THE BATTLE OF THE SOMME
July 1st - November 18th, 1916
The war has been raging on for years and it is soon to hit its 3rd birthdate.
The German invasion had resulted in large amounts of French land in German hands and such resulted in the invasion of Germany impossible until it was won by the Allies.
In addition, the German attack on Verdun had stretched the French forces thin and to divert German soldiers away from Verdun, a new battle would be opened north of Verdun, near the River Somme.
In an attempt for a break through to win the war, the French and British Forces at attacked on July 1st 1916 along a 30 kilometer front, starting the battle of the Somme...
July 1st - November 18th, 1916
The war has been raging on for years and it is soon to hit its 3rd birthdate.
The German invasion had resulted in large amounts of French land in German hands and such resulted in the invasion of Germany impossible until it was won by the Allies.
In addition, the German attack on Verdun had stretched the French forces thin and to divert German soldiers away from Verdun, a new battle would be opened north of Verdun, near the River Somme.
In an attempt for a break through to win the war, the French and British Forces at attacked on July 1st 1916 along a 30 kilometer front, starting the battle of the Somme...
Allied Powers:
Overall Commander: Sir Douglas Haig British 3rd army (led by Sir Edmund Allenby) British 4th army (led by Sir Henry Rawlinson) British 5th army (led by Hubert Gough) French 6th army (led by Ferdinant Foch) Over 3,000 artillery guns and units |
Central Powers:
German Commanders: Max Von Gallwitz, Fritz Von Bellow 3 lines of Trenches |
Notable Features
One of the largest artillery bombardments in history: 1,700,000 shells fired by the British alone.
Failure of this large artillery bombardment to destroy the German Defenses.
Painfully slow advance, similar to the rest of the war (7 miles in 4 months).
Failure to even capture Bapaume, a town that was supposed to be captured before July 8th.
July 1st, the opening day of the Somme is the bloodiest day in British Military History with 58,000 casualties, of which almost 20,000 were fatalities. Not actually one massive battle, but a series of battles that raged for 4 1/2 months.
In one of these smaller battles, Flers-Courcelette, tanks were used for the first time.
Formation of the Hawthorn Crater (still visible today, after 97 years) from a mine that signaled the start of the Battle at 7:20 am.
One of the largest artillery bombardments in history: 1,700,000 shells fired by the British alone.
Failure of this large artillery bombardment to destroy the German Defenses.
Painfully slow advance, similar to the rest of the war (7 miles in 4 months).
Failure to even capture Bapaume, a town that was supposed to be captured before July 8th.
July 1st, the opening day of the Somme is the bloodiest day in British Military History with 58,000 casualties, of which almost 20,000 were fatalities. Not actually one massive battle, but a series of battles that raged for 4 1/2 months.
In one of these smaller battles, Flers-Courcelette, tanks were used for the first time.
Formation of the Hawthorn Crater (still visible today, after 97 years) from a mine that signaled the start of the Battle at 7:20 am.
Implications
The Germans casualties: 500,000 to 680,000 men.
The Allies lost casualties: 624,000 men (420,000 British, rest were French)
The Allies won 7 miles of land...
The Allied troops had more experience and training, so they would be better off against the Germans in 1917 and 1918.
Further evidence that such attacks would not work as the positions and defenses of the defenders outclassed those of attackers.
The Germans realized that they could not win the Western Front with such losses.
So, they began to use unrestricted submarine warfare, which later ended up offending America and bringing America into the war.
The Germans casualties: 500,000 to 680,000 men.
The Allies lost casualties: 624,000 men (420,000 British, rest were French)
The Allies won 7 miles of land...
The Allied troops had more experience and training, so they would be better off against the Germans in 1917 and 1918.
Further evidence that such attacks would not work as the positions and defenses of the defenders outclassed those of attackers.
The Germans realized that they could not win the Western Front with such losses.
So, they began to use unrestricted submarine warfare, which later ended up offending America and bringing America into the war.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/interactive/animations/wwone_map_somme/index_embed.shtml
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Who_was_the_leader_of_the_battle_of_somme
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Who_was_the_leader_of_the_battle_of_somme