11/08/22 3rd

Name____________________________________Date________________Period_______
Living Through The War: The Battle of the Somme
The Battle of the Somme started in July 1st 1916. It lasted until November 1916.
For many years those who lead the British campaign have received a lot of criticism for the way the Battle of
the Somme was fought – especially General Sir Douglas Haig. This criticism was based on the appalling
casualty figures suffered by the British and the French. By the end of the battle, the British Army had
suffered 420,000 casualties including nearly 60,000 on the first day alone. The French lost 200,000 men and
the Germans nearly 500,000.
Ironically, going over the top at the Somme was the first taste of battle many of these men had, as
many were part of "Kitchener’s Volunteer Army" persuaded to volunteer by posters showing Lord Kitchener
himself summoning these men to arms to show their patriotism.

The battle at the Somme started with a weeklong artillery bombardment of the German lines.
1,738,000 shells were fired at the Germans. The logic behind this was so that the artillery guns
would destroy the German trenches and barbed wire placed in front of the trenches. In fact, the
Germans had deep dugouts for their men and all they had to do when the bombardment
started was to move these men into the relative safety of the deep dugouts. When the
bombardment stopped, the Germans would have known that this would have been the signal for A British machine gun post at
an infantry advance. They moved from the safety of their dugouts and manned their machine the Somme
guns to face the British and French. The Allied troops climbed out of their trenches and moved
over” no man’s land” towards the German front lines. Many were gunned down in no man’s land.
However due to the huge number of troops attacking the German line soldiers did get through.
They were followed by cavalry. This was not a great success. The muddy conditions made horses
slow and riders easy targets. The man to man combat that followed was bloody and horrific.
By the end of the battle, in November 1916, the British had lost 420,000, the French lost nearly
200,000 men and the Germans 500,000. The Allied forces had advanced along a thirty-mile strip
British soldiers going 'over the top' at the
that was seven miles deep at its maximum. Somme
Lord Kitchener was a supporter of the theory of attrition - that eventually you would grind down
your enemy and they would have to yield. He saw the military success of the battle as all
important. However, it did have dire political and social consequences in Britain. Many spoke of
the "lost generation". Many people found it difficult to justify the near 88,000 Allied men lost
for every one mile gained in the advance.

Complete the flow chart showing the different stages of the Battle of the Somme

The Battle of the Somme By the end of the battle, in

The battle at the
started in July 1st 1916. Somme started with a
It lasted until November
weeklong artillery
1916. For many years bombardment of the
those who lead the
German lines.
British campaign have 1,738,000 shells were
received a l ot of
fired at the Germans.
criticism for the way the The logic behind this
Battle of the Somme was
was s o that the
fought – especially artillery guns would
General Sir Douglas Ha
destroy the German
ig. By the end of the trenches and barbed
battle, the British Army
wire p laced in front of
had suffered 420,000 the trenches. When the
casualties including
bombardment stopped,
nearly 60, 000 on the the Germans would
first day alone. The
have known that this
French lost 200,000 would have been the
men and the Germans
signal for an infantry
nearly 500,00 advance.
November 1916, the British
had lost 420,000, the French
lo st nearly 200,000 men and
the Germans 500,000. The
Allied forces had advanced
along a thirty - mile strip that
was seven miles deep at its
maximum. - that eventually
you would grind down your
enemy and they would have
to yield . He saw the military
success of the battle as all
important. Many spoke of the
" lost generation ". Many
people found it difficult to
justify the near 88,000 Allied
men lost for every one mile
gained in the advance
 "The Daily Chronicle" published this report on the battle on July
3rd:
At about 7.30 o'clock this morning a vigorous attack was launched by the British Army. The front
extends over some 20 miles north of the Somme. The assault was preceded by a terrific
bombardment, lasting about an hour and a half. It is too early to as yet give anything but the barest
particulars, as the fighting is developing in intensity, but the British troops have already occupied
the German front line. Many prisoners have already fallen into our hands, and as far as can be
ascertained our casualties have not been heavy.

