...Joe Keegan- History Short term Significance of the Battle of the Somme The Battle of the Somme was a war planned late in 1915 as a joint French-British attack. The French Commander in Chief, Joffre, conceived the idea as a battle of attrition, the aim being to drain the German forces of reserves, although territorial gain was a secondary aim. However, the German attack Verdun made the Somme offensive even more pressing because the French army was under severe pressure there. The battle of the Somme was fought from the 1st July 1916 until later in same year where on November the 16th it was brought to an end. The massive amount of casualties in this time, as well how the war was fought Is what has made the battle so historic. For example, It’s best known for the mass amounts of soldiers who died and more specifically how they died In such a short space of time and why. The style of warfare was different and more brutal than ever before, for example better technology and large scale operations which seen over 1.7 million shells were fired at the German’s alone and made the war a huge test for the countries involved who relied heavily on individual decisions, as well as man power. The first day of the Somme (1s July 1916) proved to be massively significant due to the sheer numbers of soldiers lost. Up to 60 000 British soldiers became casualties thanks to enemy fire (one third of the British military) British hopes were high going in to battle for the first time. Indeed, the...
Words: 1703 - Pages: 7
...Battle of the Somme WW1 and total warfare, - The quantity of weapons produced industrially outdone all other wars meaning huge offensives and mass defence could be planned. - Total war meant that every aspect of that country was dedicated to helping war meaning winning was crucial. - Economies geared for war - Belgium was flat with no hills to provide advantage so they dug trenches - Attacking trenches were impossible with the technology available so they defended them - With everyone defending, stalemate occurred - As the numbers of dead rose the need to win rose with it. 10,000,00 died in WW1. - Political power was geared to total war. - Propaganda was everywhere - Artillery had improved - The German defence was outstanding, digging deep with rifles and machine guns - Both German attack on Paris and the French and English attack on the Germans fail giving both sides confidence - People were conscripted into jobs for the war - 2.5million British volunteers and 1.25 million French against 4 million German meant huge scale war - Generals expected a short war. Battle of the Somme, A joint operation between British and French forces, the battle of the Somme intended to achieve victory over the Germans on the western front after 18 months of trench deadlock. Sir Douglas Haig was one of the main people involved in the daring and stupid plan. Many blame him for the disastrous event. The plan and the reality, - One week before, they bombed the German trenches non-stop...
Words: 421 - Pages: 2
...of the Somme” The Battle of the Somme was one of the largest and most bloodiest wars ever fought. I am going to tell you where the wars took place, why it was one of the bloodiest wars, where and what took place at the war, and about the Somme Campaign. I chose this topic because it happened a long time ago. It was fought between the French, Germans, and the British. You might be wondering when the wars took place. In this paragraph I am going to tell you. The Battle of the Somme happened in world war one. It also happened a long time ago between July 1- November 1 in 1918. During the war there was something called the “Somme Campaign” that had happened in 1916. Whistles commanded...
Words: 900 - Pages: 4
...books, The Battle of Somme is considered a turning point that eventually brought about the end of The Great War, the First World War. It came at a staggeringly high cost to both sides. In terms of casualties, it was the single bloodiest battle during the war, lasting over a period of 4 months. Overconfidence in the precursor artillery bombardment to lighten the German defenses before the main offensive, and poor execution of fires, ratcheted up the number of casualties the British would sustain before the Somme Offensive came to a conclusion several months later. This paper examines the pre battle preparations, the battle itself, and the aftermath of the battle, with a particular focus on the artillery’s role and effectiveness...
