July 1916: Royalty and World War I

by Susan Flantzer

Battle of the Somme
Timeline: July 1, 1916 – July 31, 1916
A Note About German Titles
July 1916 – Royals/Nobles/Peers/Sons of Peers Who Died In Action

The Battle of the Somme

Troops “going over the top” at the start of the Battle of the Somme in 1916; Photo Credit – Wikipedia

“Somme. The whole history of the world cannot contain a more ghastly word.” These were the words of Friedrich Steinbrecher, a 24 year old German officer and theology student who fought in the Battle of the Somme and survived, but was killed in action in 1917 in Champagne, France.

The Battle of the Somme was a 141 day battle, more accurately called the Somme Offensive, that lasted from July 1, 1916 until November 18, 1916. Fought in northern France near the Somme River, the battle pitted the British and French forces against the German forces. The first day of the battle holds the record for the bloodiest day ever in British military history. The battle started at 7:30 AM, and by 8:30 AM, 12,000 British soldiers had been killed. By the end of the day, there were 57,420 British casualties: 19,240 dead and 38,180 injured. More than half of the British officers involved lost their lives that day. Many British soldiers were killed or wounded the moment they stepped out of the front lines into No Man’s Land, the area of land between the enemy trenches.  As they walked slowly towards the German lines, burdened with supplies and expecting little or no opposition, they were easy targets for the German machine guns. The British lost nearly as many men in the first hours of the four month long battle than were killed in any of Britain’s wars of the previous 100 years.

British stretcher bearers recovering a wounded soldier from a captured German trench during the Battle of Thiepval Ridge, late September 1916, part of the Battle of the Somme; Photo Credit – Wikipedia

Trench warfare was used during World War I and it was common practice to rotate troops. For example, a typical British soldier’s year could be divided as follows: 15% front line, 10% support line, 30% reserve line, 20% rest, and 25% other (hospital, travelling, leave, training courses, etc.). Trench warfare was intense and that meant that about 10% of the fighting soldiers were killed. This compared to 5% killed during the Second Boer War and 4.5% killed during World War II. Antibiotics had not yet been discovered and that meant what would be a minor injury today could result in death. World War I was the first war in which disease caused fewer deaths than combat, but sanitary conditions in the trenches were poor. Many soldiers suffered from dysentery, typhus, cholera, parasites and fungal conditions. Exposure was also a problem since the temperature in a trench in the winter could easily fall below freezing. The burial of the dead was frequently a luxury that neither side could easily afford. The bodies would lie in No Man’s Land until the front line moved and by that time the bodies were often unable to be identified.

Cheshire Regiment trench near La Boiselle, July 1916; Photo Credit – Wikipedia

By November 18, 1916, when the battle ended, British and French forces had penetrated only 6 miles (9.7 km) into German occupied territory and more than 1,300,000 soldiers from all countries involved were dead or wounded, making the Battle of the Somme one of the bloodiest battles in history. The British and the French won a Pyrrhic victory, a victory that inflicts such a devastating toll on the victor that it is equivalent to a defeat. The phrase Pyrrhic victory is named after King Pyrrhus of Epirus, whose army suffered irreplaceable casualties in defeating the Romans at Heraclea in 280 BC and Asculum in 279 BC during the Pyrrhic War.

Progress of the Battle of the Somme between 1 July and 18 November; Credit – Wikipedia

Many members of the British Royal Family attended Centenary Commemorations of the Battle of the Somme, the bloodiest day in British military history.

To learn more about the Battle of the Somme, see:

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Timeline: July 1, 1916 – July 31, 1916

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A Note About German Titles

Many German royals and nobles died in World War I. The German Empire consisted of 27 constituent states, most of them ruled by royal families. Scroll down to German Empire here to see what constituent states made up the German Empire.  The constituent states retained their own governments, but had limited sovereignty. Some had their own armies, but the military forces of the smaller ones were put under Prussian control. In wartime, armies of all the constituent states would be controlled by the Prussian Army and the combined forces were known as the Imperial German Army. German titles may be used in Royals Who Died In Action below. Refer to Unofficial Royalty: Glossary of German Noble and Royal Titles.

24 British peers were also killed in World War I and they will be included in the list of those who died in action. In addition, more than 100 sons of peers also lost their lives, and those that can be verified will also be included.

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July 1916 – Royals/Nobles/Peers/Sons of Peers Who Died In Action

The list is in chronological order and does contain some who would be considered noble instead of royal. The links in the last bullet for each person is that person’s genealogical information from Leo’s Genealogics Website or to The Peerage website.  If a person has a Wikipedia page, their name will be linked to that page.

Jost Christian, 2nd Fürst zu Stolberg-Rossla

The Honorable Lieutenant Colonel Lawrence Charles Walter Palk

 

The Honorable Captain George Guy Hermon-Hodge

 

Captain The Honorable Roland Erasmus Philipps

Freiherr Franz von Doblhoff

William Charles Wynn, 4th Baron Newborough