Firstly, I'll preface this by saying I am a historian, and I have exhausted my own skill set looking into this. I've found absolutely nothing whatsoever and I only ever run into the medium that I heard about it on. Secondly, I'm aware that this could just be a REALLY good piece of fiction.
Nevertheless here I am asking historians
One of the podcasts I listen to deals with different true crime, scary stories, historical events and ufos/cryptids as episode topics. The podcast is satirical but they spend a lot of time actually doing historical, anthropological and sociological research on their topics. It's satire but it's not "fake", despite taking on topics that could be considered "make believe".
Several years ago now they had a British military officer (fan of the show and claimed to be under a pseudonym as to not warrant attention to himself telling military secrets) who told the story of the Battle of the Somme in France 1916.
I'm fully aware that this could just be an insanely compelling piece of fiction. However, he claimed that as a military historian for the U.K. he came upon a letter that was dated the night before the Battle of the Somme by an English soldier. The letter was classified and began like any other letter, detailing what a soldier was allowed to tell his family of their whereabouts and what life in the military was like. He then detailed of witnessing an event at twilight. He said he saw across the field in the trenches of the German line, a monster made from smoke, twisting and turning like a vortex picking up German soldiers and pulling them apart "like a child would pull the limbs off of an insect."
After reading this letter he mentioned that a colleague of his in Berlin had also come across a letter from a battalion at what would be the Battle of the Somme, once translated said something to the effect of "the monster came again tonight..." etc.
Furthermore he discussed how there was a village in the area that had woodcarving dating to the 1600s about the "calamity" that would take the children in the night, and supposedly the woodcarving was that of shape-shifting creature resembling what could on be described as a tornado.
I first heard this story in 2015 or 2016 I cannot remember. But every time I go back to this episode of the podcast (which is toted as a "listener stories" and they're assumed to be true creepy stories) I always look into it. I cannot find anything about a monster at the Somme. I cannot find anything about the smoke monster. I cannot find anything about the 17th century French woodcarving. Has ANYONE ever heard of this before. Or have I just been duped by a really good scary story for the last 5-6 years?
Edit: for those who keep asking and getting their comments deleted. The podcast us called "The Last Podcast on the Left" the episode is 243: "Listener Stories III War Edition". You can easily listen on Spotify for free. Also for those that asked they have done "creepypasta" episodes as well. But this was an episode where they distinctly said "we want your paranormal experiences to share" and strictly was not a "intentionally fictional" episode. Again, my years of listening to this episode just to hear this amazing story has led me here. I appreciate the upvotes, as this is my first experience with a real "askreddit" scenario.
I do, sadly, have to be the bearer of bad news here. There is a lot in the account and the way its presented that lead me to believe its false.
Firstly, the mysterious caller mixes some things up. He says firstly that this letter was written before the first day of the Somme, which would be July 1st, 1916 - but then says the letter was from early September. Now, the Somme as an operation continued on until November and had battles contained within it, this caller could have gotten confused on that specifically.
Additionally, he inflates British casualties for the first day by about 20,000 by saying that 57,000 British soldiers were wounded. British casualties for the Somme were heavy on July 1st, but it was 57,000 casualties overall, not just wounded. That 57,000 number does include the nearly 20,000 British soldiers who were killed on July 1st. Again, this is a simple mistake but it does chip away at the credibility.
Now, as for the letter itself, there are some odd details. For starters, why is this private using Binoculars at night while on sentry duty? Especially as we were told that the German trenches were "only" 200 meters away at this point - as well, binoculars weren't really in use by sentries. There were trench periscopes, but those were most useful in the daylight.
Then we get to the description of this "beast". Assuming the letter is real, this is likely a metaphor for a barrage. His description of it "a monster made from smoke, twisting and turning like a vortex picking up German soldiers and pulling them apart" is most certainly a metaphorical version of an artillery bombardment as human bodies were literally torn apart by shrapnel and high explosives and in some cases lifted into the air. The monster even "shifts" as the officer in this letter fires a very light, or flare. Flares were used to help coordinate artillery bombardments and this could very well have been an order to "shift" the bombardment.
