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[[File:British_Lancers.jpg|thumbnail|300px|left|18th King George’s Own Lancers near Mametz, on the Somme, 15 July 1916]]
The Battle of the Somme or the Somme Offensive was a series of battles that occurred during the Summer and Autumn of 1916. It involved British and French forces launching a massive assault offensive on the German lines in an effort to break the stalemate on the Western Front's stalemate. The Battle was primarily a battle between the Germans and the British. The offensive was not effective and achieved very little and both sides suffered heavy casualtiesfor the allies. The British only advanced a few miles , and the German lines held. The stalemate was offensive did not broken by break the offensivestalemate and resulted in massive casualties for both sides. Historians have argued whether the Somme was a failure or a partial success. It is clear that the The British and French did not secure their main objectives during the battle. Why did the Somme offensive failed fail to achieve its planners’ primary goals? This failure Mostly, the Allies failed at the Somme was due to because of poor leadership, planning , and a stubborn German defencedefense. == Why did the Allies decide to attack the Germans at Somme? ==Since 1914, the war on both the Eastern and the Western Fronts had become a war of attrition. Both sides had established a series of defensive lines, involving thousands of miles of trenches and they regularly attacked and counter-attacked each other for little or no strategic or tactical advantage.<ref> Gilbert, M. <i>[https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0805081275/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0805081275&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=215891b2156d756f1e4b5799a19bf45c The Somme: Heroism and Horror in the First World War]. </i> (Henry Holt and Company, 2006), p. 56</ref> The western military and the governments were eager to end the war or at least to be seen as delivering a victory. There were concerns that the public would not tolerate a war indefinitely.
===What was the Allied Strategy=for the Battle of the Somme? ==
[[File: Somme 2.jpg|thumbnail|300px|left|left|German Soldier at the Somme]]
General Sir Douglas Haig assumed command of the British army in early 1916. He wanted to launch the offensive nearer the English Channel to be closer to the British supply lines. However, the French pressured the British to have the offensive in the Somme region. When the Verdun offensive started , the Somme area saw the withdrawal of many German units. The Germans had little reserves in the area , and it seemed that the Somme was the perfect location.<ref>Keegan, J.<i>[https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0375700455/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0375700455&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=05f6a7874da643b9c91e35ee4c241268 The First World War] </i>.(London: Random House, 1998), p. 12</ref>
The Anglo-French attack was to break the German lines and achieve a breakthrough that would allow the allies to drive a wedge between the Germans armies in France. The British after a five-day bombardment were was to launch a massive infantry assault, ; once the Germans had fled from their trenches, the British cavalry would push forward and seize key objectives such as railroads and bridges in the Somme.<ref>Keegan, p. 56</ref> However, the British had failed to understand the nature of the German defences defenses on the Somme. They had added a third line of defencedefense, had established a telephone system , and had dug even more trenches. The German defences defenses did have some deficiencies , but they proved to be formidable. The British underestimated the German defences defenses, and this was to prove costly during the coming battles.<ref> Keegan, p 116</ref>
===Battles Tactics of What tactics did the Allies use during the Somme=? ==
[[File: British Mark I male tank Somme 25 September 1916.jpg|left|thumbnail|300px|British tank at the Somme]]
The British committed hundreds of thousands of men to the fighting. The British troops on the Somme was a mixture of the surviving members of the old regular army, the Territorial Force , and Kitchener's Army, comprised of volunteers including the ‘Pals Battalions’Battalions, ’ that had been recruited from the same towns and villages. <ref> Middlebrook, M. <i>[https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0141390719/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0141390719&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=a43b8bf537d738980065094321836135 The First Day on the Somme]. </i>(London, Penguin, 1971</ref>
Many of their reserves were transferred to the area. They stationed thousands of artillery pieces in the region. These were expected to play a crucial role in the coming offensive. It was The British leadership believed that a concentrated artillery barrage could either force the German defenders to flee or else to destroy their defencesdefenses. Crucially , the British had not mastered the tactic of the creeping barrage. This tactic would have allowed the infantry to advance under the cover of shelling. The British failure to do so meant that when the artillery barrage ended that the Germans who survived the artillery onslaught could mow down the advancing soldiers with machine guns.
