Battle Of The Somme Essay

The Battle of the Somme took place during the First World War between July 1st and November 18th, 1916. On the upper reaches of the Somme River in France, the Allies (United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Africa) fought against the central powers in the largest battle of the First World War. Over one million men were wounded or killed from both forces involved, during what is now called one of the bloodiest military operations recorded in history. The battle had been planned by the Allies, primarily designed as an Anglo-French contribution but the French became a supporting role in the operation as a result of the large German attack on the Verdun front. To hasten a victory against the Germans, the British and French planned a major offensive attack intended to break the stalemate and push the Germans out of France. This essay demonstrates the significance of the Battle of the Somme and how it represented World War One. 1. - lead up? For nearly two years since the First Battle of the Marne, the Allies and Central powers had been engaged in trench warfare along the western front, which had hardly moved. The proposal for an offensive against the central powers on the Somme battlefront was proposed by the Commander-in-Chief of the French Armies, General Joseph Joffre. By December 1915, the British and French had committed to a combined Franco-British operation on both sides of the Somme river, with the intention to break the stalemate and secure a victory for the allies, by regaining land and beginning to push the Germans out of France. But when the Imperial German army began the Battle of Verdun in February 1916, the French reduced their participation to a supporting role in the operation. In the lead up to the battle, the British and French sent a huge build-up of troops, artillery, horses and equipment to the Somme territory, in preparations …show more content…
The aim of the allied offensive; to take the pressure off the French army, to break through the German lines and to push the German army out of France, was not completely achieved. They did divert German troops from the Battle of Verdun, to the Battle of Somme, relieving some pressure off the French Amy. But the Allies did not break the strong German defence, or push them out of France. Historians believe that with a few more weeks of favourable weather the Allies could have broken through German lines. Others argue the Allies never stood a chance. In any case, the British army inflicted heavy losses on the German Army. In the 141 days the British sacrificed more than 620,000 casualties, around 120,000 of them killed or missing, for a strip of land 32 kilometres long and 11 kilometres deep. The Germans also suffered, with around 600,000 casualties; 165,000 of them dead and almost 40,000 of them prisoners of war. Overall the Allies and Germans suffered more than 1 million combined casualties over just under 5 months. Because of the large loss of life incurred during the Battle of the Somme and the Allies' minimal territorial gains, the decisions and strategies of the British and French military commands were criticized by both politicians and historians. British Commander in Chief Sir Douglas Haig, was severely criticized for the costly battle, But his willingness to commit massive