However, as Britain was helping the French out, they tended to say what was what. So with the help of General Sir Henry Rawlinson, Haig organised the attack on the Somme.
Haig planned to heavily bombard the German Frontline for around 7days. He hoped this would create holes in the barbed wire and also make sure when they attacked there would be no defence in sight. The Infantry would then advance to take hold of the German positions and a charge of Cavalry would sweep through the villages, splitting the enemy line in two. Unfortunately, this approach did not go quite as planned.
The artillery bombardment had the unfortunate affect of warning the enemy that an attack was about to happen, which gave them lots of time to prepare their forces. The German trenches were well constructed and heavily fortified. The Germans were able to shelter in their underground bunkers in reasonable safety until the infantry attack started. The bombardment had churned up the ground badly, throwing barbed wire in the air, and tangling it up further. This clearly made the advance more difficult. Many British shells failed to explode leaving the German defences virtually untouched in parts.
So, when the infantry went over-the-top of the dug outs at 7:30 am on 1st July, wave after wave were ploughed down by enemy fire. About 60,000 men were killed or wounded by the end of the offensive. The French, attacking where the defences were weaker, had been more successful yet without back up from the British they were unable to hold on to their advance. By nightfall on 1 July the only real British successes had been on the right flank, where Montauban and Mametz were captured and the Fourth Army had managed to advance about a mile on a sector some 3½ miles wide.
At Bazantine Ridge, 22,000 troops attacked after British Artillery (which was improving rapidly) had bombarded the ridge. The Germans knew that they must not lose this Ridge, but the British had an unqualified success here. It was at this point where the Commanders realized that Cavalry was too slow and ineffective.
Tanks were introduced on the 1st September, they were pretty useless. Not much of them managed to cause any real damage. Mechanical failures were common, and many others became wedged in the shell holes and trenches of the churned battlefield. 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 Battle continued tirelessly for five more months. The Somme campaign finally ended in November 1919. Bogged down in mud, the Allied Forces could claim only to have taken ten kilometres of ground from the German defenders. Overall casualty figures were shockingly high; 419,654 British and Empire Forces, 204,253 French and probably about 500,000 German.
I think the Offensive was a failure. This was because of a number of reasons. I think Haig was wrong to send men in again, but this was due to bad advice from his subordinates. They put a positive twist on it. So for this reason, I don’t think this bloodshed was needed.
Also I think that the failure was too exaggerated at home in England, this was due to conservative papers/magazines, and this was because Haig was looked upon as being a bad officer. This was not entirely true. He did eventually lead the Allies to a Victory, but the Somme was indeed a failure.
Daniel Ibbotson 11BR
