History- The Western Front Flashcards
The Battle of the Somme was a major attack by the British Army against the German line. It led to a staggering loss of life – and had a long term effect on how the war was remembered.
In February 1916, the Germans began attack on Allied forces around Verdun. If they captured Verdun, Paris would be open to attack. By July, 700,000 men were dead. In order to relieve the pressure on Verdun, Haig decided on a major attack.
Battle of the Somme. It began on 1 July 1916.
After a massive artillery bombardment, the soldiers were sent ‘over the top’ to charge the German trenches.
British soldiers were under orders to advance slowly, not run.
This gave the Germans time to get ready. The slow-moving British soldiers were an easy target.
57,000 British soldiers were killed or wounded on the first day alone. 21,000 died in one hour.
The battle dragged on until November. By then over 1 million soldiers had died.
The Battle of the Somme had mixed results
Despite months of fighting and all the deaths, very little ground was gained. In some places the Allied forces advanced about 6 km, in others it was only a few hundred meters.
The Germans weren’t beating of the song, but they took the severe battering. The battle probably helped the weather down. This is what Haig wanted-a war of “attrition”.
The army were appalled at how many lives were lost. They felt the generals’ tactics were wrong – and some started to lose confidence in the officers commanding the war.
There was less confidence in the Artillery too. They were supposed to destroy the German barbed wire before the attack and didn’t manage to do it.
