Why the Battle of the Somme was Regarded as a Great Military Tragedy
What was the battle of the Somme?
The battle of the Somme has been described as a big military disaster,
this started of in the year of 1916, this war included France, Britain
they were facing German opposition, this battle took place in northern
France and the English were being led by general sir Douglas Haig and
the French were being led by Joseph Joffre. The area around the Somme
had been divided into two; this included the Germans on one side and
the British and the French on another side. The British and French
wanted to push the Germans out of the Somme and wanted to take over
the land. In the end they only managed 12ks. This battle was part of
WW1. The Battle of the Somme was the most infamous battle of its time
because of all the deaths and injuries caused to people.
The battle of the Sommewas a great tragedy because of all the
casualties. In the first day alone 58.000 men were either killed or
injured because of the plan that Haig chose. Sir Douglas Haig and the
French military used a plan that would make them defenceless because
of all the casualties caused. The British government was apauled when
they found out what had happened and what the outcome was. A large
amount of deaths were on the British side even though Joffre intended
to use the French soldiers at first, but the German attack on Verdunin
1916 turned the Sommeinto a large scale British diversionary attack.
After all the deaths Haig took the responsibility of the operation and
designed a new plan. They then intended to have an 8-day bombardment
he believed that would completely destroy the Germans, but he was
wrong. General Haig used 750.00 men against a German side who only had
16 divisions in progress. Haig failed big time and didn't even break
the German barbed wire and concrete bunkers, which were protecting the
Germans. Eventually on the 1st July at 7:30the British and French
were poor and men loathed them. The soldiers slept on a bed of mud and
damage to the areas vital to the British war effort and to try to take
Source A tells us that Haig did not care about his men and is willing
The battle started when the British sixth air born division went in at ten minutes after midnight. They were the first troops to go into action. The second attack was by the eighty second in the one hundred and first division of air born attacks. They were less successful than the first division.
battle of the Somme began on the 1st of July 1916; the aim of the
The war consisted of the French and British armies taking on the German empire. The war had over 60,000 casualties the first day, with a mass number 1.5 million deaths at the end of the war. Seeing the inside of the war from Philip Gibbs perspective really gave us a more emotional connection to the story due to the vivid and graphic scene, he set up for us such as the ending when he quotes “They were silent, grave-eyed men who marched through the streets of French and Belgian towns to be entrained for the Somme front, for they had forebodings of the fate before them. Excerpt From: “Sources of World History.” iBooks.. .
World War I, also known as the Great War, lasted from the summer of 1914 until the late fall of 1918. The war was fought between the Allies, which consisted mainly of the United Kingdom, France, and the Russian Empire, and the Central Powers, which consisted mainly of the German Empire, the Ottoman Empire, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and the Kingdom of Bulgaria (Alliances - Entente and Central Powers). In total, it is estimated that twelve million civilians and nine million combatants died during this horrific and devastating war (DeGroot 1). When the war first began in 1914, many people thought that it would be a war of movement that would quickly be over. However, that changed when the Germans, who were trying to reach and capture the city of Paris in France, were forced to retreat during the Battle of the Marne in September 1914 (Ellis 10). German General von Falkenhayn, who felt that his troops must at all cost hold onto the parts of France and Belgium that they had overtaken, ordered his men to dig in and form defensive trench lines (Ellis 10). The Allies could not break through the enemies lines and were forced to create trenches of their own (Ellis 10). This was only the beginning of trench warfare. A war of movement had quickly come to a standstill on the Western Front. A massive trench line, 475 miles long, quickly spread and extended from the North Sea to the Swiss Frontier (Ellis 10). With neither side budging, soldiers were forced to live in the most miserable of conditions. Simply put, life in the trenches was a living hell. A lieutenant of the 2nd Scottish rifles wrote, “No one who was not there can fully appreciate the excruciating agonies and misery through which the men had to go [through] in those da...
These two sources are different because they are opposite opinions which are referring to the Battle of the Somme but they are written by the same person which was Lloyd George. The two sources however were very different from each other. Source I was written by Lloyd George on the 21st of September 1916 when he visited the battlefield with Sir Douglas Haig. It says that Lloyd George was the secretary for the War at this time of the Somme he was the war leader from 1906-1916. Source J is very negative about the Battle of the Somme when compared to Source I. This was written in the 1930’s; he could then have written what he actually wanted to write as he wasn’t the wars secretary, it was also an ok time for him to write it as he had lost the elections the previous year so he wasn’t in the public eye as much as before so he had much more freedom to have his own opinions without having the responsibility of a job. David Lloyd George was also at a very good time to be more confident in criticising the battle of the Somme because the War was over and most importantly, Sir General Do...
