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The envelope commemorates the first day of the battle of the Somme, which began on 1st July 1916, and was to last, including the second phase, until 18 November. By this time the maximum advance of seven miles from the original positions was reached. The British 4th Army, under its commander General Sir Henry Rawlinson, attacked on a broad front of fourteen miles, after a prolonged artillery bombardment, with the first objective of Pozieres ridge. The Army encountered heavy fire from prepared German positions, and at the end of the first day had suffered the heaviest toll of the Army ever in a single day's fighting, with 57,000 officers and men killed, wounded, and missing. 
After ten weeks of attrition gains up to 1000 yards only were made. These losses, unimaginable today, have to be seen in the context of the huge numbers of men involved, but exposed the folly of attacks on prepared positions where the power of the defence is too strong, composed as it was of barbed wire, trenches, well sighted machine guns, and artillery. The battle was notable also for the first use of tanks, on 15th September; but this was not successful, although valuable lessons were learnt for the effective use at Cambrai a year later. The envelope illustrates the horse drawn cable wagon, which was first introduced into the Army during the Boer War. The wagon was drawn by six horses, with three outriders, and could lay telephone cable at full gallop in suitable terrain. These teams, manned by Royal Engineers Signal Companies, were in full use during the Somme battles, maintaining and replacing the complex telephone networks behind the lines. The cable wagon remained in use with the Royal Corps of Signals until 1937 when the horse finally gave way to mechanical transport.
The envelope design also shows "Wat Tylers Dagger" the sign of the 56th (London) Division, a Territorial Division which played a prominent part in the first day assaults, and the badge of the Royal Regiment of Artillery. |
