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Battle of the Somme (1916)

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Military History and War

   Battle of the Somme
   Part of the Western Front (First World War)
   Cheshire Regiment sentry, Somme, 1916
   Men of the 11th Battalion, The Cheshire Regiment.
   Near La Boisselle, July 1916

     Date   1 July 1916 – 18 November 1916
   Location Somme, Picardy, France
    Result  tactical stalemate, strategic Allied victory
   Combatants
   United Kingdom British Empire
     * Australia
     * Canada
     * New Zealand
     * Newfoundland
     * South Africa
     * United Kingdom

   France France
   German Empire
   Commanders
   United Kingdom Douglas Haig
   France Joseph Joffre German Empire Max von Gallwitz
   German Empire Fritz von Below
   Strength
   13 British & 11 French divisions (initial)
   51 British and 48 French divisions (final) 10.5 divisions (initial)
   50 divisions (final)
   Casualties
   419,654 British Empire
   204,253 French
   623,907 total (of which 146,431 killed or missing)
   100 tanks & 782 RFC aircraft destroyed 434,500 total (of which 164,055
   killed or missing)
   Battle of the Somme
   Albert – Bazentin – Fromelles – Pozières – Mouquet Farm – Guillemont –
   Ginchy – Flers-Courcelette – Morval – Thiepval Ridge – Le Transloy –
   Ancre Heights – Ancre

   The 1916 Battle of the Somme was one of the largest battles of the
   First World War, with more than one million casualties, and also one of
   the bloodiest battles in human history. The Allied forces attempted to
   break through the German lines along a 25-mile (40 km) front north and
   south of the River Somme in northern France. One purpose of the battle
   was to draw German forces away from the Battle of Verdun; however, by
   its end the losses on the Somme had exceeded those at Verdun.

   While Verdun would bite deep in the national consciousness of France
   for generations, the Somme would have the same effect on generations of
   Britons. The battle is best remembered for its first day, 1 July 1916,
   on which the British suffered 57,470 casualties, including 19,240 dead
   — the bloodiest day in the history of the British Army to this day. As
   terrible as the battle was for the British Empire troops who suffered
   there, it naturally affected the other nationalities as well. One
   German officer famously described it as "the muddy grave of the German
   field army." By the end of the battle, the British had learnt many
   lessons in modern warfare while the Germans had suffered irreplaceable
   losses. British official historian Sir James Edmonds stated, "It is not
   too much to claim that the foundations of the final victory on the
   Western Front were laid by the Somme offensive of 1916."

   For the first time the home front in Britain was exposed to the horrors
   of modern war with the release of the propaganda film The Battle of the
   Somme, which used actual footage from the first days of the battle.

Prelude

   The Allied war strategy for 1916 was largely formulated during a
   conference at Chantilly held between 6 December and 8 December 1915,
   when it was decided that for the next year, simultaneous offensives
   were to be be mounted by the Russians in the East, the Italians (who
   had by now joined the Entente) in the Alps and the Anglo-French on the
   Western Front, thereby assailing the Central Powers from all sides.

   In late December 1915, General Sir Douglas Haig had replaced General
   Sir John French as Commander-in-Chief of the British Expeditionary
   Force (BEF). Haig favoured a British offensive in Flanders — it was
   close to BEF supply routes via the Channel ports and had a strategic
   goal of driving the Germans from the North Sea coast of Belgium, from
   which their U-boats were menacing Britain. However, though there was no
   formal arrangement, the British were as yet the junior partner on the
   Western Front and had to comply with French policy. In January 1916,
   the French commander, General Joseph Joffre, had agreed to the BEF
   making their main effort in Flanders, but after further discussions in
   February, the decision was reached to mount a combined offensive where
   the French and British armies met astride the Somme River in Picardy.
   Newfoundland soldiers in support trench, 1 July 1916 Enlarge
   Newfoundland soldiers in support trench, 1 July 1916

   Plans for the joint offensive on the Somme had barely begun to take
   shape when the Germans launched the Battle of Verdun on 21 February
   1916. As the French committed themselves to defending Verdun, their
   capacity to carry out their role on the Somme disappeared, and the
   burden shifted to the British. France would end up contributing 3 corps
   to the opening of the attack (the XX, I Colonial and XXXV Corps of the
   6th Army). As the bloodbath at Verdun dragged on, the aim of the Somme
   offensive changed from delivering a decisive blow against Germany to
   relieving the pressure on the French army.