...did not exist.” However, when this information arrived the next morning, Haig told Rawlinson that “The enemy has undoubtedly been severely shaken and our correct course, therefore, is to press him hard with the least possible delay” . This military strategy was one which led, as Terraine argued, to long-term success. Primary source German Order of the Day from General Von Bulow on 3 July stated “the decisive issue of the war depends on… our victory on the Somme. We must win this battle…” . Furthermore, Haig’s strategy is shown to be perceptive and correct when we consider Ludendorff’s, German Chief of Staff, thoughts: “We were completely exhausted on the Western Front… If the war lasted our defeat seemed inevitable... I cannot see as I look back how the German G.H.Q. could have mastered the situation if the Allies had continued their blows as they did in 1916.”
The Battle of Normandy was a turning point in World War II. Canada, America, and Great Britain arrived at the beaches of Normandy and their main objective was to push the Nazi’s out of France. The Invasion at Normandy by the Allied Powers winning this battle lead to the liberation of France and Western Europe. Most importantly Hitler’s was being attacked from both the eastern and western front, and caused him to lose power. If the Allied Powers did not succeed in D-Day Hitler would’ve taken over all of Europe.In a document written by General Dwight Eisenhower he persuades the allied powers to invade Normandy. Dwight Eisenhower was born on October 14, 1890. Eisenhower became the 34th president of the United States. He served as the president from January 20, 1953 through January 20, 1961. Before his presidency Dwight participated in World War I and was moved up to captain. Dwight would then take part in World War II and work his way up to becoming a General.
World War I was a very deadly war with over 100 million human casualties(deaths plus injured). Therefore war is a very transformative event for humanity, because it always affects individuals, societies, and even the world in a pessimistic way.
The battle was very significant and had lots of positive results, even though it is not as well-known as much as other wars and battles. The battle was Hitler’s last major offensive move in World War II and was intended to split Allied lines and forced negotiated peace. In the process, the Germans lost too many experienced troops and equipment that is was nearly impossible that their small army could launch another attack. The Bulge is mostly remembered for its great influence on the end of WWII. Although the war had a positive outcome, it was a horrendous experience for both forces that fought in the many battles. It had a profound effect on soldiers who fought in the icy Ardennes and veterans on both sides witness plenty atrocities (Results and Significance).
Benito Mussolini, was the Head of Government of Italy and Duce of Fascism also he was the prime minister of Italy; he said “Blood alone moves the wheels of history.” (World War II Tributes) Mussolini was saying that blood has many affects on American History because there were too many battles going on in the past and for those more to go. The battle of the Bulge started off with Hitler’s men who attacked the American positions on Elsensborn Ridge and Losheim Gap attempting to break through to Liège. Americans said that this battle was probably the bloodiest battle in America. The battle of the Bulge began on December 16th 1944; Hitler thought that he could take over the alliance from Britain, France, and America so he decided launching a massive attack on American forces. Many risked their lives and this was also a very bloody battle. In many cases there were a lot of people that did not know that the battle was a very bloody. The conflict of the Battle of the Bulge was very sentimental also at the same time it was very aggressive, many people lost their lives fighting over a mistake one man caused. If Hitler wouldn’t have came up with the idea of trying to take control of many countries then there wouldn’t have been men dying in this battle.
Battles such as Vimy Ridge, the Second Battle of Passchendaele and the Battle of the Somme were some of the worst battles that the world can find Canadian's. Our northern nation had boasted over 600,000 soldiers to the battlefields whilst also providing vital manufacturing facilities and training soldiers from across the world. The strong imperial bond between Canada and the 'Motherland' was an important factor in Canada's decision to participate wholeheartedly in World War I, and influenced many in their decision to join the army. Most Canadians felt a strong connection to the British Emp...
The Battle of the Somme epitomizes the harsh realities of trench warfare for the Allies and represents the negligent battle planning and technological advancements that are associated with the stalemate of World War One. Trench warfare was common across the Western Front, with similar strategies being employed by both opposing sides. Sir Douglas Haig, one of the British coordinators for the Somme offensive is blamed with an offensive strategy destined for failure. The British offensive, an utter failure, resulted in a stalemate, which was common throughout World War One. The British development of the tank, while it eventually ended the horrendous stalemate, was ineffectively used during the Somme.