When And Where Did The Somme Occur?
The Battle of the Somme
When and where did the battle occur?
The Battle of the Somme lasted for over 4 months, between 1 July and 16 November 1916. It was fought on both sides of the Somme river in Northern country France near the current border of France and Germany. It was fought at a part of the Western front at the time.
Why was the battle fought?
In 1916, the Allied forces of Russia, Italy, France and Great Britain had a joint strategy of attack against Germany and its allies. The Russians were to attack Germany in the East, Italy would attack Austria, and France and Great Britain would fight Germany in the West. This would stop the Central Power from moving between fronts, as they would constantly be caught up in battle.
Slightly before the Battle of the Somme, the Germans launched a …show more content…
During the course of the battle, over 1 million people died. It was one of the most horrific battles of World War One, and involved one of the highest casualty rates. Over 420,000 Britons and people from British colonies died, including Australians. More than 200,000 French were killed, and at least 500,000 Germans lost their lives. There was a hardly conceivable amount of soldiers from both sides killed in this battle. It truly was a massacre.
The next morning (July 2nd) we gunners surveyed the dreadful scene in front of us......it became clear that the Germans always had a commanding view of No Man's Land. (The British) attack had been brutally repulsed. Hundreds of dead were strung out like wreckage washed up to a high water-mark. Quite as many died on the enemy wire as on the ground, like fish caught in the net. They hung there in grotesque postures. Some looked as if they were praying; they had died on their knees and the wire had prevented their fall. Machine gun fire had done its terrible work.
George Coppard, a machine gunner at the
When and where did the battle occur?
The Battle of the Somme lasted for over 4 months, between 1 July and 16 November 1916. It was fought on both sides of the Somme river in Northern country France near the current border of France and Germany. It was fought at a part of the Western front at the time.
Why was the battle fought?
In 1916, the Allied forces of Russia, Italy, France and Great Britain had a joint strategy of attack against Germany and its allies. The Russians were to attack Germany in the East, Italy would attack Austria, and France and Great Britain would fight Germany in the West. This would stop the Central Power from moving between fronts, as they would constantly be caught up in battle.
Slightly before the Battle of the Somme, the Germans launched a …show more content…
During the course of the battle, over 1 million people died. It was one of the most horrific battles of World War One, and involved one of the highest casualty rates. Over 420,000 Britons and people from British colonies died, including Australians. More than 200,000 French were killed, and at least 500,000 Germans lost their lives. There was a hardly conceivable amount of soldiers from both sides killed in this battle. It truly was a massacre.
The next morning (July 2nd) we gunners surveyed the dreadful scene in front of us......it became clear that the Germans always had a commanding view of No Man's Land. (The British) attack had been brutally repulsed. Hundreds of dead were strung out like wreckage washed up to a high water-mark. Quite as many died on the enemy wire as on the ground, like fish caught in the net. They hung there in grotesque postures. Some looked as if they were praying; they had died on their knees and the wire had prevented their fall. Machine gun fire had done its terrible work.
George Coppard, a machine gunner at the