The Battle of Verdun in 1916 was the longest battle of World War One, which yielded many casualties and was the catalyst for the British starting the Battle of the Somme in July 1916. The objective of the Battle of Somme was to help alleviate the pressure on the British that the Germans had been exerting at the battle Verdun. “The attack on Verdun (the Germans code-named it 'Judgment') came about because of a plan by the German Chief of General Staff, von Falkenhayn (Verdun).” The objective of the Germans during the battle of Verdun was to exhaust all the French resources by forcing them to protect the 20 major forts in the area that served as a source of national pride. By attacking the area and attempting to exhaust the French resources the Germans plan was to bring national shame to the French.
The Germans did not plan on the British supporting the French in the battle of Somme, which began with bombarding and led the Germans to focus resources from Verdun to Somme. “For many people, the Battle of the Somme was the battle that symbolized the horrors of warfare in World War One; this one battle had a marked effect on overall casualty figures and seemed to epitomize the futility of trench warfare (Somme).”
Sources:
The Battle Field and Nature of Fighting
The battle of Verdun was a bloody battle that saw the Germans locate its air force and ground troops in the region. “The German attack and the subsequent battle were to last over 300 days. Flame throwers were used in large numbers for the first time to help the Germans advance the eight miles they needed to if they were to capture Verdun (Verdun).” The Germans had set up a six mile long row of machine guns, which cut French troops in half. "Men were squashed. Cut in two or divided from top to bottom. Blown into showers; bellies turned inside out; skulls forced into the chest as if by a blow from a club (Verdun).” The road to Verdun was a small and twenty-foot narrow road in which vehicles could barely pass one another. "You eat beside the dead; you drink beside the dead, you relieve yourself beside the dead and you sleep beside the dead (Verdun).” 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 (Somme).” Upon the end of the shelling the British advanced on the ground war and the trench fighting began with machine guns, barbwire and hand to hand combat. “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 that was seven miles deep at its maximum (Somme)”.
http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/battle_of_verdun.htm
http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/somme.htm
You May Also Find These Documents Helpful
-
Even though each soldier would have been involved in some form of continual conflict with serving on the front-line (trench rapids, snipers, shelling), it is possible to distinguish major battles (or pushes) whose names have gone down in history as some of the bloodiest conflicts ever waged. There were many battles that took place during the war but the most remembered were the five major battles. Those battles are, The Battle of Marne (1914 and 1918), The Battle of Verdun (1916), The Battle of Ypres (1914, 1915, and 1917), The Battle of the Somme (1916), and The Battle of Cambrai (1917). This paper will explain the pros and cons and major details of each battle.…
- 900 Words
- 4 Pages
Good Essays -
Overview of strategies and tactics to break the stalemate including key battles: Verdun, the Somme and Passchendaele.…
- 681 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
The Battle of the Bulge, also known as the Battle of Ardennes, was a major battle fought in northern France during World War II that took place in the Ardennes Forest of Belgium which is a mountainous region of dense forest. The Battle of Ardennes was given the nickname of the Battle of the Bulge because, as the German troops pushed back the center of the Allied forces' line, it created a deadly "bulge" pushing into Allied defenses. On the Allied side, most of the troops were American, which is why it is considered one of the greatest battles ever fought by the United States military. In fact, Prime Minister of Britain, Winston Churchill, said "This is undoubtedly the greatest American battle of World War II.”…
- 964 Words
- 4 Pages
Good Essays -
The Battle of the Somme took place during 1916 to take pressure off the French at Verdun and the Russians on the Eastern Front. The French were under heavy fire at Verdun and had been since February, and the army itself was close to cracking. The Russians had fought gallantly on the Eastern Front to try and avert the German Forces away from the Western Front. After launching many small offensives the Russians had gained very little ground for the amount of lives lost. This essay is going to explore; 1st Day of the Battle of the Somme, the Pals Battalions used during the Battle and the tactics developed after the Battle of the Somme was over. Each of these key areas contribute because the first day of the Battle of the Somme had the highest casualty rate the British Army had ever suffered, Pals Battalions were inexperienced in the art of battle, and the tactic used before the battle were inconclusive in helping with the battle overall.…
- 1160 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
The Battle of the Bulge was the last major offensive carried out by the German forces. The battle took place in the heavily wooded area of Ardennes; Belgium, France and Luxemburg, Germany. Lieutenant General Omar Bradley commanded the 12th United States Army Group, consisting of the Ninth Army (LTG William Simpson), First Army (LTG Courtney Hodges), and the Third (LTG George Patton). General Bradley’s Armies stretched across the German front and the allied numbers estimated about eight million soldiers prior to the German offensive.…
- 1393 Words
- 6 Pages
Good Essays -
