The Battle of the Somme
A British victory at tragic cost, in which both sides had to learn a new way of fighting.
1916
King George V 1910-1936
A British victory at tragic cost, in which both sides had to learn a new way of fighting.
1916
King George V 1910-1936
In February 1916, Germany launched an offensive at Verdun in Lorraine, near the German border with France. To relieve the French forces, the British tried to draw the Germans north to the River Somme in Picardy.
THE first day of the Battle of the Somme, which began on the 1st of July, 1916, with the Battle of Albert, constituted a heavy defeat for the Germans, and overall the Somme was declared a victory for the Allies.
But the British lost over 60,000 men on that one day, the bloodiest in the history of the British Army.
By the time it was all over on the 18th of November, casualties on both sides had grown to more than a million.
The Somme marked the beginning of modern, industrial warfare. The British Army deployed tanks for the first time here, and sent aircraft to spy far behind enemy lines.
Artillery was more powerful, and armies were larger, than ever before. The battlefields were a maze of shell-craters and muddy, chaotic trenches; the noise was unrelenting, the sights were harrowing.
Learning how to fight like this was costly in the most heart-breaking way.
Suggest answers to this question. See if you can limit one answer to exactly seven words.
Which side in the Great War could claim victory after the Battle of the Somme?
Express the ideas below in a single sentence, using different words as much as possible. Do not be satisfied with the first answer you think of; think of several, and choose the best.
The French were fighting the Germans at Verdun. The British attacked the Germans to the north-west. They meant to help the French.