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The initial suggestion was to aim to take the front lines on Day One. The initial objectives were also altered. This was increased to 25000 by High Command. The Fourth Army had suggested a front some 20000 yards wide. There were some disagreements over the detail of the plans. Infantry could then advance beyond German front lines. The combination of the mines and artillery would render the German lines virtually useless. It would be the largest artillery bombardment to date. This would annihilate the German positions, destroying everything in its path. A large artillery bombardment was prepared. Here, huge charges were placed which would be detonated minutes before the infantry attacked. To overcome this the British used miners to create tunnels underneath Trench positions. This allowed the Allies to identify the weak spots in the German line and prepare accordingly. German positions were well mapped, strength well known, reserves and supply routes all identified. The Somme Valley was well known to the Allies. Drain their reserves, inflict as much damage as possible. Second, as the Germans were doing to the French, the Allies would now attempt to drain the Germans of resources. This would be achieved by launching an offensive so big that it required the Germans to reallocate resources. The objectives for the Battle of the Somme were twofold. The plan now had to alter to relieve pressure on the French. Verdun was draining French troops and was perilously close to being taken. They could no longer go on the offensive in the way that they had intended to. The German High Command identified it as a location that would drain French reserves, weaken the Allied ability to launch any offensive of their own, threaten Paris and potentially lead to a huge psychological victory given the national pride associated with Verdun.
BATTLE OF VERDUN SUMMARY SERIES
It consisted of a series of well constructed defences. This symbolically important location was to the east of Paris. In February 1916 the Germans launched a major offensive at Verdun. Verdun: German offensive changes Allied priorities
BATTLE OF VERDUN SUMMARY FULL
The idea being that the full might of these forces all attacking on different fronts would be overwhelming. The intention in 1916 was for each of the Allied powers to take up the offensive against the Central Powers. This new army was assigned the Somme valley, an area in which little fighting had previously taken place.
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This was to be commanded by Sir Henry Rawlinson, a veteran of the Battle of Ypres. In February 1916 the British formed a new Fourth Army. David Lloyd George, then Minister for Munitions, had made the optimistic promise that enough shells would be produced by April and production sustained to a level at which the Allies could go on the offensive. Lord Kitchener’s recruitment drive and the subsequent training of these ‘Pal’s Battalions’ would see the Army in France increased to 1.4 million men (combined forces) by June. The Allies had a clear plan for their operations in 1916. The Germans were convinced that the Schlieffen Plan would work, the British had faith in the British Expeditionary Force dispatched in later summer of 1914 and the French had imagined that their defences would hold firm and allow them to implement Plan XVII. This was a far cry from the expectations of either side at the outbreak of war in 1914. Recruitment had become a concern, volunteer armies were now being trained and readied for front line action.
BATTLE OF VERDUN SUMMARY PROFESSIONAL
The professional forces of all of the combatant nations were strained. They introduced new weapons, with Gas having been used in 1915. Both sides sought to break through the Trench networks and gain decisive victories. War was becoming increasingly one of attrition. The Allies had dug Trenches to prevent further advances, the Germans had dug in having already gained ground. The expected war of movement had developed into one based around trenches. Given the objectives were to relieve pressure and inflict damage it is hard to assess who won the Battle of the Somme.īy 1916 the Western Front had become quite static. The first day of the Battle of the Somme is remembered due to the heavy casualties suffered by the British Army, 57470 killed, wounded or captured. The Allies had also agreed to launch offensives on several fronts against the Central Powers. Another objective was to inflict as much damage as possible on the Germans. British forces along with those from France and the British Empire intended to relieve pressure on French troops at Verdun. Lasting 141 days it was one of the longest continuous battles of the First World War. The Battle of the Somme began on July 1st 1916.