Battle Of The Somme Flashcards
Potential questions
Why did the British fail on the 1st July
Was Haig the butcher of the somme
Why did the British fail
Incompetency of generals
Failure of the artillery bombardment
German defended
Barbed wire
Number of guns at the Somme
1,400
Number of heavy guns
182
Length of Bombardment
1 week added two days due to weather
Problem with type of shells
Predominantly shrapnel, therefore ineffective against dugouts and barbed wire
Manufacturing issues with shells
1 in 3 were duds
Issues with the use of artillery
No counter battery fire so the British faces German artillery on the 1st of July
Reasons why dugouts were not destroyed
40 foot deep or 2 feet of concrete
Ravine where the Newfoundland regiment attacked
Why wasn’t barbed wire destroyed
Shrapnel shells only tangled
No high explosive shells
How long did it take to cut the wire
12 seconds
Effect of only a few breaks in the wire
Killing zones
How many breaks in the wire where he Newfoundland men attacked
1
Why were the German defence ready
Knew my was coming, newspaper and length of bombardment
Why could they defend themselves
40 foot dugouts reinforced with two feet of concrete, hid weapons and men in them
Why were the machine find so effective
High ground, salient a, straffing Fire
German machine guns
Maxim machine gun, light and portable, 600 rounds per minute equivalent of around 100 coordinated troops
“Weapons of Mass destruction”
Other advantage of German defender
No counter battery fire so they were hit with German shells
Poor tactics
66-72 pound bags
Attack in daylight
2mph walk
Too much faith on bombardment and on too wide a front (18miles)
Creeping barrage on a timetable, didn’t work
Midland fails to support the Ulster men at Thiepval
Newfoundlanders should not have attacked but miscommunication led to an attack and 91% casualties
