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On 1st july 1916 The British army went into the battle of the Somme. The allied forces tried to break through the german defences. Although the german army was severely damaged, the our army still suffered its largest ever loss (in a single day)
On 1st july 1916 The British army went into the battle of the Somme. The allied forces tried to break through the german defences. Although the german army was severely damaged, the our army still suffered its largest ever loss (in a single day)
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On 1st july 1916 The British army went into the battle of the Somme. The allied forces tried to break through the german defences. Although the german army was severely damaged, the our army still suffered its largest ever loss (in a single day)
Hak Cipta:
Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
Format Tersedia
Unduh sebagai RTF, PDF, TXT atau baca online dari Scribd
Army? On the 1st july 1916 the British Army went into the Battle of the Somme. The battle ended on November 18th of the same year. The allied forces tried to break through the german defences and by the end of the battle they had gained about six miles. The British used the tank for the first time ever in the battle, but with little effect. Although the German army was severely damaged, the our army still suffered its largest ever loss (in a single day). The British planned to attack the 15 mile front between Serre and Curlu. Five French divisions would also attack an eight mile front between Curlu and Peronne. Trying ot ensure a rapid advance, artillery was fired at the German lines for a week before the Battle, firing 1.6 million shells altogether. British generals were then so confident they ordered their troops to walk slowly across no-mans land. Once the German lines had been seized, calvalry would pour through to capture fleeing Germans. However, the bombing the week before gave the Germans warning to the start of the attack. Many of the British shells failed to explode and the German trenches remained heavily fortified. The Germans simply moved underground and waited. When the whistles were blown at 7:30 am on 1st July, the Germans left their bunkers and set up their postitions. As the British divisions walked towards the enemy, their machine guns started and the British were slaughtered. Although a few divisions made it through to German territory, without back-up they were driven back. Many 'Pals Battalions' were involved on the Battle and they suffered catastrophic losses. For weeks after the newspapers of Britain would be filled with names of the deceased, injured or missing. There was a lot of poor leaders at the Battle of the Somme. General Sir Douglas Haig knew his men would not be ready for the date on which the French wanted to strike, but let himself be pressured into bringing the date forward. The Genral also stopped artillery fire five minutes before ordering men over the top. This gave the Germans time to prepare as it only took them five minutes to set up their machine guns, which means Haig allowed his troops to be shot down while walking across the battlefield. If Haig had made some more effective decisions and stood up to the French, allowing the soldiers time to prepare things may have turned out better. There were many factors that caused the disasterous first day of battle, main among them poor leadership and failing technology. The Germans slaughtered the British that day with their total deaths coming to: 19,240; injuries coming to: 35,493 and 2,159 missing in action. 585 had also been taken prisoner resulting in the British Army losing roughly 57,470 good men. The press back in England reported the day as a great success but those soldiers who survived described it as more a 'horrible nightmare, knowing it can end in nothing but disaster'. To conclude the first of July was nothing short of disaster; technology failed, thoughtless orders were given and the British Army suffered record losses. The Germans were under-estimated leading to many needless deaths and casualties. This could all have been avoided had Haig ordered more equipment and bullets, taken time over his decisions and not brought the date forward, giving him time to prepare. The army would be well advised to give more effective, thoughtful people the role of leadership in the future.
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