Why Did The British Decide To Launch An Offensive On The Somme?
Battle of Somme
July-November 1916
Why did the British decide to launch an offensive on the Somme?
The French were fighting the Germans alone at Verdun, in an attempt to retain control of the historic fortress town.
The French Commander in Chief, Joffre, asked the British to mount an offensive on the nearby Somme, to deflect the Germans.
The offensive was planned by the British Commander, Douglas Haig.
What was the Plan?
The plan was to launch a week long bombardment of the German trenches
This would be followed by an infantry and cavalry attack along the sixteen mile long front.
It was expected that not many of the Germans would survive the bombardment, and that the allies would encounter little resistance.
Why did the plan not …show more content…
work?
The bombardment failed to destroy the German trenches, which were deep and well-fortified.
At the end of the bombardment, the Germans came out of their dugouts and took their positions.
Most German soldiers had survived.
The first day of battle – 1st July 1916
On the first day of the battle, the weeklong bombardment stopped.
The first over the top were slaughtered in huge numbers, by German snipers and machine guns.
The men were ordered to walk towards the German front lines.
752 men from the Newfoundland Regiment left the trenches- 684 were either killed or wounded.
The 36th Ulster Division did manage to reach their targets, but were pushed back later as they did not have enough support, and their support was cut down by German machine guns.
They suffered badly, losing 6,000 men in the first day.
The German front line soldiers fired rockets into the air to tell their artillery to open fire.
Many divisions suffered similar casualties.
On the first day, 20,000 British soldiers were killed and 35,000 wounded.
How did the generals react to the losses on the first day?
Despite the terrible losses on the first day of the battle, General Haig did not want to change his methods.
More attacks were ordered but failed each time.
The first day of the Somme was a tragedy for the British army.
By the end of the Battle, Britain had suffered 420,000
casualties.
How did the British change their tactics and ultimately win the battle?
Many people focus on the first day of the battle and see it as a failure, and as an example of the incompetence and inflexibility of the British generals.
However, the Battle of the Somme was ultimately won, and the generals did change their tactics.
Commanders were increasingly allowed to take the initiative on the battlefield.
There was a focus on better communication.
Better intelligence was used, and planes were used to collect evidence.
Tanks were developed by the British and first used at the Somme.
New shells were developed which cut through barbed wire more easily.
New tactics, such as changing the time of attack were used.
A creeping barrage was used instead of bombardment followed by infantry attack.
July-November 1916
Why did the British decide to launch an offensive on the Somme?
The French were fighting the Germans alone at Verdun, in an attempt to retain control of the historic fortress town.
The French Commander in Chief, Joffre, asked the British to mount an offensive on the nearby Somme, to deflect the Germans.
The offensive was planned by the British Commander, Douglas Haig.
What was the Plan?
The plan was to launch a week long bombardment of the German trenches
This would be followed by an infantry and cavalry attack along the sixteen mile long front.
It was expected that not many of the Germans would survive the bombardment, and that the allies would encounter little resistance.
Why did the plan not …show more content…
work?
The bombardment failed to destroy the German trenches, which were deep and well-fortified.
At the end of the bombardment, the Germans came out of their dugouts and took their positions.
Most German soldiers had survived.
The first day of battle – 1st July 1916
On the first day of the battle, the weeklong bombardment stopped.
The first over the top were slaughtered in huge numbers, by German snipers and machine guns.
The men were ordered to walk towards the German front lines.
752 men from the Newfoundland Regiment left the trenches- 684 were either killed or wounded.
The 36th Ulster Division did manage to reach their targets, but were pushed back later as they did not have enough support, and their support was cut down by German machine guns.
They suffered badly, losing 6,000 men in the first day.
The German front line soldiers fired rockets into the air to tell their artillery to open fire.
Many divisions suffered similar casualties.
On the first day, 20,000 British soldiers were killed and 35,000 wounded.
How did the generals react to the losses on the first day?
Despite the terrible losses on the first day of the battle, General Haig did not want to change his methods.
More attacks were ordered but failed each time.
The first day of the Somme was a tragedy for the British army.
By the end of the Battle, Britain had suffered 420,000
casualties.
How did the British change their tactics and ultimately win the battle?
Many people focus on the first day of the battle and see it as a failure, and as an example of the incompetence and inflexibility of the British generals.
However, the Battle of the Somme was ultimately won, and the generals did change their tactics.
Commanders were increasingly allowed to take the initiative on the battlefield.
There was a focus on better communication.
Better intelligence was used, and planes were used to collect evidence.
Tanks were developed by the British and first used at the Somme.
New shells were developed which cut through barbed wire more easily.
New tactics, such as changing the time of attack were used.
A creeping barrage was used instead of bombardment followed by infantry attack.