On 8 August 1918 the Allies comprising of mainly British, Canadian, Australian and French troops, assaulted German positions south of the River Somme and managed to advance 8 km before the day ended. However, at Chipilly where the river bends to form a spur, the Germans refused to budge and it wasn`t until 17:30 hrs the following day that the enemy positions were captured. The 58th (London) Division were the spearhead for the attack and were supported by the 4th Australian and 33rd (American) Division. This memorial commemorates not only the men of the 58th Division but also those of the French, Canadian and Australian units who saw action on 8 August. Although they were on the Allied strength, the Americans are not included, possibly because they were held in reserve.
This is the striking 58th (London) Division Memorial at Chipilly on the Somme. The work is by Henri-Desire Gauque (1858-1927), an acclaimed French sculptor who was renowned for his animal figures. It may be the only memorial that recognises the role these animals played in the Great War and the bond that often formed between them and their handlers.
All sides employed horses, ponies and donkeys for a wide range of tasks including cavalry mounts, pulling artillery and ammunition, general supplies and transporting the wounded.
It is estimated that approximately one million horses died on the British side and possibly as many as 10 million died in total, serving with the various combatant nations during the course of the War.
Of the million horses that were sent abroad from the UK, only 62,000 returned. Most of those that survived the war were sold to abattoirs in France to feed a starving population.
The Great War, seen through the eyes of such a War Horse, is the subject of an acclaimed children`s book of the same name by author Michael Morpurgo. He tells the story of the traumatic events as if the horse could speak and what becomes clear is that the animal grows fond of and builds up trust with various humans it meets throughout its life, if they show it kindness, whether they be British, German or otherwise. The book is the subject of a successful stage adaptation and a film, directed by Steven Spielberg, was released in 2012.
Above: A typically horrendous end met by millions of horses pressed in to military service. On the left, German troops examine a horse-drawn British Army GS wagon caught by shell fire near Fins, Somme, in March 1918. The other image shows a sign erected by a driver over the burial-place of his two horses killed during a bombardment in September 1916.
Please bear in mind that all images on this website and my blog are Copyright. They are not free to use and have been embedded with a digital watermark. The black & white photographs from the Imperial War Museum`s collection have been used courtesy of its `Share & Reuse` policy and are also subject to copyright restrictions.
Above left: Artillery of the German 18th Army passing a horse transport column on a sunken road near Ham, Somme, on 23 March 1918. The shot on the right was taken during Operation Gneisenau and shows a German mortar section with horse-drawn transport moving through woods on the Montdidier - Noyon sector of the front, June 1918.
This IWM photograph of a dead or dying horse during the Battle of Amiens was taken in the ruins of Sailly Laurette which was captured by the 58th Division on 8 August 1918. This location is fairly close to where the 58th Division horse memorial now stands.