The Battle of the Somme

The Battle of Somme (also known as the Somme offensive) is one of the most
legendary and notorious battle to ever occur during the First World War. It was
between the allied troops consisting of the British and French against the Germans.
The fight began on July 1st,1916, and ended on November 18th,1916, near the Somme
River in France. The Battle of the Somme was partly conducted because the British
planned to break through the German lines and defeat their army. It was also
anticipated that this effort would support the French army, who were under the
severe German attack at Verdun. This forged an alliance between the two countries.
However, before the battle actually took place it was first gradually led up after
the first two years of the First Battle of the Marne. Since the sides had been used
for trenches they decided to battle the Germans in the Western Fronts but the
Germans had raided the French in February 1916 at Verdun. The British and French
had no choice but to locate their attack at the Somme. To prepare for the upcoming
war, in 1914 the Secretary of State for War named Field Marshal Lord Kitchener
initiated a campaign in which men were recruited and trained to fight. After their
training had finished in mid 1916, the men had arrived in France.
On 24th of June, it was decided to implement a seven day artillery bombardment on
the Germans to demolish the barbed wires in the front lines and eliminate their
artillery and trench defences. They fired over 1.5 million shells. Unfortunately it
was quite a failed plan since the Germans were already aware of it so they laid
low. In addition, 30% of the shells had failed to operate and the British artillery
were not able to suppress the German artillery.
The first day of the Battle of the Somme began at 7:30pm on 1st of July. After the
failed bombardment plan, a few senior commanders were unsure whether the new
recruits were experienced enough to handle the tactics used in war. However the
British were successful when capturing Mametz with the help of the French
artillery. Some British forces made it inside the Germans lines but reluctantly had
to retreat because of the bombardment from the Germans artillery fire. The British
suffered 57,470 wounded, with 19,240 dead, making it the bloodiest first day of the
Somme in British military history.
Rawlinson’s Fourth Army battled with German forces to capture Trones Wood, Mametz
Wood and Contalmaison to neutralise the attack on the German second main defensive
position from the 2nd to 13th July. The next day an attack at dawn took place which
led to the seizing of 5,486m of German line between Longueval and Bazentin-le-
Petit. However, the British lost the opportunity to conquer High Wood on 14 July
when it was vacant in the morning. It took them another long two months to properly
seize the wood.
The Battle of the Somme was the first battle to ever use tanks (a new weapon) in
their attacks. Only 36 of the 49 tanks provided to assist the troops made it to
their starting positions however they still managed to startle the German
defenders. From the Schwaben Redoubt to the north of Courcelette, Gough's Reserve
Army led an invasion on the Thiepval Ridge on the 26th of September. The British
troops took Mouquet Farm and Thiepval, but the battle in the Schwaben Redoubt
didn't conclude until October 14th.
From the 13th to 19th November, the final phase of the Somme assault occurred in
the Ancre region. To eliminate the German position between Serre and the Albert-
Bapaume road, Gough's Reserve Army, now known as the Fifth Army, advanced on the
River Ancre, north of Thiepval. Both sides had suffered large amounts of casualties
including 423,000 British, 200,000 French and 500,000 Germans. Despite the fact
that the Germans were negatively impacted, the Allies were unable to fulfil all of
their goals but most people say that the allied troops have won the fight. With
over 1 million casualties on both sides, the Battle of the Somme was the largest
blood bath in human history.