Words: 1572 - Pages: 7
...Trench Letter Dear mom I have been fighting for six months now, I think the date it’s August 16, 1916 and I don't know how much more death I can bear. I don't feel any pride in fighting or dying for my country; at least not here in Somme. All day long all I see is people dying and I keep think I am next? I keep wondering will I be alive tomorrow. I see people jump up out of the trenches into no man’s land alive and then two seconds later fall back down because their dead. Two weeks ago while sitting in the trenches someone started yelling GAS! GAS! In that instant I feared for my life. I grabbed a gas mask, hoping that I would get it on in time, but there weren’t enough gas masks for everyone so I had to watch my friends suffocate from inhaling the gas. I can't believe I am here and wake up every morning wondering if I will wake up tomorrow. I wish that my friend would have never pressured me into doing this, but now he’s dead because when some of us had to charge his trench foot prevented him from moving fast so the machine gun blew him apart. The good thing though is that we don’t have to worry about rats, lice, and flies for a while because of the gas. Lately I haven’t been wanting to do my job. I’m supposed to be climbing up on the fire step with my Springfield sniper rifle but I’ve been too tired to do it lately. This kid who just started died today too; he was cutting barb wire and stepped on a bouncing Betty by accident. We only found him in pieces, or at least we think...
Words: 414 - Pages: 2
...How successful a military leader was Haig? Explain your answer. I think Sir Douglas Haig was not a very successful military leader. Although he did have some achievements, but compared to his mistakes on leadership, I think it’s not enough to say he was a great leader. Some people argue that death is a part of the war, and that “British generals were not uncaring but they accepted, as they had to, that the very nature of the war, would lead to many deaths however hard they tried to avoid them. ” However we might want to question this statement. Did Haig really try hard to avoid death? If we look closely at the battle plan for the Battle of Somme one would hardly agree. Firstly, Haig assumed a seven-day-bombardment would make the German trenches so deserted that “not even a rat would live”, however he was proven wrong. Also he told the soldiers to walk towards the German trenches; they did, however the Germans simply aimed the machine guns at them and this turned into a suicidal mission. In order to minimize the casualties, he could’ve talk to the soldiers at the front and would know right away that machine gun shells will not beat barbed wire into pieces. In fact, it would only pick it up and through it onto the floor, often in a bigger mess than before… No, he didn’t do any of that. He simply sat kilometers behind the frontline, knowing nothing about the real trenches save the limited intelligence he gets daily. Another piece of evidence that one may argue is Haig’s biography...
Words: 665 - Pages: 3
...Haig was a general in the First World War, and it is said that it was his fault that the battle of the Somme resulted in masses of deaths. John Keegan- a modern historian says that ‘Haig was an efficient and highly skilled soldier who did much to lead Britain to victory in the First World War’. Source A, agrees that ‘Haig was an efficient and highly skilled soldier who did much to lead Britain to victory in the First World War’. The text says ‘the German casualties have been greater than ours’. This could be inferred that the Germans suffered a great amount of casualties and the allies suffered very few. Source B disagrees with the statement that ‘Haig was an efficient and highly skilled soldier who did much to lead Britain to victory in the First World War’. This source shows a poster with General Haig on and pointing to himself, the poster reads ‘your country needs me like a hole in the head’. The source is implying that using Haig as a leader would be like having a hole in the head and ultimately causing the country to die. Source C disagrees that ‘Haig was an efficient and highly skilled soldier who did much to lead Britain to victory in the First World War’. In the text it says ‘The nation must be taught to bear losses’. This could be inferred that Haig knows there will be deaths on the allies side but is doing nothing to prevent the deaths from occurring. Source D disagrees that ‘Haig was an efficient and highly skilled soldier who did much to lead Britain to...
Words: 633 - Pages: 3
...The tradition of having goats in the military originated in 1775,[2] when a wild goat walked onto the battlefield in Boston[2] during the American Revolutionary War and led the Welsh regimental colours at the end of the Battle of Bunker Hill.[3][4] Another Welsh military goat, Taffy IV, served in the First World War. Taffy, of 2nd Battalion, Welsh Regiment, is officially recorded as "The Regimental Goat". He embarked for the war on 13 August 1914 and saw action in the Retreat from Mons, the First Battle of Ypres (including the Battle of Gheluvelt) and the Battles of Festubert and Givenchy, before dying on 20 January 1915. He was posthumously awarded the 1914 Star, British War Medal and the Victory Medal.[5] The royal goat herd was originally...
