Battle Of The Somme

A large cooperative operation involving British and French soldiers against the Germans took place in the Somme area of northern France from July 1st to November 18th, 1916. The Battle of the Somme was planned by coalition commanders, French Joseph Joffre and British General Douglas Haig, in December 1915 to counter the German advance at Verdun. According to Imperial War Museum documents, the British lead the onslaught and encountered a German defense that had been constructed over months. Despite a seven-day bombardment prior to the 1st July onslaught, the British were unable to accomplish the victory that General Haig's military leadership had hoped for, despite sending 100,000 soldiers to overrun German fortifications. The Somme became a battle of attrition, with the British capturing only three square miles of ground in 141 days.

Over a million people were wounded, captured, or murdered by the opposing forces. But it was the 57,470 fatalities on the first day of the battle of the Somme that impacted the British psyche, with 19,240 army personnel killed. It was the bloodiest day in British military history as a result. The German army also suffered 6000 casualties on that first day, many of them at the hands of French forces stationed on the Somme's southern flank. According to analysts, the British casualties on the Somme were caused by the employment of unskilled volunteers as soldiers and insufficient artillery in the seven-day bombardment, which did not harm German soldiers who were safe in deep trenches. The British also underestimated the battle-hardened German men nestled up in the trenches, who were well-drilled and armed. As a result, the German forces were able to regroup, counterattack, and reclaim most of the ground they had previously lost. Over a million troops from the French, British, and German armies were killed or wounded in just five months.

When: 1916