At all costs: The defense of Delville Wood by the South Africans (Photo Blog)

South African National Memorial at Delville Wood,  Longueval.

At Delville Wood, the South Africans saw their first battle on the western front. The heroic story of the South Africans is one of bravery and sacrifice but also of death and suffering. 

The  springbok Nancy  (here along with her keeper private Peterson) was the South African regiment’s mascot. 
Source: © IWM (Q 10675) http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205195294

For some kind of reason I was always intrigued by the Allied forces who fought many miles away from home.
I always took the time to stop at a grave when I saw the Springbock emblem of the South Africans. Some while ago, I read about their actions in Delville Wood. 
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 At all costs

Delville Wood today. The stones mark the position of the rides existing in the wood back in 1916.  
They are named after streets of London, Glasgow, Edinburgh and Cape town.

The 1st South African Brigade was part of the 9th (Scottish) Division who had been tasked with an assault on the village Longueval. The South Africans objective was Delville Wood itself and its capture was essential to ensure the capture of Longueval and for the continuation of the offensive towards the village Flers.

The South Africans were ordered to capture the wood and hold it "at all costs". 
During 6 days and 5 nights they held the wood in what was more like a scene of hell, with constant shelling and machine gun fire. ​

Source: http://1914-1918.invisionzone.com/forums/index.php?/topic/215314-green-dump-cemetery-longueval/

6 days of holding ground

On the 15th of July the South African 1st Infantry Brigade, 3153 men strong, entered the wood. They showed their determination and consistency and managed to capture most of the wood at the end of the day. Seeking shelter for the heavy artillery bombardment and machine gun fire, they dug in.  At times the artillery intensified up to 400 shells per minute only to be stopped for a German counterattack.
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This scene repeated itself over and over again during the next days. Nevertheless, the South African soldiers -  completely exhausted and having suffered many losses - tried to hold their ground. Counterattack were beaten of and many duels were fought between defender and attacker.
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The South Africans held the wood until the 20th of July, when they were relieved by fresh troops. 
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On that morning only 142 souls came out of the wood and were saluted and accompanied by the sound of bagpipes from Piper Sandy Grieve of the Black Watch, who was a Boer war veteran.

​On the 21th of July eventually 780 men of the Brigade assembled. 

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jF-8vdl5QFw

Many counterattacks by the germans took place during the next months in order to regain the lost ground but were beaten back by defensive fire and bad weather conditions. The battle of the wood ended in the beginning of September. 

Eyewitnesses described the wood as a demolished place of death with corpes of both sides piled onto eachother in trenches and shell holes. Bodyparts and ripped of flesh laid all over the wood and the horrific cry of wounded soldiers filled the air. 
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Delville Wood just after the War. 
​Source: http://digital.nls.uk/first-world-war-official-photographs/archive/74546764

The South African memorial

After the war a memorial was erected and the wood was to be seen as the last resting place of the fallen soldiers. Nothing more symbolic than replanting a wood after being destroyed by war.
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The Central Avenue towards the South African National Memorial at Delville Wood,  Longueval. 
​2 rows of oak trees are standing on each side of the lane, running up to the memorial. The oak trees were planted from acorns of a South African oak tree, which had been planted there in 1688 by a French settler. 

The memorial does not bear the inscribed names of South Africans missing in action on the Western Front. The names are included on memorials to the missing of the United Kingdom.

South African National Memorial at Delville Wood,  Longueval. 
​The altar stone was raised in 1952 and and commemorates the fallen of South African during the second world war.

The memorial building has an arch in the center. The wall on each side leads to two shelter buildings. The Arch holds the Bronze statue of 2 figures holding a horse. They represent the two white races of the nation: the British and the Afrikaners. The 2 figures are based on the mythical story of Castor and Pollux, the twins who had one mother and two different fathers. 
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The arch of the South African National Memorial at Delville Wood,  Longueval. 

On the very top part of the archway, is carved the French phrase "AUX MORTS", signifying that this is a monument to the dead.
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Over the great arches are the inscriptions "Their ideal is our legacy, their sacrifice our inspiration." 

"Vir ons is hul ideaal 'n erfenis

​hul offer ​'n besieling"

The memorial wall holds the names of all South Africans who fell during the war, irrespective of race, rank or unit. The wall was only recently raised (in 2016).
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The South African memorial wall (Delville Wood,  Longueval) - the view towards the arch.

The South African memorial wall (Delville Wood,  Longueval) - the view towards the Museum.

Join us in remembering the men who fought and died

Today Delville Wood is one of those peaceful places were nature retook his place after the horrors that went on 100 years ago. The fallen are still present within its boundaries.
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Please reply and let us know if you have any relatives who fought during the battle of Delville Wood. 

​Thank you for sharing our blogpost!

Sources
Delville wood by Nigel Cave
​http://www.greatwar.co.uk/somme/memorial-delville-wood.htm
http://delvillewood.com
https://tanniemossie.files.wordpress.com/2015/04/nancy-the-springbok-mascot.pdf
http://blog.nationalarchives.gov.uk/blog/south-africa-somme/
https://samilhistory.com/2017/07/09/a-south-african-soldiers-diary-captures-the-horror-of-delville-wood/

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About our blog

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We take you along our photographic journey through the World War battlefields in Belgium and France. 
​In remembrance of these World Wars, we will highlight every month a specific event, battle, region or regiment. ​​

July 2017

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In July, we honor the men who fought and died during the battle of the Somme. Follow our page on Facebook and discover how we tell the stories behind our pictures of Beaumont-Hamel, Mametz wood, Delville wood and Pozières.

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Somme  (map edited)