Words: 251 - Pages: 2
...Vera Mary Brittain was a British writer, feminist and pacifist. She was best remembered as the author of the best-selling 1933 book Testament of Youth, which recounters her experiences during World War I and the beginning of her journey towards pacifism. Vera began studying English Literature at Somerville College, Oxford. Later she delayed her degree after one year in the summer of 1915 in order to work as a V.A.D. nurse for much of the First World War. During the time of the First World War Vera lost close family and friends including her fiance, brother and two male friends. Vera finace had been killed on the Western front, Edward was injured in the Somme battle and the two male friends wounded in the trenches and Yrpes. Vera Brittains dream was to become a professional writer. She decided upon a literacy carerr at a young age and to obtain this goal she wanted to attend a University.After she discussed the decisions with her parents ,they disagreed and had another outlook on life for her. They propsed motherhood and being a great wife for the upperclass. Along with her goals to attend college she wanted to study at Oxford for English. Vera relized her dreams and goals but it was shortly interputed because of the Eurpoean War. After the war she returned home and continued her education. In 1921, Vera graduted and moved to london to establish her self as a writer. Vera Brittain became a Voluntary Aid Detachment Nurse during the War. As a nurse in the war she encountered...
Words: 592 - Pages: 3
...September 15th, 1916: the first World War has been raging on for almost three years, with the Battle of the Somme having recently entered its third month. Across the British trenches, men stared in awe as 36 Mark-1 Tanks began their journey towards the German line, their quest announced by way of a massive artillery barrage on the German forces. Though it was little more than a modified tractor with armor plating and machine guns on the sides, the Mark-1’s crossed trench after trench, smashing through barbed wire and German lines alike. By the end of the day, the British troops had advanced 2.3 kilometers in exchange for relatively few casualties, and had with their success made it clear that the tank was a game-changer. My entire life, I’ve...
Words: 641 - Pages: 3
...Dulce et Decorum Est I looked at the medals laid before me then took a swig of whiskey and gazed upwards. Looking back at me was once a soldier, never a hero. He was a noble figure that children looked up to. I was never such a thing. I clenched the three or four medals that I held in my left palm and began to pin them to my left chest. Memories of each battle and each event flooded back to me as I stuck each one to my shirt. As I attached the last, the worst of it came back. I fell down to the floor my whiskey still in my hand. Sweating, I remembered it. I remembered it all. I stood between walls of dirt within the battlefield; the gunshots firing overhead deafened me and everyone else in my battalion, which of course included George. George and I were only here because of each other. In the distance we heard German artillery fire again and again for two hours straight. The sky was pitch-black but occasionally George and I saw the very few allied planes above us. Not even the stars decided to come out that night. Our Battalion started to move towards a different location. We walked through the trenches occasionally stepping over the bloodied bodies shredded by enemy fire. Frequently we came across the wounded lying helplessly in the trenches suffering from the bullets wedged inside their chests and shrapnel lodged deep into their back. They shrieked in agony as one by one they were pulled onto the stretchers. That’s when something started whistling in the sky. “Gas! GAS BOYS...
