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Grand Orange Lodge of Ireland
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They Marched Like Victors

June 2006

Preparations were underway for an Allied offensive on the Somme, which were intensified as more artillery was brought into the area behind the Ulster Division. For many men, this was a very exciting time indeed. No one had believed that the army could be so obviously strong.

On 7th May 1916, the Division made its first raid, designed to damage enemy positions and - more importantly - to gain intelligence and prisoners. In early June, two Brigades were relieved by units of 49th Division, in order to permit them to train together, in the tactics of the offensive.

108th Brigade was at this time stationed in the area of Martinsart: close enough to move up in support if anything happened at the front. The fine weather broke on 12 June, which disrupted training and other preparations.

This poor spell continued through the opening of the immense British bombardment of enemy wire defences and front lines on 25 June.

On some days, visibility was so poor for men on the ground and in the air that it proved difficult to observe the effect of the shelling. The barrage was extended for two more days, and the final time for the infantry attack fixed for 7.30am on 1st July 1916.

The Battle of Albert (first phase of the Battle of the Somme 1916): The Ulster Division was one of those selected to make the initial assault. It was in X Corps, with 32nd Division - a New Army formation - on its right facing the height around the immensely fortified position of Thiepval, and the regular army 29th Division, recently arrived from Gallipoli, facing Beaumont Hamel on the other bank of the Ancre.

The Ulster Division faced an uphill advance, with the objective of capturing a large strongpoint complex in the enemy lines, called the Schwaben redoubt.

The Division's attack on 1 July 1916 has been covered by writers in immense detail, and has entered into Ulster folklore as a day of enduring memory. Overall the day was one of significant defeat for the British Army, when more than 57,000 men became casualties, of whom 20,000 were killed.

However, it is often forgotten that three Divisions captured their objectives, and that several others while not doing so did perform exceptional feats. The Ulster Division was one of them: it captured and held for a considerable time the Schwaben Redoubt, despite virtually no progress being made by either Division on its flanks.The Division was relieved on 2nd July, having suffered 5,104 casualties of who approximately 2,069 died.

Volumes have been written about the Battle of the Somme, which continued until November 1916. The author of the 36th Divisional History, the noted military historian Cyril falls says this of it: "But - and of this there can be no shadow of doubt today - it laid the foundations of final victory.

The German troops were never the same after it, while our young levies, dreadful as were their sacrifices, were to arrive at a far higher standard of military virtue".

On 5 July the Division moved back to Rubempré, and five days later the Bernaville area, although the artillery remained in position. Replacement drafts began to arrive before the Division was moved north, to Flanders. In his book Cyril Falls said: "On 12 July…Brigade marching from the station of Thiennes into Blaringhem. The least practiced eye could tell that to these men confidence was returning; that the worst of the horror they had endured had been shaken from their shoulders. They marched like victors, as was their right".

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