What happened after the battle of the somme?

Answer 1

Although the Battle of The Somme ended in stalemate, the British learnt many important lessons tactically. By 1917 the British had developed tactics that were more suited to trench warfare, and the Battle Of Arras (April) initially saw important gains. Also it transpired that many shells fired by the Royal Field Artillery at the Somme had not exploded due to poor quality production and this was greatly improved by 1917. The Germans re-organised their defensive line and started to rely on series of concrete pillboxes as a front line defense. The boxes were placed so that there was full machine gun coverage across the front line. This new fortified line was known to the allies "the Hindenburg Line". 1917 saw the Russian revolution leading to the withdrawal of Russia from the War. Germany were able to move its army from the Eastern Front to France and Belgium. The United States entered the war in 1917 (although they weren't fully operational until spring 1918). Recognising that the US could pour huge amounts of manpower to the Western Front, the Germans launched massive attacks in March 1918 initially meeting with success but eventually running out of steam. After this the Allies counter attacked and suddenly after nearly four years of trench warfare, the war became mobile again after the Hindenburg Line was breached. By October 1918, Germany had lost its main ally in the Austro-Hungary empire and eventually were ask the Allies for an Armistice. This was agreed and on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month the guns stopped firing.