A battle that impacted the outcome of the war was the battle of Verdun. The battle of Verdun was fought between the German and the French armies and caused the English to get involved and subsequently attack through the Somme. The battle of Verdun was the longest battle in World War 1 and over the span of 10 months, the battle caused 378,000 French casualties and 337,000 German casualties. (Australian war memorial, 2006) The battle of Verdun was significant because “The casualties from Verdun and the impact the battle had on the French Army was a primary reason for the British starting the Battle of the Somme in July 1916, in an effort to take German pressure off of the French at Verdun.” (Trueman, 2018) During the battle, the Germans were
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The battle of Somme lasted 141 days with 419,654 British classified dead, missing or wounded. (Sabur & Dodds, 2016) The battle also caused The French to lose 200,000 men and the Germans to lose nearly 500,000. (Trueman, 2018). So many died during the long battle, that the Australian war memorial states that for the rest of the war, Britain would be reliant upon conscription for reinforcements. (n.d) The fact that the English forces had to rely on conscription meant that they had more unwilling soldiers that weren’t as skilled in armed conflict. Conscribed men also weren’t as enthused to serve their country which then overall makes the army less powerful or successful. Some good came out of the battle, however, as the British improved their tactics which made them more effective in combat. “The lessons of the Somme laid the foundations for the extraordinary series of victories of the Hundred Days that brought the war to a successful conclusion.” (Scheffield, 2018) The large number of casualties made the Battle of the Somme significant to the outcome of the war because it weakened the British and German armies. Consequently, this forced the Germans to retreat to the Hindenburg line because they couldn’t continue fighting on the Somme. (Schofield,
The battle of Somme lasted 141 days with 419,654 British classified dead, missing or wounded. (Sabur & Dodds, 2016) The battle also caused The French to lose 200,000 men and the Germans to lose nearly 500,000. (Trueman, 2018). So many died during the long battle, that the Australian war memorial states that for the rest of the war, Britain would be reliant upon conscription for reinforcements. (n.d) The fact that the English forces had to rely on conscription meant that they had more unwilling soldiers that weren’t as skilled in armed conflict. Conscribed men also weren’t as enthused to serve their country which then overall makes the army less powerful or successful. Some good came out of the battle, however, as the British improved their tactics which made them more effective in combat. “The lessons of the Somme laid the foundations for the extraordinary series of victories of the Hundred Days that brought the war to a successful conclusion.” (Scheffield, 2018) The large number of casualties made the Battle of the Somme significant to the outcome of the war because it weakened the British and German armies. Consequently, this forced the Germans to retreat to the Hindenburg line because they couldn’t continue fighting on the Somme. (Schofield,