   The original British regular army, six divisions strong at the start of
   the war, had been effectively wiped out by the battles of 1914 and
   1915. The bulk of the army was now made up of volunteers of the
   Territorial Force and Lord Kitchener's New Army, which had begun
   forming in August 1914. The expansion of the army demanded generals for
   the senior commands, so promotion came at a dizzying pace and did not
   always reflect competence or ability. Haig himself had started the war
   as commander of British I Corps before commanding the British First
   Army and now the BEF, in effect an army group, made up of four armies
   (soon to be five) of 60 divisions.

   By mid-1916, the Fokker Scourge was over, and the Royal Flying Corps
   had achieved air supremacy over the Somme battlefield. On the Somme
   front, the RFC fielded 10 squadrons and 185 aircraft against the 129 of
   the Germans. The British pursued a vigorous offensive policy that
   enabled them to spot for the artillery, via aircraft or tethered
   balloons, while denying the Germans the same. It was not until
   September that the introduction of new aircraft would swing the balance
   back in favour of the German Air Service once again.

The first day on the Somme

   Explosion of the Hawthorn Ridge mine, 7:20 am, 1 July 1916
   Enlarge
   Explosion of the Hawthorn Ridge mine, 7:20 am, 1 July 1916

   The first day of the battle was preceded by five days of preliminary
   artillery bombardment in which the British fired over 1.7 million
   shells. Ten mines had also been dug beneath the German front-line
   trenches and strongpoints; the three largest mines contained about 21
   tons (18 tonnes) of explosives each.

   The attack would be made by 13 British divisions (11 from the Fourth
   Army and two from the Third Army) north of the Somme River and 11
   divisions of the French Sixth Army astride and south of the river. They
   were opposed by the German Second Army of General Fritz von Below. The
   axis of the advance was centred on the Roman road that ran from Albert
   in the west to Bapaume 12 miles (19 km) to the northeast.

   Zero hour for the Battle of the Somme was 07:30 on 1 July, 1916. Ten
   minutes prior to this, at 07:20, the mine beneath Hawthorn Ridge
   Redoubt was detonated by an officer. The reason he detonated the mine
   earlier than was planned is unknown. At 07:28, the remaining mines were
   exploded (except for the mine at Kasino Point, which was late). At zero
   hour there was a brief and unsettling silence as the artillery shifted
   their aim onto the next line of targets. Then, in the words of poet
   John Masefield:

          [T]he hand of time rested on the half-hour mark, and all along
          that old front line of the English there came a whistling and a
          crying. The men of the first wave climbed up the parapets, in
          tumult, darkness, and the presence of death, and having done
          with all pleasant things, advanced across No Man's Land to begin
          the Battle of the Somme. ( The Old Front Line, 1917)

   The infantry were burdened with 70  lb (32 kg) of equipment and in some
   cases had been instructed to form up into uniform waves and advance at
   a walking pace. Elsewhere units had crawled out into no man's land
   early so that they could rush the front German trench as soon as the
   barrage lifted. Despite the heavy bombardment, many of the German
   defenders had survived, protected in deep dugouts, and they were able
   to inflict a terrible toll on the vulnerable infantry.
   British infantry attack plan for 1 July. The only success came in the
   south at Mametz and Montauban and on the French sector.
   Enlarge
   British infantry attack plan for 1 July. The only success came in the
   south at Mametz and Montauban and on the French sector.

   North of the Albert-Bapaume road, the advance was almost a complete
   failure from the outset. In a few places the attackers got into the
   German front line trench system or even the support line, but
   invariably their numbers were too few to withstand the German
   counter-attacks. As the German defensive barrage descended on no man's
   land, it became impossible for reinforcements to get through or for
   reports to get back.

   Communications were completely inadequate, and commanders were largely
   ignorant of the progress of the battle. A mistaken report that the 29th
   Division had succeeded at Beaumont Hamel led to the reserve brigade
   being ordered forward in support. The 1st Newfoundland Regiment was
   unable to reach the forward trenches, so it advanced from the reserve
   trench. Most of the battalion was wiped out before it crossed the front
   line, and it suffered 91% casualties, the second worst battalion loss
   of the day.

   British progress astride the Albert-Bapaume road was likewise a
   failure, despite the explosion of the two mines at La Boisselle. Here
   another tragic advance was made by the Tyneside Irish Brigade of the
   34th Division which started nearly one mile from the German front line,
   in full view of the defenders' machine guns, and was effectively wiped
   out before it reached its own friendly forward trench line.

