The Battle of the Somme

The plan and the first day
1. In 1916 the Allies decided to launch a coordinated attack on the Germans to break the stalemate.
2. The British army now had over 2.5 million men and Haig was able to plan attacks on a huge scale.
3. Massive German strike against the French at Verdun meant that the Somme was mainly a British attack
4. First day- 1st July 1916
5. Soldiers were ordered to advance at walking place to prevent panic and were protected by creeping barrage.
6. Overall the British suffered 57,000 casualties and 19,000 deaths on the first day alone.
7. Single worst day in British military history.
The rest of the battle
1. The Germans were eventually pushed back, but at the cost of 420,000 British and 200,000 French casualties.
2. German casualties ranging between 400,000 and 600,000
3. Intended breakthrough did not take place. An inexperienced British army had begun to learn to fight a new kind of war.
4. munitions had to be developed, e.g. shells made more precise.
5. Military leaders developed strategies for successfully coordinating artillery bombardment with infantry advance.
6. By this time Lloyd George had begun to get to grips with the 'shell scandal' of 1915.
What went wrong?
1. Many of the explosives that had bombed the German trenches failed.
2. The German trenches were very deep and well constructed, so most were not destroyed.
3. Much of the barbed wire on no man's land remained in tact.
4. The creeping barrage had some success although it lacked precision.
5. Only 200 of the 1500 guns fired were heavy artillery.
6. 30% of shells failed to explode
7. The attack was over a wide area meaning the attack was dispersed.
8. The BEF had 30000 casualties by 8.30am alone.

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The Battle of the Somme

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