The start of the Somme bombardment as seen from a roadside gun battery, 24 June 1916. The bombardment lasted a week and was intended to obliterate German defenses and defenders. The artist, William Topham, depicts high explosive shells and white shrapnel bursts over the enemy lines, and provides a detailed description of his location. At this stage in the bombardment, the terrain, consisting mostly of farmers’ fields, remains relatively unscathed.
Opening of the Somme BombardmentPainted by William Thurston TophamBeaverbrook Collection of War Art Canadian War Museum
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I was in the artillery for 3 years. Very seldom do artillery people get to see their work except for 'close infantry support' and even then not always.
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