Battle of the Somme Flashcards
When was the Battle of the Somme?
1916
Give 3 features of life in the trenches
Monotonous
Water and rats spread diseases such as dysentery and diarrhoea
Cold and damp conditions lead to trench foot
Shell shock
Who was the commander of the British?
Earl Haig
How did Haig prepare for the Battle of the Somme?
Royal Flying Corps shot down German observation balloons
Seven day artillery bombardment- 1.7 million shells
When did the men go over the top?
7:30 am 1st July 1916
What was done to clear the way of the advancing British infantry?
Creeping barrage
How many British were killed during the first day?
20,000
How long did the Somme offensive continue for?
5 months
How many British were killed overall in the offensive and how many Germans?
British- 600,000
German- 500,000
Was their any changes in strategy?
No, apart from Generals such as Rawlinson being allowed to vary their tactics in small raids
How successful was Rawlinson’s raid on 14 July?
Successful in gaining 5km, but support was slow to arrive so they had to withdraw
Give 3 reasons for the British failure at the Somme
Germans dug underground trenches to protect them from artillery fire
Barbed wire remained intact
Artillery assault made it obvious a big attack was coming
Give 3 criticisms of General Haig
Failed to learn from failures
Used tanks badly, scattering them over a wide area
Ignore advice of Rawlinson who argued for new tactics
Give 3 defences of General Haig
He was under pressure to regain lost land
the Somme stopped the German offensive on the French at Verdun
The losses would effect a small power like Germany more than it would affect the allies
