Find History on Facebook (Opens in a new window), Find History on Twitter (Opens in a new window), Find History on YouTube (Opens in a new window), Find History on Instagram (Opens in a new window), Find History on TikTok (Opens in a new window), Mansell/The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images, Royal Engineers No 1 Printing Company/ IWM via Getty Images, https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-i/battle-of-the-somme. 9th Battalion, King's Own Yorkshire Lt.Inf. [7], In January 1916, Joffre had agreed to the BEF making its main effort in Flanders but in February 1916 it was decided to mount a combined offensive where the French and British armies met, astride the Somme River in Picardy before the British offensive in Flanders. More than anything else, the Battle of the Sommeand especially its devastating first daywould be remembered as the epitome of the brutal and seemingly senseless carnage that characterized trench warfare during World War I. British officers, especially Haig, would be criticized for continuing the offensive in spite of such devastating losses. A British soldier gazes out of a dug-out as the body of a dead German soldier lies nearby. [10], The Chief of the German General Staff, Erich von Falkenhayn, intended to end the war by splitting the Anglo-French Entente in 1916, before its material superiority became unbeatable. The attack was postponed to combine with attacks by the French Sixth Army on Combles, south of Morval and because of rain. We strive for accuracy and fairness. The German defence in the area was based on the second line and numerous fortified villages and farms north from Maurepas at Combles, Guillemont, Falfemont Farm, Delville Wood and High Wood, which were mutually supporting. In order to assist their ally, the British launched their attack on the Somme earlier than planned. In the south, where the bombardment was effective, the Allies advanced rapidly and captured the villages of Montauban and Mametz. "New Army" divisions raised by the Kitchener recruitment drive were numbered 9th to 26th. Many officers resorted to directive command to avoid delegating to novice subordinates, although divisional commanders were given great latitude in training and planning for the attack of 1 July, since the heterogeneous nature of the 1916 army made it impossible for corps and army commanders to know the capacity of each division. 51st Infantry Division [15], The Brusilov offensive (4 June 20 September) on the Eastern Front absorbed the extra forces that had been requested on 2 June by Fritz von Below, commanding the German Second Army, for a spoiling attack on the Somme. Night bombardment at Beaumont Hamel, 2 July 1916. On display at Fort Nelson 125th Infantry Division Chiefs of Staff: General Erich Falkenhayn (until 28 August 1916), General Paul von Hindenburg. 1916 witnessed two of the longest and most notorious battles of the First World War. The British Empire had suffered 420,000 casualties and the French 200,000 in the process. Though the British were able to advance some 1.5 miles, they sustained some 29,000 casualties and fell short of a true breakthrough. General Erich von Falkenhayn, the German Chief of the General Staff, was sacked and replaced by Hindenburg and Ludendorff at the end of August 1916. [63] Sheffield wrote that the losses were "appalling", with 419,000 British casualties, c.204,000 French and perhaps 600,000 German casualties.
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