Mametz Wood & the 38th (Welsh) Division

It was on this day (7 July) in 1916 when the 38th (Welsh) Division were given the order to attack Mametz Wood during the First Battle of the Somme. Here’s an extract from May’s issue of Welsh Histories Magazine which covers the battle in a little bit of depth.

What Was the Somme & Mametz Wood… Were the Welsh Involved?

Unlike most battles, it (the Somme) took place over the course of more than four months and, when looking at any image from the battle, I can literally smell the discarded ammunition shells; the unhygienic living areas in the trenches and, well, death.

The Battle of the Somme was the final resting place for hundreds of thousands of young, terrified men who deserved better. Of the more than 3 million men who fought on either side of this battle, more than 1 million were either killed or wounded. Of every historic battle in our history, from Waterloo to D-Day, the Somme is a special kind of terrifying.

The Battle of the Somme took place between the 1 of July and 18 of November in 1916. It was such a lengthy battle that it is often broken up into chapters (or sub-battles, so to speak) that occurred throughout the four months. From the Battle of Albert (1–13 July) to the Battle of the Ancre (13–18 November), many different missions and battles took place.

It was during the first phase of the Battle of the Somme where one of the deadliest

Welsh objectives would come in: Mametz Wood. This objective took place between the 7 and 12 of July and the intention was to take hold of a German occupied wood within a few hours. The 38th (Welsh) Division of Kitchener’s “New Army” was an immensely brave unit of the army championed by Welsh Prime Minister David Lloyd George but, despite ultimately succeeding with the intention of claiming the wood (on 12 July) from the Germans, the division was devastated by being heavily outnumbered; outgunned and, presumably, a failure in communication between its commanding officers.

This gruelling, five-day battle resulted in 3,993 Welsh soldiers killed, missing or injured and the division being put out of action for a year.

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