   In the sector south of the road, the French divisions had greater
   success. Here the German defences were relatively weak, and the French
   artillery, which was superior in numbers and experience to the British,
   was highly effective. From the town of Montauban to the Somme River,
   all the first day objectives were reached. Though the French XX Corps
   was to only act in a supporting role in this sector, in the event they
   would help lead the way. South of the Somme, French forces fared very
   well, surpassing their intended objectives. The I Colonial Corps
   departed their trenches at 9:30 am as part of a feint meant to lure the
   Germans opposite into a false sense of security. The feint was
   successful as, like the French divisions to the north, they too
   advanced easily. In under an hour, they had stormed Fay, Dompierre,
   Becquincourt and attained a foothold on the Flaucourt plateau. The
   entire German first line was in French hands. By 1100 hrs, the second
   line –– marked by Assevillers, Herbecourt and Feuillères –– was reached
   without even having to send in reserves. To the right of the Colonial
   Corps, the XXXV Corps also attacked at 9:30 am but, having only one
   division in the first line, had made less progress. Nevertheless, all
   first-day objectives were met. The Germans trenches had been completely
   pulverized. The enemy had been completely surprised by the infantry
   attack. On the north bank, the French had advanced 1.5 km and on the
   south, 2 km.
   A wounded man of the Newfoundland Regiment is brought in at Beaumont
   Hamel
   Enlarge
   A wounded man of the Newfoundland Regiment is brought in at Beaumont
   Hamel

   Some British divisions managed to perform extremely well; according to
   Middlebrook:

          The leading battalions (of the 36th (Ulster) Division) had been
          ordered out from the wood just before 7.30 A.M. and laid down
          near the German trenches...At zero hour the British barrage
          lifted. Bugles blew the "Advance". Up sprang the Ulstermen and,
          without forming up in the waves adopted by other divisions, they
          rushed the German front line.....By a combination of sensible
          tactics and Ulster dash, the prize that eluded so many, the
          capture of a long section of the German front line, had been
          accomplished.

   And in another sector, according to Middlebrook:

          At Gommecourt...Attacking from the south, the 56th (London)
          Division had performed brilliantly. Making use of the new trench
          they had dug in No Man's Land and a smoke-screen, four
          battalions had captured the whole of the German front-line
          system.

   Overall, however, the first day on the Somme was a failure. The British
   had suffered 19,240 dead, 35,493 wounded, 2,152 missing and 585
   prisoners for a total loss of 57,470. Initial casualties were
   especially heavy among officers, who still dressed differently from
   non-commissioned officers and other ranks, and whose uniforms the
   Germans had been trained to recognize.

   An exact count of German casualties for 1 July is difficult to make,
   because German units only submitted casualty returns every 10 days. It
   is estimated that the Germans suffered 8,000 casualties on the British
   front of which 2,200 were prisoners of war. The disparity between
   British and German casualties was highest at Ovillers, where the
   British 8th Division suffered 5,121 casualties while the defending
   German 180th Regiment had only 280 casualties — a ratio of 18 to 1.

Aftermath of the first day

   An aerial view of the Somme battlefield in July, taken from a British
   balloon near Bécourt.
   Enlarge
   An aerial view of the Somme battlefield in July, taken from a British
   balloon near Bécourt.

   At 22:00 on 1 July, the commander of the British Fourth Army,
   Lieutenant-General Henry Rawlinson, had issued orders for the attack to
   be resumed. Confusion and poor communications through the extended
   chain of command meant it was some days before the British leaders
   realised the scale of the disaster. Haig appointed Lieutenant-General
   Hubert Gough to take over the northern sector while the Fourth Army
   dealt with the southern sector. Gough recognised the fiasco on his
   sector and prevented an immediate resumption of the offensive —
   operations would not resume until 3 July.

   The British were also ignorant of opportunities that existed south of
   the Albert-Bapaume road where they had achieved partial success. It is
   now known that there existed for a time a large gap in the German
   defences between Ovillers (on the road) and Longueval. On 3 July a
   reconnaissance patrol from the 18th (Eastern) Division ranged two miles
   into German territory without encountering an established defensive
   position. However, the opportunity was missed or the British lacked the
   resources to exploit it, and the Germans were able to fill the gap in
   time.

   Mametz Wood was still vacant on 3 July but was reoccupied by the
   Germans the following day and would not be captured until 10 July after
   two costly attempts. Places such as High Wood and Delville Wood, there
   for the taking in the aftermath of the first day, would require an
   enormous expenditure of lives before they were eventually captured in
   August and September. In August Rawlinson wrote of the period 1– 4
   July:

          These four days would in all probability have enabled us to gain
          full possession of the hostile third line of defence, which was
          at that time less than half finished... It makes me sick to
          think of the "might have beens".

