Battle of the Somme
The Battle of the Somme, also known as the Somme Offensive, was one of the largest battles of the First World War. It took place from July 1 to November 1, 1916, near the Somme River, France. Fought between July 1 and November 1, 1916, near the Somme River, France. it was also one of the costliest 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.
At the beginning of 1916, the French proposed a joint offensive with the British, near the River Somme. The British attacked from the north, contributing some 14 infantry divisions, while the French attacked from the south, contributing a total of 5 divisions. The attack was lead by the British. Defending the Somme were 7 German divisons.
Artillery played an important part in this battle, but no matter how much artillery there was, it was not possible to knock out all German guns and trench positions. When the attack began on 1 July 1916, British guns shifted away from the German positions too early, and this left the German guns to pin down the infantry. French troops, with the experience from the battle of Verdun, however, brought in much more heavy artillery and attacked in rushes, capturing more ground and suffering less.
After July 1, a long stalemate settled in, with the German army digging defenses faster than Allied attacks could take place. Despite small advances, the Somme became a bloody battle of attrition, and Haig has been criticized for prolonging the campaign into winter, especially for the last six weeks. The Somme was an expensive lesson in how not to mount effective attacks, but the German army was also weakened and in February retreated to new, and shorter, defensive lines.