Words: 640 - Pages: 3
...April 6th, 1917 was the scariest day for us soldiers. The congress granted President Wilson’s request to declare war on Germany. Us soldiers were scared to death after hearing that. We wanted to stay home with our families and not risk our lives out there. Yeah, they were training us for just incase we get into war but we never expected it to happen. Once the French and British heard about the news, they helped us by sending delegations to assist us. We first met Foreign Minister Arthur Balfour and Maj. Gen. G. M. T. Bridges from Britain. A few days later, we then met French Premier René Viviani and Marshal Joseph Joffre from France. It really didn’t go well as planned. They really didn’t have anything for us to do. After the British and French got our loans, they were proposing way for the best use for us American soldiers. They really didn’t believe in us. They didn’t think that we would catch on quickly or that we were skilled enough. Marshal Joffre then came along. Marshal Joffre said that an American division can be sent to France to show that we are participating in the war. He also offered help with training with the French army but we would have to have an army of our own later on. Then we later on met General Bridges. He was a distinguished divisional commander. He said that he could ship 500,000 Americans to England where they would be trained, equipped with weapons, and be mixed with the British Army. President Wilson rejected the British offer but accepted Joffre’s...
Words: 2288 - Pages: 10
...The battle at the Somme was fought in the western front of France it was a war of attrition. The various strengths and weaknesses of this battle and Lloyd George’s criticism of Douglas Haig’s role in this war. The Battle of the Somme was planned as a joint French and British operation. The idea originally came from the French Commander-in-Chief, Joseph Joffre and was accepted by General Sir Douglas Haig, the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) commander, despite his preference for a large attack in Flanders. Although Joffre was concerned with territorial gain, it was also an attempt to destroy German manpower. The principal attack would be led by General Sir Henry Rawlinson’s forces. He preferred the gradual approach. Nevertheless, Chief Field Commander Haig demanded a daring strike, quickly taking Bapuame then swinging north to flank the German line. Lieutenant General Sir Hubert...
Words: 964 - Pages: 4
...During July 1st and November 18th in 1916, one of the bloodiest battles in history was carried out along the Somme Valley in France concerning the British, French and the Germans. This particular battle compromised the main Allied attack on the Western Front and is famously known as the Battle of Somme. The Battle of Somme or the Somme Offensive is a significant battle in history as it was one of the largest battles ever fought in World War 1. As a result, the British troops lost one third of their soldiers on the first day which currently still holds a single-day record. In 1915, the battle was planned to be a joint French-British attack against the German Empire to weaken the German forces simultaneously on the Eastern and Western Fronts....
Words: 365 - Pages: 2
...1. accompagner : | to accompany | je: | ai accompagné | nous: | avons accompagné | tu: | as accompagné | vous: | avez accompagné | il: | a accompagné | ils: | ont accompagné | | 2. aider : | to help | je: | ai aidé | nous: | avons aidé | tu: | as aidé | vous: | avez aidé | il: | a aidé | ils: | ont aidé | | 3. aimer : | to like, love | je: | ai aimé | nous: | avons aimé | tu: | as aimé | vous: | avez aimé | il: | a aimé | ils: | ont aimé | | 4. aller : | to go | je: | suis allé(e) | nous: | sommes allé(e)s | tu: | es allé(e) | vous: | êtes allé(e)s | il: | est allé(e) | ils: | sont allé(e)s | | 5. apporter : | to bring | je: | ai apporté | nous: | avons apporté | tu: | as apporté | vous: | avez apporté | il: | a apporté | ils: | ont apporté | | 6. arriver : | to arrive | je: | suis arrivé(e) | nous: | sommes arrivé(e)s | tu: | es arrivé(e) | vous: | êtes arrivé(e)s | il: | est arrivé(e) | ils: | sont arrivé(e)s | | 7. avoir : | to have | je: | ai eu | nous: | avons eu | tu: | as eu | vous: | avez eu | il: | a eu | ils: | ont eu | | 8. boire : | to drink | je: | ai bu | nous: | avons bu | tu: | as bu | vous: | avez bu | il: | a bu | ils: | ont bu | | 9. comprendre : | to understand | je: | ai compris | nous: | avons compris | tu: | as compris | vous: | avez compris | il: | a compris | ils: | ont compris | | 10. conduire : | to drive | je: | ai conduit | nous: | avons conduit | tu: | as conduit | vous: | avez conduit |...
Words: 1190 - Pages: 5