   As the British struggled to jump-start their offensive, the French
   continued their rapid advance south of the Somme. 3 July - 4 July was
   the critical point in the offensive when the possibility of a
   breakthrough actually seemed achievable. But just as quickly as it
   appeared, it began to slip away. When the XX Corps was forced to halt
   its advance on the north bank in order to wait for the British to catch
   up, a simmering hostility toward the British rose up among the rank and
   file of the French army. Elsewhere, the I Colonial Corps pressed on and
   by the end of 3 July Frise, Méréaucourt Wood, Herbécourt, Buscourt,
   Chapitre Wood, Flaucourt, and Asseviller were all in French hands. In
   so doing, 8,000 Germans had been made prisoner, while the taking of the
   Flaucourt plateau would allow Foch to move heavy artillery up to
   support the XX Corps on the north bank. The French continued their
   advance on July 5 as Hem was taken. On 8 July Hardecourt-aux-Bois and
   Monacu Farm (a veritable fortress, surrounded by hidden machine-gun
   nests in the nearby marsh) both fell. On 9 July -10 July, Biaches,
   Maisonnette and Fortress Biaches.

   Thus, in ten days of fighting, on nearly a 20 km (12.5 mile) front, the
   French 6th Army had progressed as far as 10 km at points. It had
   occupied the entire Flaucourt plateau (which constituted the principal
   defense of Péronne) while taking 12,000 prisoners, 85 canons, 26
   minenwerfers, 100 machine-guns, and other assorted materials, all with
   relatively minimal losses.

   For the British, the first two weeks of the battle had descended into a
   series of disjointed, small-scale actions, ostensibly in preparation
   for making a major push. Between 3 July and 13 July Rawlinson's Fourth
   Army carried out 46 "actions" resulting in 25,000 casualties but no
   significant advance. This demonstrated a difference in strategy between
   Haig and his French counterparts and was a source of friction. Haig's
   purpose was to maintain continual pressure on the enemy while Joffre
   and Foch preferred to conserve their strength in preparation for a
   single, heavy blow.

   In one significant respect, the Battle of the Somme was a major
   strategic success for the British as on 12 July, in response to the
   Somme fighting and the situation in the east, Falkenhayn called off the
   German offensive at Verdun. While the fighting would continue there
   until December, it would be the French who dictated the course of the
   battle.

   On the Somme, von Below's Second Army would not be able to endure the
   continued British and French pressure alone. Each front line German
   division was being attacked by three or four Allied divisions. On 19
   July, the German forces were reorganised with von Below taking command
   of the German First Army, responsible for the northern sector, and
   General Max von Gallwitz taking over the Second Army which covered the
   southern sector. In addition, von Gallwitz was made army group
   commander responsible for both German armies on the Somme.

   As early as 2 July, seven German divisions were on their way to the
   Somme as reinforcements, and seven more were on their way within
   another week. In July and August the Germans poured in 35 extra
   divisions on the British sectors and a further seven divisions on the
   French sector. The combined pressure on Germany meant that Oberste
   Heeresleitung (OHL, army high command) had only one division left in
   reserve by August.

   The British had hoped to stem this flow of German reinforcements to the
   Somme from other sectors of the front. To do this a series of raids and
   demonstrations were carried out with the aim of "pinning" the German
   divisions to the front. The largest and most infamous of these was the
   Battle of Fromelles, 19 July - 20 July, opposite Aubers Ridge in
   Artois. For the cost of 7,080 Australian and British casualties, no
   ground was captured and no halt was made to the withdrawal of German
   divisions from Artois to the Somme.

Battle of Bazentin Ridge

   On 14 July ( Bastille Day) the Fourth Army was finally ready to resume
   the offensive in the southern sector. The attack, known as the Battle
   of Bazentin Ridge, was aimed at capturing the German second defensive
   position which ran along the crest of the ridge from Pozières, on the
   Albert–Bapaume road, southeast towards the villages of Guillemont and
   Ginchy. The objectives were the villages of Bazentin le Petit, Bazentin
   le Grand and Longueval, which was adjacent to Delville Wood. Beyond
   this line, on the reverse slope of the ridge, lay High Wood.
   The British 21st Division attack on Bazentin le Petit, 14 July 1916.
   The area captured by 9.00 am is shown by the dashed red line.
   Enlarge
   The British 21st Division attack on Bazentin le Petit, 14 July 1916.
   The area captured by 9.00 am is shown by the dashed red line.

