Tank Usage in Battle of Somme
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The British Army Advance in Somme
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The Battle Plan in Somme
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The Battle of the
Somme, also known as the Somme Offensive, was one of the largest battles of the
First World War. Fought between July 1 and November 1, 1918 near the Somme
River in France, it was also one of the bloodiest military battles in history.
On the first day alone, the British suffered more than 57,000 casualties, and
by the end of the campaign the Allies and Central Powers would lose more than
1.5 million men. It was the great offensive by the British. Intended to be a
decisive breakthrough, the Battle of the Somme instead became a byword for
futile and indiscriminate slaughter, with General Haig's tactics remaining
controversial even today. The British planned
to attack on a 24km (15 mile) front between Serre, north of the Ancre, and
Curlu, north of the Somme. Five French divisions would attack a 13km (eight
mile) front south of the Somme, between Curlu and Peronne. To ensure a fast
advance toward the German, Allied artillery shelled German lines for a week
before the attack, firing 1.6 million shells. British commanders were so
confident they ordered their troops to walk slowly towards the German trenches.
Once they took the trenches, cavalry units would advance through to pursue and
capture the fleeing Germans but however, unconcealed preparations for the
assault and the week-long bombardment gave the Germans clear warning. Happy to
remain on French soil, German trenches were heavily fortified and, furthermore,
many of the British shells failed to explode. When the bombardment began, the
Germans simply moved underground and waited. Around 7.30am on 1 July, whistles
blew to signal the start of the attack. With the shelling over, the Germans
left their bunkers and set up their positions. As the 11 British divisions
consists more than 110,000 walked towards the German lines, the turkey shoot start
to begin. Although a few units managed to reach German trenches, they could not
exploit their gains and were driven back. By the end of the day, the British
had suffered 60,000 casualties, of whom 20,000 were dead: their largest single
loss. Sixty per cent of all officers involved on the first day were killed. The
French advance was considerably more successful. They had more guns and faced
weaker defences, yet were unable to exploit their gains without British backup
and had to fall back to earlier positions. With the early expectation of
'decisive breakthrough' now a decisive losses, Haig accepted that advances
would be more limited and concentrated on the southern sector. The British took
the German positions there on 14 July, but once more could not follow through.
The next two months saw a halt, with the Allies gaining very little ground. On
15 September Haig renewed the offensive, using tanks for the first time.
However, with the mechanical failure, lightly armoured and newly technology,
they made little impact. Torrential rains in October turned the battlegrounds
into a muddy quagmire and in mid-November the battle ended, with the Allies
having advanced only 8km .The British suffered around 420,000 casualties, the
French 195,000 and the Germans around 650,000. Only in the sense of relieving
the French at Verdun can the British have claimed any measure of success.
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