12. British mortar fire killed and wounded scores of their own troops during the Battle of the Somme
During the First World War, the staggering casualties suffered on the Western Front badly affected training of replacements. More men were needed urgently, and entered combat with insufficient training on many of the weapons developed and issued to conduct trench warfare. One such weapon was the Stokes Mortar, named for its designer, Sir Wilfred Stokes. The weapon launched grenade-size bombs up to a maximum of 800 yards, with its range dependent on launch angle and the amount of propellant used. The propellant came in the form of four rings, and the user subtracted one or more rings to lessen the range. The mortar’s design allowed it to be fired from inside the trenches, towards the enemy, to suppress weapons firing on advancing infantry.
At the First Battle of the Somme in 1916, British infantry advanced toward the German trenches near the village of Thiepval, France. There they paused, waiting for Stokes Mortars to open fire on the German positions in advance of their final assault. Instead, they came under heavy mortar fire themselves, with the men handling the mortars to the rear miscalculating the range. One company sustained heavy casualties when a mortar shell hit their own supply of grenades, detonating them. The mortar bombardment continued as the British infantry launched its assault. Friendly fire throughout the Battle of the Somme occurred frequently among the British troops, though official recognition of the problem by British senior officers did not.
