Episode 143: The Ancre: The Final Major Battle of the Somme
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What was the strategic purpose of the Battle of the Ancre and why is it considered controversial?
On the 13th of November 1916, the British Army attacked at Beaumont Hamel, Sur and Beaucorp, the ground of the first morning of the Somme. Four and a half months after the catastrophe of the first of July, the last battle of the campaign will be fought across the same fields, still littered with the fallen from weeks earlier. What happened at the Battle of the Ancre, the final major battle of the Somme campaign, and why does it remain controversial?
Welcome to Not So Quiet on the Western Front, the podcast where we lift the lid, bust the myths, and explore the incredible history of the First World War. I'm Dan Hill, a military historian and battlefield guide specializing in the history of the war on the
Western Front. And I'm Dr. Spencer Jones, author and senior lecturer in war studies at the University of Wolverhampton. Well hi Dan, please to be joining you as always and a pleasure to be continuing uh some series and We've covered the battle from the very first of July. We've covered it through uh August, through September. In fact, our last episode was about the fall of Tiepval at the end of September, and this mode's a crisis really for the Germans on the Somme. And now we're finally at the last major action of the Battle of the Somme. And also its official end point, which is the Battle of the Ankre in November. And this is a period of the Somme. That is, I think in some cases, is completely forgotten.
It's uh outside the realms of quite deep military history. These final attacks, and there are attacks, of course, in October as well, through October and November, are really neglected. It's almost as if the battle either ends on the first of July or in some accounts it ends with the fall of Tiepval. But this is a period of fighting that is really, really difficult. for both sides, it should be said. And as I I hinted in the introduction, Dan, it's gonna be con controversial because there's this big question about whether it should have been fought at all.
Yeah, hi Spence. Of course, that I mean that question really has been asked since the morning of the second of July, I think. And, you know, to still be asking that question as we get through to November, it gives you an idea of just how how controversial the battle is as a whole. But the Ankh for me personally, it's it's one of the aspects of the psalm that I've studied perhaps more than the others. So it's something that I'm relatively familiar with and a place I really enjoy going to, particularly looking over ground that most people will. stand on and talk about the first of July, when in fact you're talking about the 13th of November and the attacks that go on in around that area. But that also, of course, gives a little hint as to just how bad things have been in the meantime, because of course there's next to no movement.
So only really when Tiet Val gets undone at the end of the end of September. And then ultimately when the the entirety of the Schwaben Rid outfalls, which is really only the end of October, that we start to see the possibility in the north Of some kind of major advance being made. But we also need to just understand the general situation on the battlefield by this time. Everybody is exhausted. The weather has turned, the ground has been churned to oblivion. Just bringing up supplies for a fight, let alone actually fighting, is absolutely shattering for everybody involved. And so when a final advance is tabled, Spence, in early November, for yet another attack to push forward and eventually clear out Bocorns and Pierre Divion and capture Beaumont Amel.
Is there much appetite, at least amongst the men on the ground, for something like this?
Well, I really don't think there is. And just to go back a little step, we ended last episode with Tiepval is taken, the reach is occupied. That's gonna give the British Very good observation onto the Germans. It's gonna make the German position in front of them very, very difficult to hold. It's gonna unlock the northern end of the Somme, which is where we're of course gonna be looking out for the Ankra.
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Chapters
6 chapters
1
What was the strategic purpose of the Battle of the Ancre and why is it considered controversial?
0:00–10:05
2
How did the brutal mud, rain and winter conditions affect both British and German troops in October‑November 1916?
10:05–20:10
3
Why did political pressure on Haig and Lloyd George influence the decision to launch the November offensive?
20:10–30:22
4
Which British divisions and units were assigned to the Ancre attack and what were their objectives?
30:22–39:23
5
How did the early‑morning fog and the unique trench layout shape the tactics on 13 November?
39:23–48:43
6
What role did Lieutenant‑Colonel Bernard Freyberg and the Royal Naval Division play in the assault’s success?
48:43–55:50
Speakers
2 identifiedMore from WW1: Not So Quiet On The Western Front!
Episode 142: French Army on the Somme
Episode 141: Thiepval 1916: Storming the Impossible Ridge
Episode 140: Flers-Courcelette: The Somme's Tactical Turning Point?
Episode 139: Pozières: Australia's Bloodiest Battle of the Somme
Episode 138: Somme's Woodland: Mametz, Trônes, Delville & High Wood
Episode 137: Night Attack on the Somme: Bazentin Ridge 1916