Battle of the Somme

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The Battle of the Somme, or “humanity’s bloodiest battle”, took place between July 1st and November 18th, 1916 (Wikipedia). The German Empire was pitted against the French and British Empires, resulting in over 1,000,000 men wounded or killed, 60,000 of them being on the first day of the battle. This battle was one of the largest and bloodiest battles on World War I, making it consequential to the French, British, and German Empires. Although there were many consequences of the battle the main consequences were that the British contribution to the battle took the strategic initiative from the German Army, secondly the British army lost thousands of men as well as suffered massive amounts of devastation to the many places the battle took place at, and lastly the battle caused many political consequences.
Although the battle was won by the Germans there were aftermaths of the war they still suffered through. The Brigadier General Sir James Edmonds made acclaims about the German Empire; he stated “the 24th June 1916 saw the German Army at its zenith,” Edmonds then went on to state “These troops sacrificed their lives to obey the order not to give up an inch of ground,” (Edmonds 243). Edmonds talks about how strict the orders given to the Germans were and how serious they were taken. In conclusion Edmonds continues to write “and after this loss the German Empire never fought so well again. Its morale for the first time was shaken, never quite to recover,” (Edmonds 244). After this battle the Germans strategy and initiative began to decrease, this consequence added to the many reasons for the defeat of the Germans in the entire war. Therefore this battle took a great toll on the German Army causing them to be less affective in their...

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Voces Novae: Chapman University Historical Review
Fellman, Paul. "The Battle of the Somme: How the 18th Division Avoided Disaster, 1 July 1916." Voces Novae: Chapman University Historical Review. N.p., n.d. Web. 6 Apr 2014. .

Three armies on the Somme by William Philpott
Philpott, William James. Three armies on the Somme: the first battle of the twentieth century. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 20102009. Print.

The Somme: Heroism and Horror in the First World War by Martin Gilbert
Gilbert, Martin. The Somme: heroism and horror in the First World War. New York: H. Holt, 2006. Print.

The Somme: the darkest hour on the western front by Peter Hart
Hart, Peter. The Somme: the darkest hour on the Western Front. New York: Pegasus Books, 2008. Print.

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