Land Battles The CEF in Battle

The Battle of Somme, July 1916 While Germans were busy fighting the French at Verdun, the Allies tried to end trench warfare with a huge attack on the German trenches at The Battle of Somme The attack was not successful

The Battle of Somme, July 1916

The Germans were not pushed back Over 20,000 Canadians were killed 90% of the The Newfoundland regiment was killed

The Battle of Somme, July 1916 After 5 months of fighting, the Allies had only gained a few kilometres of territory The casualty total was 1.25 million The Battle of Somme was a disaster for many reason

The Battle of Somme, July The Allies shells were too weak to damage German concrete bunkers buried deep underground 2. Allied troops were overloaded with 25 – 60 kgs of gear

The Battle of Somme, July A nearby mine was detonated ten minutes before the attack, which warned the Germans 4. The attack was delayed and happened in daylight, rather than at night

The Battle of Somme, July The attack was ordered to continue, even though most soldiers were dying 6. There were 23 Canadian men who were ordered ‘shot at dawn’ because they would not return to the front

Shot at Dawn Memorial

The Battle of Somme, July 1916 General Douglas Haig was in charge of this offensive. He used an old war tactic of marching soldiers into battle As more and more troops were ordered to march across open fields they were shot down by German machine guns.

Somme