The Battle of the Somme is one of the most infamous battles of World War I. Fought in Northern France, it began on 1st July 1916 and lasted 4.5 months until mid November, when poor weather ended the attack.

The British and French Plan

The plan was to bombard the German lines with 1.5 million shells for 8 days before the attack. Mines would then be exploded underneath German positions. The expectation was that the German artillery and German defences would be destroyed, as would the barbed wire in No Man's Land. It was therefore assumed that the British and French soldiers would be able to walk towards the German trenches without any opposition.

The reality

The Germans were able to retreat to concrete bunkers, sometimes 15 metres underground, where they were mostly unharmed by the massive artillery attack. Once the big guns fell silent, they quickly returned to their positions in the trenches.

Crucially, the barbed wire had not been destroyed by the artillery shells and so it further delayed troops in their attack.

The significance of the Battle

The Battle of the Somme is known as one of the bloodiest battles in history. On the first day alone, the British suffered 57,000 casualties (about 19,000 of whom were killed) - the worst in the history of the British army. In total the allies suffered 420,000 casualties compared to the Germans' losses of 680,000 (wounded or killed). The British and French gained approximately 12 kilometres of land. This works out at about 35 casualties per metre gained.

The Battle of the Somme is also famous because it was the first battle at which tanks were used. They struggled with the mud and made little impact on the battle, but their potential was noticed and they were to be hugely important in the final years of the war.

Interpretations of the Battle of the Somme

Douglas Haig, the British General, has been called the "butcher of the Somme" for sending so many men to their deaths. The phrase "lions led by donkeys" has also come to summarise the idea of courageous troops being sacrificed by idiotic and uncaring leaders.

Others have defended Haig and argued that the Battle of the Somme was a reasonable attempt to break the deadlock on the Western Front. Certainly lessons were learned from this battle which would help the allies to win the war in 1918.

Year 9 Challenges and Change

The Battle of the Somme