Battle of Somme
Documents
- After the war, Sir
William Robertson, Chief of the Imperial General Staff,
attempted to explain the strategy at the Battle of the Somme.
- Remembering the dissatisfaction displayed by
ministers at the end of 1915 because the operations had not come up
to their expectations, the General Staff took the precaution to
make quite clear beforehand the nature of the success which the
Somme campaign might yield. The necessity of relieving pressure on
the French Army at Verdun remains, and is more urgent than
ever.
- This is, therefore, the first objective to be
obtained by the combined British and French offensive.
- The second objective is to inflict as heavy losses as
possible upon the German armies.
- Sir Douglas
Haig explained the importance of using heavy artillery
at the Battle of the Somme in his book Dispatches, that was published
after the war.
- The enemy's position to be attacked was of a very
formidable character, situated on a high, undulating tract of
ground. The first and second systems each consisted of several lines of deep trenches, well
provided with bomb-proof shelters and with numerous communication
trenches connecting them.
- The front of the trenches in each system was
protected by wire
entanglements, many of them in two belts forty yards
broad, built of iron stakes, interlaced with barbed-wire,
often almost as thick as a man's finger.
- Defenses of this nature could only be attacked with
the prospect of success
after careful artillery
preparation.
- Fact about the Battle of
Somme
- Attempted to relieve pressure on
Germany attack on the French fort at Verdun
- General Sir Douglas Haig was the
British commander was masterminded the attack
- The tank was first used in this
battle – it was most ineffective
- Allies gained only 12 kilometers in
their victory
- On the first day of the battle, some
20,000 were killed and 35,000 wounded
- Casualties during the Battle of
Somme
Country
|
Casualties
|
|
Britain
|
420,000
|
|
France
|
200,000
|
|
Germany
|
500,000
|
|
Total
|
1,120,000
|
|
|
|
|