The First Battle Of The Somme
was a very unsuccessful and expensive Allied offensive on French land during World War I (“Somme”). Many soldiers were needlessly killed and many towns and villages destroyed. This battle was one of the largest land battles ever fought during a war. After the assassination of Archduke Francis Ferdinand of Austria on on June 28, 1914, war began to break out among Western countries (“World“ 1). Germany declared war on Russia, then on France, and then invaded Belgium, which was a neutral country (“World” 1). Much needless Belgian blood was shed by innocent people as the German troops tore throughout the land. Since Belgium was backed up by the Allies and since Great Britain knew Germany ...
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coast across the face of France to Switzerland (Macdonald 10). The French Army held 400 miles of this trench, and Great Britian held the other 70 miles, with the remaining 5 miles taken over by the Germans (Macdonald 10). If the Germans would have been able to pick one part of their own 500 mile-long trench on which to hold off the Allied offensive, they would have chosen the Somme, where their line was surely impenetrable (Macdonald 12). The Germans knew that an offensive was being readied and that the British would attack from their own lines to help lift some weight off the French Army, which was getting mauled at Verdun where they had already lost 200,000 soldiers. However, it was decided that the attack would take place on the Somme Front, where the British and French Armies met, and unfortunately, where their lines were most chaotic (Macdonald 12). This was completely the French’s idea, and the British heads were not in agreement (Macdonald 12).
For political reasons and ...
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great attack, the Army could have done with a thousand specialist instructors, and they simply did not exist. (4) Nevertheless, offensives were planned and the soldiers marched bravely to battle. Artillary bombardment began seven days before the Somme offensive was launched (“Battle Photos”). Britain wanted to clear a path through the German lines so the cavalry could advance to the coast (“The Battle of the Somme” 1). Unfortunately, the “Allied artillary seige...missed most of its targets. It had not destroyed the enemy’s guns nor the deep dug-outs which concealed scores of platoons of Germans” (“The Battle of the Somme” 2).
On July 1, 1916, at 7:20 A.M., 8 mines were blown under the ...
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"The First Battle Of The Somme." Essayworld.com. August 15, 2008. Accessed November 22, 2024. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/The-First-Battle-Of-The-Somme/88326.
"The First Battle Of The Somme." Essayworld.com. August 15, 2008. Accessed November 22, 2024. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/The-First-Battle-Of-The-Somme/88326.
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