   There is considerable contrast between the preparation and execution of
   this attack and that of 1 July. The attack on Bazentin Ridge was made
   by four divisions on a front of 6,000 yards with the troops going over
   before dawn at 03:25 after a surprise five minute artillery
   bombardment. The artillery laid down a creeping barrage, and the
   attacking waves pushed up close behind it in no man's land, leaving
   them only a short distance to cross when the barrage lifted from the
   Germans' front trench.

   By mid-morning, the first phase of the attack was a success with nearly
   all objectives taken, and as on 1 July, a gap was made in the German
   defences. However, again as on 1 July, the British were unable to
   successfully exploit it. Their attempt to do so created the most famous
   cavalry action of the Battle of the Somme when the 7th Dragoon Guards
   and the 2nd Deccan Horse attempted to capture High Wood. It is likely
   that the wood could have been captured by the infantry in the morning,
   but by the time the cavalry were in position to attack, the Germans had
   begun to recover. Though the cavalry held on in the wood through the
   night of 14 July, they had to withdraw the following day.

   The British had a foothold in High Wood and would continue to fight
   over it as well as Delville Wood, neighbouring Longueval, for many
   days. Unfortunately for them, the successful opening of the 14 July
   attack did not mean they had learnt how to conduct trench battles. On
   the night of 22–23 July, Rawlinson launched an attack using six
   divisions along the length of the Fourth Army front which failed
   completely. The Germans were learning; they had begun to move away from
   the trench-based defences and towards a flexible defence in depth
   system of strongpoints that was difficult for the supporting artillery
   to suppress.

Pozières and Mouquet Farm

   No significant progress was made in the northern sector in the first
   few weeks of July. Ovillers, just north of the Albert-Bapaume road, was
   not captured until 16 July. Its capture, and the foothold the British
   had obtained in the German second position on 14 July, meant that the
   chance now existed for the German northern defences to be taken in the
   flank. The key to this was Pozières.

   The village of Pozières lay on the Albert-Bapaume road at the crest of
   the ridge. Just behind (east) the village ran the trenches of the
   German second position. The Fourth Army made three attempts to seize
   the village between 14 July and 17 July before Haig relieved
   Rawlinson's army of responsibility for its northern flank. The capture
   of Pozières became a task for Gough's Reserve Army, and the tool he
   would use was the three Australian divisions of I Anzac Corps.
   The ruins of Pozières looking north, 28 August.
   Enlarge
   The ruins of Pozières looking north, 28 August.

   Gough wanted the Australian 1st Division to attack immediately, but the
   division's British commander, Major General Harold Walker, refused to
   send his men in without adequate preparation. The attack was scheduled
   for the night of 23 July to coincide with the Fourth Army attack of 22
   – 23 July.

   Going in shortly after midnight, the attack on Pozières was a success,
   largely thanks to Walker's insistence on careful preparation and an
   overwhelming supporting bombardment; however, an attempt to capture the
   neighbouring German second position failed, though two Australians were
   awarded the Victoria Cross in the attempt. The Germans, recognising the
   critical importance of the village to their defensive network, made
   three unsuccessful counter-attacks before beginning a prolonged and
   methodical bombardment of the village. The final German effort to
   reclaim Pozières came before dawn on 7 August following a particularly
   heavy bombardment. The Germans overran the forward Australian defences,
   and a wild mêlée developed from which the Australians emerged
   victorious.

   Gough planned to drive north along the ridge towards Mouquet Farm,
   allowing him to threaten the German bastion of Thiepval from the rear.
   However, the further the Australians advanced, the deeper was the
   salient they created such that the German artillery could concentrate
   on them from three directions.
   The plateau north and east of Pozières, 28 August.
   Enlarge
   The plateau north and east of Pozières, 28 August.

   On 8 August the Australians began pushing north along the ridge with
   the British II Corps advancing from Ovillers on their left. By 10
   August a line had been established just south of the farm, which the
   Germans had turned into a fortress with deep dugouts and tunnels
   connecting to distant redoubts. The Australians made numerous attempts
   to capture the farm between 12 August and 3 September, inching closer
   with each attempt; however, the German garrison held out. The
   Australians were relieved by the Canadian Corps, who would briefly
   capture Mouquet Farm on 16 September, the day after the next major
   British offensive. The farm was finally overrun on 26 September, and
   the garrison surrendered the following day.

