains came the task of rebuilding slumped parts of the trenches and pumping out the muddy water filling the trench bottoms. In that new trench, the Highland Light Infantry had to survive the ensuing bombardment by the Germans. Wintertime trench warfare was a terrible ordeal, but these were brave men. In April 45 Highlanders crawled out of the trench to raid the German trench. They inched toward the Germans while their own artillery whizzed over their heads and exploded before them. They cut and blasted through the barbwire, and jumped into the German trenches, taking prisoners and killing enemy soldiers without any fatalities of their own though eleven Highlanders were wounded.
Successful in trench warfare, the unit was moved out of the danger zone, that is, away from the bombardments and machine guns of the Germans. They were removed a sufficient distance that they could even play sports. But they also trained for, as they report, “a big stunt.” That big stunt would be the Battle of the Somme. In the summer weather and peaceful rest, each could recall the winter’s fighting:
“To each man there remained the joy of remembering days and nights that were unpleasant—for it is a joy to remember, in the comfort and happiness of today, the discomforts and sorrows of yesterday. Now the sun was shining”—so reads the account of their battalion.
The Highland Light Infantry fought in the Battle of the Somme. On the first day of that offensive in July, 1916, the British divisions that included the Highlanders suffered about 57,500 casualties. The Highlanders lost 22 officers and 447 infantrymen. But in those days of rest between the winter and summer fighting there was joy in remembering, in the comfort and happiness of that time, the discomforts and sorrows of the past.
Have you had your wintertime trench warfare? Do you recall your discomforts and sorrows? Is the sun shining now? That you survived to remember in the comfort and happiness of today should bring you some joy. You survived. The sun is shining. Yes, you might have to face “a big stunt,” a future battle of some personal Somme. But today the sun is shining. Find joy because you can remember your personal trench warfare in the comfort and happiness that you have today.
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