In fall of 1917, the Canadian armies were sent North Belgium after their great success at the Vimy Ridge battle in April. The battle occurred in Ypres area of Belgium, where the Passchendaele is located; it was the scene for several First World War Battles. However, it is understood the Passchendaele is mentioned as the horrific fighting condition. Because the area was made up of flat, low land and filled around with sticky mud which turned the battlefield dip into the sea of mud during the raining days.…
- 418 Words
- 2 Pages
Good Essays -
In March 1918, with nearly 50 additional divisions freed by the Russian surrender on the Eastern Front, the German Army launched a series of attacks on the Western Front, hoping to defeat the Allies before U.S. forces could be fully deployed. In the north, the British 5th Army was virtually destroyed by two major offensive operations, Michael and Georgette around the Somme. A third offensive launched in May against the French between Soissons and Reims, known as the Third Battle of the Aisne, saw the Germans reach the north bank of the Marne river at Château-Thierry, 95 kilometres (59 mi) from Paris, on 27 May. Two U.S. Army divisions, the 2nd and the 3rd, were thrown into the Allied effort to stop the Germans. On 31 May, the 3rd Division held the German advance at Château-Thierry and the German advance turned right towards Vaux and Belleau Wood.[3]…
- 2337 Words
- 10 Pages
Good Essays -
On the 1st July 1916, the battle of the Somme began. Sources A, D, E and F suggest that the Battle of The Somme wasn’t a total failure. However, Sources B and C suggest that the British underestimated the Germans and this was the cause of their massacre.…
- 685 Words
- 3 Pages
Satisfactory Essays -
The battle of Verdun is considered the greatest battle in history. It was fought from the 21st of February 1916 until the 19th of December 1916 which is the lengthiest battle. It was fought on a tiny piece of land but it caused over 700,000 casualties. The location of the battle was fought about 10km North-East from Verdun at a place called Fort Douaumont (Source 1). The battle of Verdun started because General Philippe Pétain wanted to become a hero in France (History Learning Site, 2015). There were many armies involved including 1,140,000 French and the Germans had 1,250,000 in their army. The battle had 315,000-542,000 French casualties and 281,000-434,000 German casualties. Between March 1916 and November 1918 more than 295,000 Australians…
- 718 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
Though they won in the long run, the first day of the Battle of Somme was a major defeat for the British. Over 57,000 British soldiers died on the first day. According to George Coppard, hundreds of his fellow soldiers lay dead the morning after the attack. Many were caught in the barbed wire of the Germans trenches, leaving few survivors (Document B). The skillful thinking of the Germans saved them from facing a loss as grand as Britains.…
- 236 Words
- 1 Page
Good Essays -
The Germans were battling against the Allies. The significance of this battle was for the Germans to try to alter the Allied powers in Ypres. 4) The Battle of Aisne- Marne Campaign (Cantigny) was from May 27th to June 5th 1918. This was between the Americans and the Germans. It was located in Montindider.…
- 778 Words
- 4 Pages
Satisfactory Essays -
The Battle of Amiens is considered the turning point in WW1, fought on the Western Front. Regarded as one of the greatest advances in history, the Battle of Amiens began on the 8th of August 1918 and ended on the 12th of August. Also known as the ‘Third Battle of Picardy’, this battle led to the end of World War One, marking the beginning phase of the Hundred Day Offensive. The battle took place east of Amiens in Picardy, France at the Sommes River as seen in Map 1, the main objective to capture the Amiens line. (Battle of…
- 1552 Words
- 7 Pages
Powerful Essays -
Th ink sw ap Do cu me nt Question: In what ways does a comparative study accentuate the distinctive contexts of King Richard III and Looking For Richard? Question 2: To what extent have the connections you have made between the two texts shown how particular concerns, although timeless, impact differently on individuals in different contexts.…
- 1076 Words
- 35 Pages
Good Essays -
The Battle of the Bulge was a powerful counterattack from the Nazis in Ardennes. This was Hitler’s last try to stop the Allied powers from taking back France after D-Day. Hitler sent 200,000 German troops to cut through the Allied forces. The attack was unexpected and very effective. The attack started on an outpost being held by unexperienced infantrymen. After days of fighting, American airborne soldiers jumped behind enemy lines to try to stop the attack. The Americans kept fighting and soon won the battle, leading Germany to never being able to launch another counterattack on that scale. This battle was important to history because it prevented Germany from coming back after their losses of D-Day, and further assured the victory of the…
- 643 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
Battle of Somme With over seven months of vigorous planning came one of the bloodiest battles in military history during World War I, known as the Battle of Somme. The four month Battle of Somme was the cause of over one million lives, endeavoring to conquer the Western Front between France and Germany. Among the amount of artillery shells intended to support the British, projected to be substantial in paving the way for ground troops to triumph over the enemy force. The battle, originally planned to be a quick and easy victory, turned to be a long and gruesome one. The lives sacrificed from The Battle of Somme generated new tactics, techniques, and procedures to follow throughout the war's end.…
- 2060 Words
- 9 Pages
Powerful Essays