   In the fighting at Pozières and Mouquet Farm, the three Australian
   divisions suffered over 23,000 casualties. If the losses from Fromelles
   on 19 July are included, Australia had sustained more casualties in six
   weeks in France than they had in the eight months of the Battle of
   Gallipoli.

Attrition: August and September

   Men from The Wiltshire Regiment attacking near Thiepval, 7 August.
   Enlarge
   Men from The Wiltshire Regiment attacking near Thiepval, 7 August.

   By the start of August, Haig had accepted that the prospect of
   achieving a breakthrough was now unlikely; the Germans had "recovered
   to a great extent from the disorganisation" of July. For the next six
   weeks, the British would engage in a series of small-scale actions in
   preparation for the next major push. On 29 August the German Chief of
   the General Staff, Erich Falkenhayn, was replaced by General Paul von
   Hindenburg, with General Erich Ludendorff as his deputy, but in effect
   the operational commander. The immediate effect of this change was the
   introduction of a new defensive doctrine. On 23 September the Germans
   began constructing the Siegfried Stellung, called the Hindenburg Line
   by the British.

   On the Fourth Army's front, the struggle for High Wood, Delville Wood
   and the Switch Line dragged on. The boundary between the British and
   French armies lay southeast of Delville Wood, beyond the villages of
   Guillemont and Ginchy. Here the British line had not progressed
   significantly since the first day of the battle, and the two armies
   were in echelon, making progress impossible until the villages were
   captured. The first British effort to seize Guillemont on 8 August was
   a debacle. On 18 August, a larger effort began, involving three British
   corps as well as the French, but it took until 3 September before
   Guillemont was in British hands. Attention now turned to Ginchy, which
   was captured by the 16th (Irish) Division on 9 September. The French
   had also made progress, and once Ginchy fell, the two armies were
   linked near Combles.
   A demolished German trench and dugout near Guillemont.
   Enlarge
   A demolished German trench and dugout near Guillemont.

   The British now had an almost straight front line from near Mouquet
   Farm in the northwest to Combles in the southeast, providing a suitable
   jumping-off position for another large scale attack. In 1916, a
   straight front was considered necessary to enable the supporting
   artillery to lay down an effective creeping barrage behind which the
   infantry could advance.

   This intermediate phase of the Battle of the Somme had been costly for
   the Fourth Army, despite there being no major offensive. Between 15
   July and 14 September (the eve of the next battle), the Fourth Army
   made around 90 attacks of battalion strength or more with only four
   being general attacks across the length of the army's 5 miles of front.
   The result was 82,000 casualties and an advance of approximately 1,000
   yards—a performance even worse than 1 July.

Debut of the Tank

   C-15, a British Mark I "male" tank, 25 September 1916.
   Enlarge
   C-15, a British Mark I "male" tank, 25 September 1916.

   The last great Allied effort to achieve a breakthrough came on 15
   September in the Battle of Flers-Courcelette with the initial advance
   made by 11 British divisions (nine from Fourth Army, two Canadian
   divisions on the Reserve Army sector) and a later attack by four French
   corps.

   The battle is chiefly remembered today as the debut of the tank. The
   British had high hopes that this secret weapon would break the deadlock
   of the trenches. Early tanks were not weapons of mobile warfare — with
   a top speed of 2  mph (3.2 km/h), they were easily outpaced by the
   infantry — but were designed for trench warfare. They were untroubled
   by barbed wire obstacles and impervious to rifle and machine gun fire,
   though highly vulnerable to artillery. Additionally, the tanks were
   notoriously unreliable; of the 49 tanks available on 15 September, only
   32 made it to the start line, and of these, only 21 made it into
   action. Mechanical breakdowns were common, and many others became
   bogged or ditched in the shell holes and trenches of the churned
   battlefield.
   New Zealand infantry in the Switch Line.
   Enlarge
   New Zealand infantry in the Switch Line.

   The British made gains across the length of their front, the greatest
   being in the centre at Flers with an advance of 3,500 yards, a feat
   achieved by the newest British division in France, the 41st Division,
   in their first action. They were later joined by the tank D-17, giving
   rise to the optimistic press report: "A tank is walking up the High
   Street of Flers with the British Army cheering behind."