However, those who fought there knew what really happened - if they survived:
The next morning (July 2nd) we gunners surveyed the dreadful scene in front of us......it became
clear that the Germans always had a commanding view of No Man's land. (The British) attack had
been brutally repulsed. Hundreds of dead were strung out like wreckage washed up to a high water-
mark. Quite as many died on the enemy wire as on the ground, like fish caught in the net. They hung
there in grotesque postures. Some looked as if they were praying; they had died on their knees and
the wire had prevented their fall. Machine gun fire had done its terrible work.
George Coppard, machine gunner at the Battle of the Somme.

Read the two reports on the battle. Put the following headings and record five things in complete sentences that each reports say
about the battle

Newspaper Article Eyewitness account

The article tells what happened but There were people dead everywhere and
not in much detail. All it says is that they were strung out like they were
there was a bomb and there are caught in a fish net and they looked like
prisoners. they had died while praying.

EXTENSION Which of the extracts do you trust the most? Why do you have this opinion?

I trust the eye-witnesses because it is in detail and has real events that i trust a lot.
Name_____________________________________Date______________Period_________ Complete the definitions below
1.bombardment a continuous attack with bombs, shells, or other missiles.

2. Attrition a prolonged war or period of conflict during which each side seeks to gradually wear out the other
by a series of small-scale actions.
3. no man’s land disputed ground between the front lines or trenches of two opposing armies.

4.trench warfare a type of combat in which opposing troops fight from trenches facing each other

5.Lost generation the generation reaching maturity during and just after World War I, a high proportion
of whose men were killed during those years.
6.total war a war that is unrestricted in terms of the weapons used, the territory or combatants involved,
or the objectives pursued, especially one in which the laws of war are disregarded.
7.propoganda information, especially of a biased or misleading nature, used to promote or publicize a particular
political cause or point of view.
8.Battle of Vedun World War I engagement in which the French repulsed a major German offensive.

9.Gallipoli Campaign the land-based element of a strategy intended to allow Allied ships to pass through the
Dardanelles, capture Constantinople
10.genocide the deliberate killing of a large number of people from a particular nation or ethnic group
with the aim of destroying that nation or group
11.Woodrow Wilson Woodrow Wilson, a leader of the Progressive Movement, was the 28th President
of the United States (1913-1921).
12.U-boats a German submarine used in World War I or World War II.

13.Zimmerman Note a secret diplomatic communication issued from the German Foreign Office in
January 1917
14.armistice an agreement made by opposing sides in a war to stop fighting for a certain time; a truce.

15.Fourteen Points were a proposal made by U.S. President Woodrow Wilson in a speech before
Congress on January 8, 1918
16.Treaty of Versailles outlined the conditions of peace between Germany and the victorious Allies, led
by the United States, France, and the United Kingdom.
17.League of Nations the first intergovernmental organization established “to promote international
cooperation and to achieve international peace and security
18.mandates the authority to carry out a policy or course of action, regarded as given by the electorate to
a candidate or party that is victorious in an election.
19.Balfour Declaration The British Government made a written promise (in a letter) to recognize Palestine
as the legitimate Jewish State
20.Bolsheviks a member of the majority faction of the Russian Social Democratic Party, which was
renamed the Communist Party after seizing power in the October Revolution of 1917.
21.Grigory Rasputin Russian mystic and self-proclaimed holy man who befriended the family of Nicholas II,
the last Emperor of Russia
22.Marxism-Leninism the doctrines of Marx as interpreted and put into effect by Lenin in the Soviet Union
and (at first) by Mao Zedong in China.
23. Leon Trotsky was a socialist and a Marxist.

24. New Economic Policy economic liberalization or relaxation in the import tariffs, deregulation of markets
or opening the markets for private and foreign players
25.Pandemic (of a disease) prevalent over a whole country or the world.

26. reparations the making of amends for a wrong one has done, by paying money to or otherwise helping those who h
wronged.