On the whole, it's a very literary letter. This isn't inherently an issue, but keep in mind that many letter writers would be writing about the mundane and wouldn't necessarily write in that kind of prose. One example I do own is written like this:
Dear Gladys,
Just a line to let you know that I am alive. I rec’d your letter a few days ago. I have been in Hospital for over a month now. But I hope to be out again in a few days. I hurt my arm, it is still sore but with a little exercise it will be all right. So John is with you now give my best regards. I would like to hear from him. I didn’t get the letter you said he wrote me. I spent xmas + new years in Bed. But hope to be home for the next one. How is Aunt Rita + Grandma getting along? Remember me to Uncle Ed, Dave + Bob. I got a letter from Father last week. The first for over a year it was a long time coming but I was glad to get it. He was in bed all last summer with Congestion of the Brain. But he is better now. Brother Judd has another boy now. He named it after dad + me. I guess I will have put a schilling in the bank for him. Ha Ha. Well I can’t? think of everything else to write about so will ring as for this time.
Love to all,
Leon.
Please give your scrib[e]. I am an awfully poor writer. Write soon.
Leon asks about letters, he writes about his family, and updates briefly on his personal situation (although seeing that he was actually in the hospital for venereal disease I can see why he didn't tell his fiance that specifically...). But notice how short the sentences tend to be and the subjects he talks about. These are fairly common themes among many private soldiers in the First World War. That doesn't mean that more literary letters didn't get written, because they certainly did, but I wouldn't necessarily class them as the "norm" so the way that Lewis's letter is written should give us some pause.
Now, with the German telegram, again assuming that the account is actually real, is an even greater contender for being a metaphor for a bombardment or even a mine being set off (which would account for people's remains not being able to be recovered). But there's no other contextualization of that telegram, no date other than "the Somme" which lasted from July until November, and there's no unit given. There were mines used at the Somme, and the opening of the battle on July 1st was preceded by a week long bombardment. While it was not heavy enough to completely crush the Germans (they were, after all, able to put up an effective defense) it was enough to tear up their lines. I can certainly see British artillery described as a "monster" or a mine being set off as one as well.
Which brings me to the biggest red flag that this letter is a fake. The unit that this mysterious caller gives for which "Alfred James Lewis" belonged to: G Company of the "Royal Light Infantry Fusiliers" as a part of the Norfolk Regiment.
So first off: British Infantry Battalions contained 4 companies each, which usually just repeated A, B, C, & D company. Where would "G" come from?
Even more damningly, there was no unit called the "Royal Light Infantry Fusiliers". That never existed either pre-Cardwell reforms or post-Cardwell reforms when British Infantry Regiments were amalgamated into two Battalion Regiments. The only place that such a "Royal Light Infantry Fusiliers" comes up is in a satirical 1889 essay about the Cardwell Reforms where its narrator was bemoaning the loss of tradition of his "150th" with the amalgamation of another unit into the "Royal Light Infantry Fusiliers". The name itself is a bit of an oxymoron ("Light Infantry Fusiliers") as historically those described different kinds of British units ("Light Infantry" and "Fusiliers"). Finally, the "Royal" title would be applied to the whole Regiment not just a single battalion, examples include the Royal Welch Fusiliers or the 12th (Prince of Wales Royal) Lancers.
The Norfolk Regiment did exist, however, and they had four battalions on the Somme. None of which suffered massive casualties on the date provided, September 22nd.
Alfred James Lewis never existed, the caller conveniently states that this letter is still under lock and key and that Lewis's service records burned at some point but that he died on September 22nd. Yet, there is no Alfred Lewis that died on that date in the Norfolk Regiment. There are two men with the name Alfred Lewis listed on the Theipval Memorial to the Missing, which in the case of a mysterious death like that he would probably be listed on. Neither of them died in September, both in July and neither were in the Norfolks. Lance Corporal Alfred Lewis was killed on July 1st, he was a member of the 2nd Battalion, Essex Regiment. The other, Private Alfred Lewis was killed on July 12th, he was a member of the 10th Battalion, Welsh Regiment. There are no burials listed by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission of an Alfred Lewis either, who died on the specified dates.
In the evergreen words of Jonathan Frakes: "It's false. No way. Not this time. We created it."