144 AWARDED FOR VALOUR
Table 7.3 Acts winning the Victoria Cross, 1916: Winners by quarter
Quarter Jan.–March April–June July–Sept. Oct.–Dec. Total 1916
725411083
Awarded Raw % Raw % Raw % Raw % Raw %
War-Winning 3 43 14 56 28 68 8 80 53 64
- Offensive 0 0 4 16 15 37 5 50 25 30
- Defensive 2 29 4 16 7 17 1 10 14 17
- Symbolic 1 14 3 12 4 10 2 20 10 12
- Secondary 0 0 3 12 2 5 0 0 5 6
Humanitarian 4 57 2 8 10 24 2 20 16 19 - Enlisted 2 29 1 4 5 12 2 20 8 10
- Officer 2 29 1 4 5 12 0 0 ∗ 810
Symbolic 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Special 0 0 0 0 3 7 0 0 3 4
∗Once again, while it is probably a statistical fluke, it is interesting to note that the number
of VCs given for rescuing officers in 1916 dropped the longer operations continued, just as
they had done in 1915.
public? Were these newly trained civilians somehow more adaptable to the
rigors of war than their professional predecessors?
At first blush the numbers suggest just that; somehow, the New Armies
had a greater dedication to taking the war to the enemy and as they
gained experience during the course of the battle they became increasingly
aggressive. If this thenisthe case, why are the total number of VCs confirmed
for 1916 so much lower than the total for 1915?
The Battle of the Somme represented the greatest concentration of British
troops thus far in the war. If the ‘Kitchener Mob’ was indeed more
aggressive, it stands to reason that more men would generate more VCs. In
fact, the quarterly distribution follows the same trend for both years. The
commencement of active operations – second quarter for 1915, third for
1916 – saw the greatest concentration of awards, and in both cases as oper-
ations continued and casualties mounted the number of awards dropped
markedly (Table 7.4).
The New Army of 1916 thus exhibited the same reaction to the futility of
prolonged, fruitless frontal attacks on prepared positions as had the regulars
and Territorials in 1915. The lower total number of Crosses awarded when
in fact greater numbers of men were engaged in active operations argues