By 9:00 am the 36th were holding the Schwaben Redoubt and the surrounding front but if the attack was to continue reinforcements would be needed. Thirty minutes before hand, Major General Nugent asked the headquarters of 107th Brigade to advance, currently unaware of the increasing deterioration of the 32th Division’s advance to their left flank. At 9:15 am Nugent received instructions to halt the 107th Brigade’s advance but with communication lines down, it was too late and the 107th Brigade had already gone over the top to support the advance (‘The History of the 36th (Ulster) Division’ by Cyril Falls).
The day’s fighting remained intense and heavy casualties continued to mount as the 36th held out tirelessly at the Schwaben Redoubt, fending off three German counter attacks before the day was out. At some time in the early evening, the 107th Brigade reached the Schwaben Redoubt to relieve the 108th and 109th Brigade whom at this stage were nearly all walking wounded and defending the line with an exhausted ammunition …show more content…
As German counterattacks intensified, they were forced to withdraw back to where they started from. The objectives for the divisions to the 36th left and right had been for too great a task for any one division in hindsight and as a result the 36th at the Schwaben Redoubt were cruelly exposed to enemy fire from all sides. The men of the 36th where aided by the 103rd (Tyneside) Irish Brigade (Pals Units), 34th Division whom advanced on their right flank (Discussed in the BBC documentary, ‘Voices 16, Somme’). For without their bravery and valiant efforts to take Thiepval village, the task set before the 36th would have been far more costly. The 3,000 men of the Tyneside Brigade advanced over a mile and a half of no man’s land and open ground deep, and penetrated deep into German lines until there was only 50 men left, with 2,139 reported
The day’s fighting remained intense and heavy casualties continued to mount as the 36th held out tirelessly at the Schwaben Redoubt, fending off three German counter attacks before the day was out. At some time in the early evening, the 107th Brigade reached the Schwaben Redoubt to relieve the 108th and 109th Brigade whom at this stage were nearly all walking wounded and defending the line with an exhausted ammunition …show more content…
As German counterattacks intensified, they were forced to withdraw back to where they started from. The objectives for the divisions to the 36th left and right had been for too great a task for any one division in hindsight and as a result the 36th at the Schwaben Redoubt were cruelly exposed to enemy fire from all sides. The men of the 36th where aided by the 103rd (Tyneside) Irish Brigade (Pals Units), 34th Division whom advanced on their right flank (Discussed in the BBC documentary, ‘Voices 16, Somme’). For without their bravery and valiant efforts to take Thiepval village, the task set before the 36th would have been far more costly. The 3,000 men of the Tyneside Brigade advanced over a mile and a half of no man’s land and open ground deep, and penetrated deep into German lines until there was only 50 men left, with 2,139 reported