Taking A Look At The Battle Of Somme
The Battle of Somme was fought from 1st July 1916 to 1st November of the same year next to the Somme River in northwestern France. The participants were German forces pitched against British and French soldiers
The war was fought during the First World War, and it is considered one of the bloodiest military battles to date. The battle was ignited by anti-German forces who sought to reclaim a huge part of French territory that had been occupied by the German army in 1914. Another aim of the allied forces was to weaken the German army, and force them to retreat so as to encourage vigorous attack from the allied powers. The generals in charge of British operations were Henry Rawlinson from the Fourth Army, and Douglas Haig. Since the two soldiers …show more content…
As a result of the Verdun, it was agreed that the British army, consisting of approximately 100,000 soldiers, would play the key of initiating the Somme offensive. Consequently, on July 1, 1916, the British army attacked the German forces at the Somme River using an infantry divided into fourteen divisions. At the same time, the French infantry that had been divided into five divisions attacked the German forces from the south of River Somme. In a retaliatory move, the German forces deployed an infantry made of seven divisions. The opposing troops used various weapons including the machine guns, the rifle, the hand grenade, and the flame thrower. Majority of German forces were used the Gew 98 Mauser rifle, while the British were armed with the Lee-Enfield Rifle. The latter fired with high speed and accuracy to the effect that one of the German commander mistakenly thought that British were using machine guns. However, it was the first time usage of massive warplanes by both powers. The battle ended when German soldiers retreated following the recapture of major French territories initially occupied by the Germans. However, there was no clear-cut victor since the aim of the allied forces was to drain the German empire of its resources and advancement into French
The war was fought during the First World War, and it is considered one of the bloodiest military battles to date. The battle was ignited by anti-German forces who sought to reclaim a huge part of French territory that had been occupied by the German army in 1914. Another aim of the allied forces was to weaken the German army, and force them to retreat so as to encourage vigorous attack from the allied powers. The generals in charge of British operations were Henry Rawlinson from the Fourth Army, and Douglas Haig. Since the two soldiers …show more content…
As a result of the Verdun, it was agreed that the British army, consisting of approximately 100,000 soldiers, would play the key of initiating the Somme offensive. Consequently, on July 1, 1916, the British army attacked the German forces at the Somme River using an infantry divided into fourteen divisions. At the same time, the French infantry that had been divided into five divisions attacked the German forces from the south of River Somme. In a retaliatory move, the German forces deployed an infantry made of seven divisions. The opposing troops used various weapons including the machine guns, the rifle, the hand grenade, and the flame thrower. Majority of German forces were used the Gew 98 Mauser rifle, while the British were armed with the Lee-Enfield Rifle. The latter fired with high speed and accuracy to the effect that one of the German commander mistakenly thought that British were using machine guns. However, it was the first time usage of massive warplanes by both powers. The battle ended when German soldiers retreated following the recapture of major French territories initially occupied by the Germans. However, there was no clear-cut victor since the aim of the allied forces was to drain the German empire of its resources and advancement into French