New military technologies were also employed at the battle of the Somme. The British intended using aeroplanes airplanes and tanks in a major battle for the first time.<ref> Prior, R.; Wilson, <i>[https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0300119631/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0300119631&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=69f365fa66cf273dac5cb1fc7b6e7a3b The Somme]</i>. (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2005), p. 113</ref>. They gave the British more capabilities. The tanks could be sued to punch through the German lines , and the aeroplanes airplanes could gather intelligence on the movements of German troops. However, the British High Command was to fail to use these new weapons in an effective way. The planners at the Somme also expected the infantry to make spectacular gains. The common soldier or ‘Tommy’ was expected to take trenches using only his gun, bayonet and grenades. The British High Command was simply expecting too much of their soldiers, especially given the heavy and sophisticated German defences. The inability of the British to properly employ and coordinate their forces and their unrealistic expectations was to cost many soldiers their lives and to limit the advances made during the offensive.<ref> Wilson, p. 116</ref>' movements.
However, the British High Command was to fail to use these new weapons effectively. The planners at the Somme also expected the infantry to make spectacular gains. The common soldier or ‘Tommy’ was expected to take trenches using only his gun, bayonet, and grenades. The British High Command was expecting too much of their soldiers, especially given the heavy and sophisticated German defenses. The British's inability to properly employ and coordinate their forces and their unrealistic expectations cost many soldiers their lives and limited the advances made during the offensive.<ref> Wilson, p. 116</ref> ===The What happened during the Battles of the Somme=? ==
[[File: Somme three.jpg|thumbnail|300px|left|British troops at the Somme]]
The first day of the Somme offensive started after the five-day barrage had ended. For five days , the British had blasted the German lines. Hundreds of thousands of shells landed on the German trenches. The British believed that they had obliterated the German defencesdefenses.<ref> Keegan, p. 134</ref> On the first of July , the British and the French ‘went over the top’, that is , they left their trenches and entered into no man's land. The British were ordered to advance at a walking pace. However, some officers on the ground ordered their men to rush across no man's land. Contrary to Haig and the rest of the German High Command’s expectations, the Germans survived the barrage.<ref> Middlebrooke, p. 211</ref> They had sustained many casualties, and many soldiers had been driven mad during the five days of shelling. The Germans, once the barrage ended, were able to operate the front line. Critically they were able to use the machine gun nests and order up their artillery to fire on no-mans-land. The Germans picked off the British at will even though they had ‘inferior numbers and less firepower.’ <ref> Wilson, p. 115</ref> The British failed to take many German trenches and instead suffered catastrophic casualties. The order to advance at a walking pace over no man's land probably cost many brave men their lives. The first day on the Somme was also the worst day in the history of the British army, it suffered almost 60,000 casualties, mainly on the frontline between the Albert–Bapaume road and Gommecourt.<ref> Wilson, p. 234</ref> <dh-ad/> The French did achieve some significant results, and they ejected large elements of the German 2nd Army from their positions south of the Somme. The British in total only made minimal gains at a considerable cost. It was clear after the first day that the British had not achieved tactical surprise and that the German defenses were stronger than expected. However, the British and the French High Command continued with the offensive. The Somme offensive was to become a series of pitched battles between the British and the French. Historians had identified some thirteen significant battles between the Anglo-French armies and the Germans during the Somme offensive. The British were on the attack all through the summer and the early autumn. The Germans mainly adopted a defensive posture. They mostly stayed in the trenches and waited for the British to attack.<ref> Keegan, p 178</ref> The tactics of the first day of the Sommeweres repeatedly repeated with only limited results. The Germans did not have the reserves to stage any counter-attacks during the offensive as they needed all their men for Verdun's siege. The British introduced tanks to help them break the deadlock, but they proved unable to coordinate their advance with the infantry. Furthermore, the tanks proved unreliable and often broke down. The fighting continued until early November when the onset of winter and especially the rain meant that the British could not simply continue.<ref> Keegan, p. 179</ref>
== How did Poor Planning cripple the Allied Offensive during the Somme? ==The Germans mainly adopted a defensive postureplanning for the Somme offensive was rushed. They largely stayed Haig had only been in his role since the trenches and waited for previous December. He wanted the British army to attack.<ref> Keeganfurther north, p 178</ref> The tactics of but political considerations meant that he had to heed the first day of the Somme was repeated again and again with only limited resultsFrench's opinions. The Germans did not have planning was accelerated because the reserves British needed to come to stage any counter-attacks during the offensive as they needed all their men for their siege aid of the French at Verdun. The Additionally, the British introduced tanks to help them break the deadlock but they proved unable wanted to coordinate their advance attack with the infantryRussia during their offensive. Furthermore, This meant that there was a failure to coordinate the tanks proved unreliable and often broke downBritish units effectively. The fighting continued until early November when Many have argued that the onset Somme offensive would have had a better chance of winter and especially the rain meant that the British could success if it had not simply continuebeen rushed.<ref> Keegan However, pit was not only rushed planning that was a problem. 179</ref>
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Updated January 19, 2019