The Battle of the Somme

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The Battle of the Somme
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Overview

• July 1 November 18, 1946
• Allies (British French) vs. Germany
• Started during siege on Verdun
• One-day record for bloodiest battle in British
  history
• 58,000 troops (1/3 total) lost on 1st day
• Prolonged because both sides thought enemy was
  exhausted victory was near
• Became British symbol of futility of war

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The Players

• Allies
• British CIC Sir Douglas Haig
• Gen. Henry Rawlinson
• French CIC Joseph Joffre
• Gen. Ferdinand Foch

• Germany
• General Max von Gallwitz
• Both
• Lots of Corpses

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The Plan (Joffre)

• Joint British-French attack
• mostly French
• Objective drain German reserves
• also for territorial gain

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Change of Plans (Haig)

• French preoccupied by Verdun
• British play bigger role
• New aim relieve pressure on French at Verdun by
  diverting German forces
• Strategy
• Preliminary artillery bombardment to open up
  forward German defences
• Make way for 3 cavalry divisions to seize German
  front lines

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Battle Progression

• British (FAILURE!)
• British Expeditionary Force (BEF) advanced from
  north
• Week-long bombardment ineffective warned Germans
  of coming attack
• Expected Germans to be crushed
• Repeatedly reached but failed to penetrate German
  lines

• French (SUCCESSFUL?)
• French Army advanced from south
• Bombardment took place hours before actual
  battle greater element of surprise
• Germans thought French were busy at Verdun
• Achieved most of their objectives

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Important Dates

• June 24th BEFs preliminary bombardment begins
• July 1st Battle commences with detonation of 17
  mines under German strong points
• July 11th BEF finally secures 1st line of
  German trenches (w/o breakthrough)
• Germans transferred troops from Verdun to Somme
• September 15th BEF uses tanks for the 1st time
• Gain under 1 km of ground
• October Joffre urges Haig to continue
  offensive, tables turning at Verdun
• November 13th BEF captures fort at Beaumont
• November 18th Snowy weather terminates battle

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Statistics

• Allies
• 27 divisions (750,000 men)
• Casualties
• 420,000 British
• 200,000 French
• 1.4 for every in. (7 mi. total)

• Germany
• 16 divisions
• 500,000 casualties

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Warfare

• Allies
• Tank used for the first time
• Effective but unreliable
• Only 24 out of 50 actually worked
• Munitions turned out to be duds
• Badly constructed
• Ineffective
• Failed to go off (iron harvest)

• Germany
• Front line barbed wire
• Remained intact
• Concrete bunkers
• Sheltered troops from artillery
• Machine guns
• Used between bombardments
• Easily targeted soldiers in No Mans Land
• Forced BEF back into their trenches

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Private Fred Ball

• French soldier
• Excerpt taken from memoirs
• Never sought nor received promotion after end of
  war

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• Just before we arrived in our jumping-off
  trench something happened which I can never
  forget.  A young soldier of my 1 own section was
  struck by a shell fragment square between the
  eyes.  His cries haunt me now.  Mother of God! 
  Mother of God! he shrieked time and time again. 
  We left him behind where he lay, whimpering
  Mother of God!  Good God! I'm blind!  It got in
  my ears.  Mother of God! I reiterated, scarcely
  knowing what I was saying.
• Then I realized the meaning of the words.  In
  a flash of violent emotion I denied Her there and
  then.  If She existed, why were we here?  She
  didn't exist.  There was no such thing. 

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Philip Gibbs

• Official British war correspondent
• Optimistic, patriotic tone
• Covered opening day of battle
• Fallaciously praised British progress efficacy

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• The British attack began with the great
  bombardment several days before July 1st and was
  a revelation, to the German Command and to the
  soldiers who had to endure it, of the new and
  enormous power of our artillery.
• A number of batteries were unmasked for the
  first time, and the German gunners found that in
  "heavies" and in expenditure of high explosives
  they were outclassed.
• They were startled, too, by the skill and
  accuracy of the British gunners whom they had
  scorned as "amateurs" .
• After the first week of battle the German
  General Staff had learnt the truth about the
  qualities of those British "New Armies" which had
  been mocked and caricatured in German comic
  papers.  They learnt that these "amateur
  soldiers" had the qualities of the finest troops
  in the world - not only extreme valour but skill
  and cunning, not only a great power of endurance
  under the heaviest fire, but a spirit of attack
  which was terrible in its effect.

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The Aftermath

• Allies advanced approx. 7 mi.
• Succeeded in diverting the Germans allowing
  French victory at Verdun (at what cost?)
• Large-scale British commitment led to increased
  British influence within the Allies