Battle of Somme

Significance of the Battle

Also known as the Somme offensive, the battle of Somme was fought during the World War I, in between July and November of the year 1916. The battle took place on either sides of the Somme River, as a result of French and British armies' offense against the German army which occupied large portions of France, since its invasion in 1914. It is considered as one of the largest battle of WWI. When the war ended in 1916, it was estimated that approximately 1 million casualties occurred; thus, making the battle as one of the bloodiest in the history of military operations. The battle occurred as a result of Allied strategic discussions held during December 1915 at Chantilly, Oise. These discussions were chaired by French Army's commander-in-chief, General Joseph Joffre. In these discussions the French, British, Russian and Italian armies agreed to launch an offense against the Central Powers (Martin, pp. 256-257).

In this general offensive, the Somme Offensive included as an Anglo-French offensive and was meant to damage the German line, which, with the help of a decisive tactic, will be exploited consequently. However, the action was not planned until the German attack on Verdun in February 1916. This left the Allies with no other choice then to adapt to their pre-defined plans. Although the French Army's contribution was significant in this battle; however, the British Army took the lead. The first day of July in 1916, was the worst day of suffering for the British Army. Nearly 60,000 casualties were recorded on this day. Due to the composition of British Army to that day, the losses left a profound impact on the society and the battle gained a relic in The Great Britain. During that time, the British Army was composed of a number of battalions and employed people from the same places. Moreover, it was also known as a volunteer force during the time of Battle of Somme.

The most profound impact of the casualties of this day was left on the Dominion of Newfoundland. A prime reason behind this was out of 780 men of the Newfoundland, who volunteered to take part in the battle 712 were killed. Another important aspect because of which this battle is renowned is the use of military tanks during the fights.

Key Players

Critiques have criticized the conduct of this battle as the leaders of this fight, i.e., ...