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The main intention of the Battle of the Somme, at least at the beginning and forefront, was to relieve the beleaguered French troops that were taking terrible casualties during the Battle of Verdun, having been launched in the same year but several months earlier.
This was a primarily British offensive with some French support (after all, the French were busy at Verdun). Unfortunately for the Brits, 1916 seems to have been a particularly nasty year for trench attrition warfare - that is, where two sides will simply sit in a deadlock and inflict casualties on one another to wear the other side down, as opposed to making large decisive battles - and the Battle of the Somme certainly highlighted this. The Battle of the Somme is considered one of the bloodiest and most costly military operations in human history, resulting in 1.5 million casualties and at least 400,000 combat deaths.
Given that it was a British launched operation, the British were the ones making the offensive and trying to gain ground. In its efforts to draw off German troops from Verdun, it was reasonably successful. The opening order of battle proved to be a disaster, with planning gone awry and terrible miscommunication and failures, leading to the deaths of tens of thousands of men and the failure of a breakthrough. They quickly entrenched and it turned into the trench war that the Somme is renowned for.
Germany did not have the manpower and the material to be able to fight a war of attrition, and so this alarmed the German high command. The British launched streams of offensives in attempts to break through, and their end result after three months and hundreds of thousands of casualties, was that they had advanced 5 miles (8 km) at the deepest point.
It's important to note that the British may have lost many men, but that their losses were acceptable - the Germans were far less so. The Battle of the Somme may have proved inconclusive in its aim, but for the Germans it dealt an irreversible blow as the Germans lost many of their irreplaceable veteran troops, very much reducing their capacity to fight back.
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Where was the Battle of the Somme?
The Battle of the Somme began in France near the Somme River.
Was the battle of the somme a good thing?
The Battle of the somme was a horrible thing but for a good reason
What was Zero Hour - Battle of the Somme?
Zero Hour for the Battle of the Somme (Somme Offensive) was 7:30 a.m. on July 1st, 1916.
What year was the battle of somme in?
1st July, 1916
Did the US fight in the Battle of the Somme?
No. The Battle of the Somme was in 1916. The US entered the war in 1917.
Where was the Battle of the Somme?
The Battle of the Somme began in France near the Somme River.
Where did the battle of the somme get its name?
The Battle of the Somme occurred on both sides of the Somme River in France. It is also known as the Somme Offensive.
Who started Battle of the Somme?
french stared the battle of Somme.
Was the Battle of the Somme a bloodbath?
The Battle of the Somme (sometimes known as the Somme Offensive) was one of the bloodiest military battles in history.
Was the battle of the somme a good thing?
The Battle of the somme was a horrible thing but for a good reason
What was Zero Hour - Battle of the Somme?
Zero Hour for the Battle of the Somme (Somme Offensive) was 7:30 a.m. on July 1st, 1916.
Did the US fight in the Battle of the Somme?
No. The Battle of the Somme was in 1916. The US entered the war in 1917.
What year was the battle of somme in?
1st July, 1916
What is an interesting fact of the battle of somme?
The Battle of the Somme ended due to bad weather conditions.
What nickname was given to Haig after the Battle of the Somme?
Butcher of the Somme
Where was the battle of Somme fought?
In France, along the western front at a place called Somme. Near the French river Somme.
Why is the battle of somme named the battle of somme?
Because the river Somme, a large river, dominates the geography around there. Interestingly, the Somme was an important factor controlling manoeuvres before the battle of Agincourt 1415, 500 years previously.
