Why is the battle of the Somme considered such a great military tragedy?

Another major contribution to the tragedy of Somme was the utter ineffectiveness of the British artillery and infantry forces. When commencing the battle the British troops were completely oblivious to the failure of their eight-day bombardment prior to the attack and so went "over the top" assuming they could advance quickly and walk into the German trenches. Because of this assumption they bombarded their troops with equipment, severely affecting their pace as this equipment came to a total of 66 pounds per soldier. They advanced slowly, making them easy targets for the Germans, which was a great contribution to the total loss. This assumption was to prove fatal for the soldiers as the British forces were blissfully unaware that the Germans had been preparing their defences and trenches years before the actual battle. The purpose of the bombardment was to make a clear run to the German trenches. However, due to German preparations this in theory reached nowhere near the desired extent. Because the bombardment was ineffective the gaps between the German barbed wire were smaller than what had been intended, meaning many of the soldiers failed to cross over or were unfortunately trapped within the entanglements. Guns that were used during the bombardment were simply not able to meet the demands of trench warfare and weren't effective enough to collapse German blockades.

The shells that were used during the bombardment were the major weakness of the artillery forces. The initial purposes of these shells were to break through the German barbed wire blockades and to destroy their well dug out trenches. However, because the shells were in desperate demand prior to the battle they were made in such large quantities that the majority were badly manufactured and failed to detonate once thrown. Even the ones that managed to explode were often aimed into the sky rather than at the enemy and were far too powerless to make any major impact upon the entrenched German infantry and could not collapse their defences. The shells actually caused more harm to the British army than they did the Germans as all they did was further tangle the barbed wire. The most they could hope for was that the shells would collapse the walls of the trenches and as a result block off the entrances and suffocate the German troops. The realisation hit home far too late that in order to make any major impact more high-powered explosives were in need.

Another reason behind the immense failure of the battle was the fact that the majority of the British troops formed a force known as "Kitchener's Army". This consisted solely of inexperienced volunteers, eager to fight for their country and went to war under the false illusions that they would return safely as heroes and winners. However, the truth soon became common knowledge to the soldiers. It didn't matter to the commanders that there was a lack of experience within the troops as he thought this was compensated for by sheer numbers. However, not only did they lack the accuracy and skill required to use their weapons effectively but the commanders also had little faith in them. Because head officials thought very little of the volunteer soldiers they were placed along the front lines, keeping the small minority of qualified soldiers at the back in order to preserve them for as long as possible. However, this meant that experienced soldiers were been led blindly by unqualified men across the battlefields and as a result men went down in their hundreds.

Commanders such as Officer Rawlinson refused to believe in the ability of the volunteers and so declined the idea to provide them with complicated orders in the fear that it would cause disorder and confusion within the plan. Instead they provided the experienced soldiers with them who were then forced over the top to execute these orders despite the officers knowledge of the failed bombardment and German barbed wire blockades. Because of this the useful soldiers were lost almost immediately, leaving useless volunteers to press on with the battle. This proved itself as a major disadvantage as these soldiers severely lacked the initiative to attack in unexpected situations and so would only respond to orders from commanders who had meagre faith in them anyway. Many people insist on arguing, even today, that the lack of 'quality' within the British army was the causation behind the tragedy of the Somme.

However, it wasn't just their lack of faith in the troops that led to the disaster, this was only a minor contribution. The major cause for the failure of the battle was their stringent belief in the initial plan for the "big push". The commanders were so self assured that their plan had been carefully organised that it was not thought that any adjustments were required. Even when the troops began to realise that success was looking hopeless their commanders (who were also often inadequately trained) continued to send men over the top in the bid to stick to the initial plan. If the leading officials had managed to respond in accordance to their current situations rather than do as the plan intended then maybe the battle would have had a change of face. Two critical disadvantages of this tactic were seen when the troops came across difficulties and more importantly, when a chance of victory was seen aside from that previously speculated yet was abandoned because it was not mentioned within the initial plan. An example of this can be seen in the drawback of the cavalry advancement in early September. In the original plan the cavalry was to be used simply to capture any fleeing Germans after the British divisions had seized control of the trenches. However, after every other tactic had failed an idea was composed that a breakthrough with the cavalry troops could bring about success for the British and French troops. It was also seen as a last chance to execute an attack upon German positions. In theory the attack would have decreased resistance from the German force and allowed Britain to make their first major advancement. However, because this was not in the formative plan Officer Rawlinson forbade it. His inflexibility to adjust the original plan meant that any opportunity for advancement was now lost. After this the soldiers began questioning the intelligence of their high commanders and a growing sense of disillusionment erupted. The soldiers lost the morale to continue and in their eyes failure was imminent. In actual fact it is said the immutability of the original plan and the commanders failure to adjust it in accordance to their present difficulties was Britains major weakness and cause of the tragedy.

By the beginning of September morale within the British and French troops was low. The initial objectives now seemed impossible and many had lost their friends with whom they had volunteered. Also, the severe winter weather had begun. Throughout the last few months of the battle the air was thick with fog to such an extent that soldiers found it immensely difficult to shoot accurately in the direction of the enemy. This combined with their already limited accuracy skills meant that the amount of successful shots at the enemy was low. Snow had fallen heavily over the months and mixed with the muddy ground that had been uprooted in places as a result of detonating shells. Daunted and fatigued the soldiers trudged through the mud with diminishing patience and belief in their commanders. The loss of morale in these last few months is another reason as to why the battle of the Somme is considered such a tragedy.

There are many reasons as to why the Somme offensive was a disaster but it was the combination of all of these that made it a tragedy. The failure of the bombardment, the lack of 'quality' within the British army, German preparation prior to the battle, inflexibility of British plan and the severe weather conditions all contributed to the death of over 600,000 soldiers from the period of July 1st to November 18th. Why was the Somme considered a tragedy? Well the definition of a tragedy being " a mournful and dreadful event" were the "climax is a catastrophe"1 makes us wonder if it is a definition consumed solely from events that occurred during the battle of the Somme.

Webster's English Dictionary p399

Natasha Roberts - 11MN