The Somme, 1916

German soldiers at Verdun, France, 1916






The year 1915 had been very bad for the British, French and Russians (the Allies). The Russians had nearly run out of ammunition in the east, the British had suffered nearly half of a million casualties at Gallipoli in Turkey and major attempts to push back the Germans in France had failed.

At the same time, the Germans were making steady progress towards Paris from the area in France known as Verdun. Verdun was an important part of the country in the minds of the French and they would fight hard to protect it. In May of 1916, the War Committee and the French authorities estimated their losses at around 115,000 at Verdun, but were possibly "much higher." They also feared that the German casualties were not as high as they were reporting to the public.


British soldiers at the Somme


The situation was becoming dangerous for the Allied Nations. The British and French soon realized that they needed to relieve the troops at Verdun and planned to do so by starting a new offensive near the River Somme. It was hoped that the Germans would move troops from Verdun to the Somme. The shelling of the German positions at the Somme began on June 24, intending to soften them before the attack. Over one and a half million shells were fired in that week. The bombardment went on day and night until July 1. At 7:30 that morning, the British and French troops "went over the top" and attacked the German lines.



British tank at the Somme

What had been thought to be a "decisive breakthrough" was a total failure. Little was accomplished in the first two months of fighting. The attack began again on September 15, with the first use of modern tanks in warfare history. Rains in October made the battlefield muddy and difficult to move in. By the battle's end on November 13, the British suffered 420,000 casualties, the French 195,000 and the Germans 650,000. The Allies gained 5 miles of territory. It did manage to distract the Germans from Verdun.