   It was also the first major Western Front battle for the New Zealand
   Division, at the time part of the British XV Corps, which captured part
   of the Switch Line west of Flers. On the left flank, the Canadian 2nd
   Division captured the village of Courcelette after heavy fighting, with
   some assistance from tanks. And finally after two months of fighting,
   the British captured all of High Wood, though not without another
   costly struggle. The plan was to use tanks in support of infantry from
   the 47th (1/2nd London) Division, but the wood was an impassable
   landscape of shattered stumps and shell holes, and only one tank
   managed to penetrate any distance. The German defenders were forced to
   abandon High Wood once British progress on the flanks threatened to
   encircle them.
   British infantry advancing near Ginchy during the Battle of Morval, 25
   September.
   Enlarge
   British infantry advancing near Ginchy during the Battle of Morval, 25
   September.

   The British had managed to advance during Flers-Courcelette, capturing
   4,500 yards of the German third position, but fell short of all their
   objectives, and once again the breakthrough eluded them. The tank had
   shown promise, but its lack of reliability limited its impact, and the
   tactics of tank warfare were obviously in their infancy.

   The least successful sector on 15 September had been east of Ginchy
   where the Quadrilateral redoubt had held up the advance towards Morval
   — the Quadrilateral was not captured until 18 September. Another attack
   was planned for 25 September with the objectives of the villages of
   Gueudecourt, Lesbœufs and Morval. Like the 14 July Battle of Bazentin
   Ridge, the limited objectives, concentrated artillery and weak German
   defences resulted in a successful attack. On this occasion the tanks
   remained in reserve.

The final phase

   Stretcher bearers recovering wounded during the Battle of Thiepval
   Ridge, September 1916.
   Enlarge
   Stretcher bearers recovering wounded during the Battle of Thiepval
   Ridge, September 1916.

   On 26 September Gough's Reserve Army launched its first major offensive
   since the opening day of the battle in an attempt to capture the German
   fortress of Thiepval. The 18th (Eastern) Division, which had excelled
   on 1 July, once more demonstrated by capturing most of Thiepval on the
   first day that careful training, preparation and leadership could
   overcome the obstacles of trench warfare. Mouquet Farm finally fell to
   the 11th (Northern) Division, and the Canadians advanced 1,000 yards
   (1 km) from Courcelette.

   There followed a period from 1 October to 11 November, known as the
   Battle of the Ancre Heights, of grinding attritional fighting for
   little gain. At the end of October, Gough's army was renamed the
   British Fifth Army.

   Meanwhile on the Fourth Army's front, Haig was still under the illusion
   that a breakthrough was imminent. On 29 September he had outlined plans
   for Allenby's Third Army to rejoin the battle in the north around
   Gommecourt and for the Fourth Army to attack towards Cambrai. The first
   step required the capture of the German Transloy Line, effectively the
   German fourth defensive position that ran from the village of Le
   Transloy in the east to Le Sars on the Albert-Bapaume road.

   Opening on 1 October, the Battle of Le Transloy became bogged down as
   the weather broke, and heavy rain turned the churned battlefield into a
   quagmire. Le Sars was captured on 7 October, but elsewhere there was
   little progress and a continual flow of casualties. The final throe
   came on 5 November with a failed attack on the Butte de Warlencourt. On
   the Fourth Army's front, major operations in the Battle of the Somme
   had now ceased.
   Mametz, Western Front, a winter scene by Frank Crozier.
   Enlarge
   Mametz, Western Front, a winter scene by Frank Crozier.

   The final act of the Battle of the Somme was played out between 13–18
   November along the Ancre River, north of Thiepval. Haig's purpose for
   the attack was more political than military — with winter setting in,
   there was no longer any prospect of a breakthrough. Instead, with
   another conference at Chantilly starting on 15 November, he hoped to be
   able to report of success to his French counterparts.

   The opening moves were almost a replay of 1 July, even down to another
   mine being detonated beneath Hawthorn Ridge Redoubt west of Beaumont
   Hamel. The 31st Division had attacked Serre on 1 July and four and a
   half months later was called on to do it again; the results were
   similar. South of Serre the British, with the benefit of their
   hard-earned experience, succeeded in capturing most of their
   objectives. The 51st (Highland) Division took Beaumont Hamel while on
   their right the 63rd (Royal Naval) Division captured Beaucourt,
   Lieutenant Colonel Bernard Freyberg winning the Victoria Cross in the
   process. South of the Ancre II Corps had also made progress.

   Haig was satisfied with the result, but Gough argued for a final effort
   which was made on 18 November with an attack on the Munich and
   Frankfurt Trenches and a push towards Grandcourt. Ninety men of the
   16th Battalion, Highland Light Infantry (the "Glasgow Boys Brigade"
   Pals battalion) were cut-off in Frankfurt Trench where they held out
   until 21 November when the 45 survivors — 30 of them wounded —
   surrendered. So ended the Battle of the Ancre and with it the Battle of
   the Somme.

