Letter From Chief Douglas Haig's Visit To The Somme

Dear, Jeffry

When we arrived to the Somme in August we took a section of the front line. After getting into heavy fighting we lost 2,600 men. We have been trying to get the germans to retreat and they have been doing the same to us . A lot of the British troops have gone over the top but did not survive they had nearly 60,000 men die in the first day. This was also the first time for some of these soldiers to go into battle as many were from the Kitchener’s Volunteer Army. This strategy was not working but Commander-in-Chief Douglas Haig kept sending men over the top I felt as he was just trying to fight this war using cavalry but the technology had advanced and these tactics would not have worked. We used a creeping barrage for cover while we advanced and we were also aided by the new engine of war the armoured tank.

After our barrage had finished the British generals ordered some men to go over the top and initiate in a cavalry charge. Soon after they went over the top we realized that the barrage had failed and the British troops were shot dead by the German machine gunners. There were thousands of soldiers sent to advance who were shot. This was a blood bath so many of our troops were dying. Most of the dead bodies just went under the mud.

Life here in the trenches is horrific these Trenches are muddy, dirty and the smell was revolting. There are many diseases here like trench foot which is an infection caused by cold, wet and insanitary conditions. There are also so many rats and lice here it is so unliveable. It is so sad looking over in a battle and seeing an ally dead on the ground with rats eating their flesh after a while the body would just disappear into the mud. I can’t live in these conditions the war will be over by Christmas and I will hopefully return home