World War I in France 1916 - the Somme and Verdun.

2003 History Coursework

World War I in France in 1916 – the Somme and Verdun

Part A

1) On the Western Front, I believe that bombardment could have played an important role but it did not. It was also misused in many ways. One such way is its use to destroy the barbed wire that was placed in front of the trenches to stop the enemy from being able to run straight into the trenches. Using artillery, however, to destroy wire is totally the wrong thing to do as the wire is not destroyed; it is just thrown up into the air and then comes back down in an even bigger tangled mess. Source A from a textbook used in British schools called Britain at War 1914-1919 by Craig Mair, and demonstrates my point very well. Being included in a textbook, the source must be considered reliable as if it was not then the book would not have been printed. The source says that British troops at the Battle of the Somme were told by their superiors that the barbed wire would be destroyed by the bombardment and that all they needed to do was walk up to the German trenches. The troops ended up walking to their deaths as the wire was not even damaged.

Bombardment was also poorly used in one other way. Before an attack, the British would always unleash a huge bombardment against the Germans. However, this gave away that the British were about to attack, so the Germans would hide in their bunkers until the bombardment had ceased, and then run out of the bunkers and mount the machine guns.

Source B shows, however the impact artillery can have on the battlefield. The source shows the remains of a machine gun post that was completely destroyed by bombardment. However, the photograph could have been issued by the British government to boost morale and give faith to the troops in artillery.

This is a preview of the whole essay

2) I think that overall, Field Marshal Haig must be judged a success, as he did win the war, but it did come at a terrible cost. Source E is from a book by Philip Warner about Field Marshal Haig and as there is no reason for Philip Warner to lie it must be considered reliable. The source says that although many lives were lost, ‘Haig’s methods were in line with the ideas of the time, when attrition was the method all sides used to achieve victory.’ What this means is that the method used by all was to fight the enemy continuously to break and wear them down. Philip Warner also points out that many people criticise decisions that Haig made and the price of his methods but they do not suggest other ways in which he might have led the British campaign on the Western Front. Another good point Philip Warner makes is that for all his failings, Haig did manage to push the most powerful army of the time out of France.

However, Haig was also dislike by many soldiers under his command. Source C was written by Fred Pearson who was a veteran of World War I. he is very bitter towards Haig. He calls him ‘the biggest murderer of the lot.’ Fred Pearson also says that Haig lived nearly fifty kilometres behind the line and that there was a feeling that Haig did not even know what a trench was like. This could be the truth as Pearson did fight in the war, but it could also be a twist as Pearson would have lost many people close to him and would have wanted someone to blame for the pointless loss of life. He would obviously blame Haig as he was the commanding officer of all British forces on the Western Front. Therefore, if things went wrong he would be blamed for it.

Source D is from a book called Great Battles of World War I by Anthony Livesey. The book was published in 1989 which is seventy-one years after the War ended on the Western Front. Therefore, Anthony Livesey would have no reason to lie and the source can be considered as reliable. The source suggests that Haig’s greatest failing was his optimism and his inability to recognise defeat such as at the Somme and Passchendaele, where both offensives should have ended a lot earlier than they did. If they had finished earlier, then thousands of people would have been saved. This is why the ordinary soldiers, such as Fred Pearson, hated him so much.

Overall, Haig must be judged as a success as he the commander of the winning side and he also managed to push the most powerful army of the time out of France.

Part B

3) I believe 1916 was a turning point in the war for many reasons. 1916 saw the rise of new technology, with the invention tanks and the more widespread use of aeroplanes. Tanks, which although did not work terribly well when first introduced, brought an end to the stalemate at the Somme. They provided shelter from machine gun fire which could wipe out whole companies of men in seconds. It was Field Marshal Haig who ordered their use at the Somme to break the stalemate as British troops were being slaughtered by the German machine guns.

Aircraft was also more widely used in 1916. Before an attack, aircraft would be used to spot targets for artillery to attack, however on days with low cloud cover, this became impossible such as on the first day of the Somme.

The Battle of Verdun was a decisive moment in the war. In February, 1916 the Germans launched an attack on the French forts surrounding the town of Verdun. The Germans did not expect to break through the French line, but to ‘bleed France white’. The German aim was to attack the forts at Verdun to try and draw as many men to protect the forts and kill them. The more that would come to defend Verdun, the more gaps there would be along the rest of the French line. However after five months, the German had only captured 20 sq. miles and 700,000 men had been lost on both sides. It was then that the British launched and attack on the Somme, to draw German troops away from Verdun which was near breaking point. The British High Command, led by Haig, decided to attack along the line of the River Somme. Haig also hoped that if the British won, then it would give the French a huge morale boost by inflicting as many casualties and loses on the German army. The battle began on 1st July 1916 after a continuous week of shelling. This lifted the pressure on Verdun but it came at a cost of 57,000 British casualties on the first day. The Battle of the Somme ended on 18th November 1916 for two main reasons. The weather had turned bad and the oncoming winter meant that any further attacks were now impossible. Mounting casualties also meant that losing any more men would cripple the British and therefore Haig could not risk losing many more men. The whole offensive gained 12km at its deepest points but at a cost of 620,000 British and French casualties. In the short term, Britain lost thousands of men who could have been used for other offensives. However, in the long term, the Germans never really recovered after the Somme and it is for this reason that the battle was a turning point. The Battle of Verdun ended in December, 1916 at a cost of 700,000 men to each side. The French also managed to reclaim all land lost at Verdun.

The Battle of Jutland was also a turning point in the war. In terms of ships sunk and men killed, that battle was a German victory. However, in the scale of the war, it should be a considered a British victory as the British forced the Germans to return to port, from where they did not leave until the end of the war, when they were taken to the British naval base Scapa Flow, in the Orkney Islands, and sunk. This meant that Britain had complete supremacy of the seas for the rest of the war.

Having complete control of the seas allowed Britain to impose a naval blockade on the German coast, which prevented them from receiving the vital food supplies the country needed. The German people slowly began to starve and had to survive on just turnips for the entire winter. This led to increased pressure inside Germany to end the war.

Events in Russia on the Eastern Front also led to a turn of events on the Western Front. In 1916, the Russian General Brusilov, launched a huge offensive against the Austrians and managed to recapture most of the territory lost during numerous Austrian offensives in 1915. This forced the Germans to transfer thirty-five divisions of troops from the Western Front to fight the Russians on the Eastern Front. This meant that the German strangle hold on the French at Verdun and for the rest of the war until 1917, was eased, which allowed the French to regroup for further offensives.

I believe that it is for these reasons that 1916 was a massive turning point in the First World War as it paved the way for further offensives. The policy on unrestricted submarine warfare played an important part as this brought America into the war in 1917. This tipped the balance of the war into Britain and Frances favour as it provided them with fresh troops and munitions. Ultimately the German army lost because, of the British naval blockade, America entering the war, and the weakness of Germany’s allies. If these had not been the case for Britain and France then the war would have been won by Germany.

By David Cavanna, 10D