The Somme, 1918

The Second Battle of the Somme began at 5:00 AM on March 21, 1918. German General Ludendorff hoped that if the attack were successful, two Allied communication centers would fall at Arras and at Amiens.

The Germans fired 9,000 cannons for five hours before advancing on the British Fifth Army, forcing them to retreat. By March 25, the British had lost 150,000 men and many people were evacuating Paris. The Germans shelled Paris from 80 miles away for a week with the Big Bertha cannons.

Damage in Paris from Big Bertha shells

General Pershing was also willing to admit the severity of the situation and agreed to accelerate the arrival of American troops. In March of 1918, 60,000 Americans arrived in France; 93,000 in April; 240,000 in May and 280,000 in June. While Americans arrived in ever greater numbers, the Germans continued to advance or hold their ground. Of the six divisions Pershing had in France, only one was battle ready.

Pershing was finally able to send a few thousand American doughboys to the Somme on April 2. It was the first major engagement that American troops took part in in Europe. The battle ended two days later on April 4 but the Allies had managed to keep the Germans from taking the towns of Arras and Amiens.


Arras, 1918. A town defended by Americans.

In the end, the Allies suffered 200,000 casualties at the Second Battle of the Somme, the Germans captured 70,000 prisoners and forty square miles of French territory. However, the German Army lost nearly as many men and were very low on supplies, while the Allies were gaining new equipment and troops from the States all the time. There were 20,000 American casualties.