Battle Of The Somme Analysis
The battle of the Somme began in the summer of 1916. The British saw their opportunity to look good and be the saviour of the moment. However, this did not occur.
A four hundred and fifty mile trench network, stretching from the Swiss border up and into Belgium, was opened up and the battle had truly started. The battle soon deteriorated into trench warfare causing no progress to either side. The Generals decided to forge an all-out offensive on the weaker points of the German lines and started a forty-eight hour bombardment on these points. However, due to poor weather, the forty-eight hour period was stretched to seven days of heavy shelling. The idea was to wipe out the German barbed wire and the majority of men.
The Germans overheard …show more content…
The date tells us that it was written after the battle and is a sort of justification for what happened. This despatch would have presumably been published so any citizen could pick up a copy that tells us that he was telling the public about the successes in the battle. However, there is no mention of the failed objectives such as the big push' into or the breaking through the German lines. This source can be cross-referenced with source I' which is a map showing the ground gained and the casualties.
Source B- Haig communicating to Lloyd-George during the Somme
This source has no date but we are told that it is during the Somme. This note is clearly a note of desperation as the fact that the note is to the minister of munitions, Lloyd-George, shows. It therefore indicates that things are not going well in the battle. The note shows very little imagination as it talks about the same old things, tactics and one last push'. It also tells us that he has no apparent backup plan so a loss would be a disaster.
Source C- Extract of a report sent in December 1916 by Haig to the British Cabinet about the affects of the battle of the
A four hundred and fifty mile trench network, stretching from the Swiss border up and into Belgium, was opened up and the battle had truly started. The battle soon deteriorated into trench warfare causing no progress to either side. The Generals decided to forge an all-out offensive on the weaker points of the German lines and started a forty-eight hour bombardment on these points. However, due to poor weather, the forty-eight hour period was stretched to seven days of heavy shelling. The idea was to wipe out the German barbed wire and the majority of men.
The Germans overheard …show more content…
The date tells us that it was written after the battle and is a sort of justification for what happened. This despatch would have presumably been published so any citizen could pick up a copy that tells us that he was telling the public about the successes in the battle. However, there is no mention of the failed objectives such as the big push' into or the breaking through the German lines. This source can be cross-referenced with source I' which is a map showing the ground gained and the casualties.
Source B- Haig communicating to Lloyd-George during the Somme
This source has no date but we are told that it is during the Somme. This note is clearly a note of desperation as the fact that the note is to the minister of munitions, Lloyd-George, shows. It therefore indicates that things are not going well in the battle. The note shows very little imagination as it talks about the same old things, tactics and one last push'. It also tells us that he has no apparent backup plan so a loss would be a disaster.
Source C- Extract of a report sent in December 1916 by Haig to the British Cabinet about the affects of the battle of the