The Conclusion

   Progress of the Battle of the Somme between 1 July and 18 November.
   Enlarge
   Progress of the Battle of the Somme between 1 July and 18 November.

   It is difficult to declare the Battle of the Somme a victory for either
   side. The British and French did succeed in capturing ground but little
   more than 5 miles (8 km) at the deepest point of penetration, well
   short of their original objectives. Taking a long-term view, the Battle
   of the Somme delivered more benefits for the British than it did for
   the Germans. As British historian Gary Sheffield said, "The battle of
   the Somme was not a victory in itself, but without it the Entente would
   not have emerged victorious in 1918."

Strategic effects

   Prior to the battle, Germany had regarded Britain as a naval power and
   discounted her as a military force to be reckoned with, believing
   Germany's major enemies were France and Russia. Starting with the
   Somme, Britain began to gain influence in the coalition, especially
   following the mutinies in the French army in 1917. In recognition of
   the growing threat Britain posed, on 31 January Germany adopted the
   policy of unrestricted submarine warfare in an attempt to starve the
   island nation of supplies, an act that would ultimately bring the
   United States into the war.

   At the start of 1916, the British army had been a largely inexperienced
   mass of volunteers. The Somme was the first real test of this newly
   raised "citizens army" that had come into being following Lord
   Kitchener's call for recruits at the start of the war. It is brutal but
   accurate to observe that many of the British soldiers killed on the
   Somme lacked experience, and therefore their loss was of little
   military significance. However, they had been the first to volunteer
   and so were often the fittest, most enthusiastic and best educated of
   the citizen soldiers. For Germany, which had entered the war with a
   trained force of regulars and reservists, each casualty was sapping the
   experience and effectiveness of the German army. The senior German
   commander Crown Prince Rupprecht of Bavaria stated, "What remained of
   the old first-class peace-trained German infantry had been expended on
   the battlefield."

   The Battle of the Somme damaged the German Army beyond repair, after
   which it was never able to adequately replace its casualties with the
   same calibre of soldier that doggedly held its ground during most of
   the battle. By the end of the battle, the British and German armies
   were closer to being equally matched; effectively militias.

   German commanders did not believe the army could endure continual
   battles of attrition like the Somme. On 24 February 1917, the German
   army made a strategic scorched earth withdrawal from the Somme
   battlefield to the prepared fortifications of the Hindenburg Line,
   thereby shortening the front line they had to occupy. In the grey area
   of gains and losses, it is therefore possible to claim that the
   Entente's territorial gain from the battle was greater than that which
   existed at the battle's close.

   The strategic effects of the Battle of the Somme cannot obscure the
   fact that it was one of the costliest battles of the First World War. A
   German officer, Friedrich Steinbrecher, wrote:

          Somme. The whole history of the world cannot contain a more
          ghastly word.

Casualties

   The original Allied estimate of casualties on the Somme, made at the
   Chantilly conference on 15 November, was 485,000 British and French
   casualties versus 630,000 German. These figures were used to support
   the argument that the Somme was a successful battle of attrition for
   the Allies. However, there was considerable scepticism at the time of
   the accuracy of the counts. After the war, a final tally showed that
   419,654 British and 204,253 French were killed, wounded, or taken
   prisoner; of the 623,907 total casualties, 146,431 were either killed
   or missing.

   The British official historian Sir James Edmonds maintained that German
   losses were 680,000, but this figure has been discredited. A separate
   statistical report by the British War Office concluded that German
   casualties on the British sector could be as low as 180,000 during the
   battle. Today commonly accepted figures for all German losses on the
   Somme are between 465,000 and 600,000. In compiling his biography of
   General Rawlinson, Major-General Sir Frederick Maurice was supplied by
   the Reichsarchiv with a figure of 164,055 for the German killed or
   missing.

   The average casualties per division (consisting of circa 10,000
   soldiers) on the British sector up until 19 November was 8,026 — 6,329
   for the four Canadian divisions, 7,408 for the New Zealand Division,
   8,133 for the 43 British divisions and 8,960 for the three Australian
   divisions. The British daily loss rate during the Battle of the Somme
   was 2,943 men, which exceeded the loss rate during the Third Battle of
   Ypres but was not as severe as the two months of the Battle of Arras
   (1917) (4,076 per day) or the final Hundred Days offensive in 1918
   (3,685 per day).

   The Royal Flying Corps lost 782 aircraft and 576 pilots during the
   battle.
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