Why did the British attack on the Somme fail?

Lesson objectives To gain a chronological understanding of the events surrounding the Battle of the Somme. To assess why the British attack on the Somme failed. To use and classify a range of sources to support different viewpoints and reasons explaining why the British attack on the Somme failed.

A new war? By the end of 1914, the war of movement ground to a halt. Both sides had dug into strong positions across the Western Front and the generals did not know how to break the enemy lines. Before the First World War, battles had been dominated by cavalry charges and infantry troops fighting hand-to-hand combat. These method just did not work with a series of trench lines protected by barbed wire, machine guns and artillery fire.

A war of attrition? Both sides tried to make a breakthrough by pouring thousands of men at enemy lines at a concentrated point. This failed. From 1915, both sides adopted a policy of attrition. This involved wearing the enemy down and hoping that the enemies resources would run out before yours.

How did an army prepare for an attack? Large numbers of troops were moved to the front line. Extra supplies of ammunition, supplies and coffins were needed. Aerial reconnaissance of the enemy positions. Paths were cut, at night, in your own barbed wire fences and paths marked out with tape.

What was ‘going over the top’? Once the artillery bombardment was over, the order was given for soldiers to ‘go over the top’. This meant climbing out of the trenches, crossing No Man’s Land and attacking the enemies trenches. This tactic was based on the assumption that the artillery had destroyed the enemy trenches. This was rarely the case and the attackers were easy targets for the machine guns. For much of the war, both sides repeated this tactic again and again. No one could think of a way of breaking this stalemate.

Where is the Somme? The Somme is a region in north-east France named after the River Somme that flows through it. It is a generally flat area of land and had important industrial features, such as coal mines and iron works.

Why did the Allies decide to attack the Germans at the Somme? The French were fighting the Germans at Verdun, south of the Somme. This battle was not going well for the French and they wanted the British to attack the Germans, so that the Germans would have to move troops to face the British. Field Marshal Haig reluctantly agreed to this joint attack, which was decided to be at the Somme. This was despite the French having to commit less troops than initially planned.

Were the Allied preparations a success? The Allies built a huge network of roads and railways lines to transport troops and munitions to the Somme region. This was all observed by German planes and scouts. Therefore, they were not surprised when a huge bombardment of German positions began on 24th June 1916. Under the bombardment, the Germans dug in and fortified their trenches and dug-outs – some were more than 12 metres deep. In effect, the British were shelling empty trenches. A third of the shells the British launched failed to explode.

Why was the first day of the Battle of the Somme a disaster for the Allies? The British decided to attack the German front lines on 1st July 1916. This front line was 13 kilometres long. Haig believed that the shelling of German lines had been a success and ordered his troops to walk towards the enemy trenches. Alongside this, mines were detonated underneath the German trenches as gas attacks at 40 points on the German line. This was not the case as the British began their advance at 7;30am, the Germans quickly held their positions as the Allied troops went over the top. Half the Allied troops became casualties – 57,470 men in total. Many the victim of the machine gun.

What happened after the first day of the Battle of the Somme? Despite the massive losses – the worst single day for the British army in its history, Haig decided to press on. The Battle of the Somme lasted between July and November 1916, at the cost of over 600, 000 men – 420, 000 of these were British. The military gains were minimal. The stalemate continued.......

Why did British tactics at the Battle of the Somme fail? With a week-long artillery attack the surprise element was lost. Germans had built strong trenches. British tactics of attack wilted in the face of the tactics of defence. British infantry was largely inexperienced. Artillery barrage had failed. Tanks were poorly managed.

Why did British tactics at the Battle of the Somme fail? Field Marshall Haig, the leader of the British army has come under intense criticism from historians for his tactics. Some of these criticisms include – He did not realise the importance of the machine gun. His order to attack the enemy by walking towards their trenches was wrong and he should have used the strategy of ‘rushing’. He was too attack minded and was inflexible in the face of changing events. He was too far away from the front line to make quick and effective decisions. He wasted the new weapon – the tank.

How have historians defended British tactics at the Battle of the Somme? More recently, historians have been more sympathetic towards Field Marshall Haig, and his tactics. Some of the ways Haig has been defended are – It was not Haig’s fault that the British shells inferior. The attack on the Somme did relieve the French at Verdun. The Germans did lose many of its promising young generals at the Somme.

What was the civilian experience of the Battle of the Somme? Although civilians were not involved directly in the fighting at the Somme, many who fought were civilian-soldiers and it still had a profound impact upon British society. The Somme caused a massive demand on the production of munitions. News of the Somme came from newspapers and began two days after the start of the battle. The reports were heavily censored and did not report the extent of losses, tactics and troop movements. A significant consequence of the Somme was the production of a documentary on the Battle of the Somme which hit the cinemas in August 1916, which the battle was still going on. It was the most watched film in cinemas until Star Wars in 1977.

Task Make bullet point notes uder the following headings Western Front Battle of the Somme Consequences of the Battle of the Somme

Task This visual hexagon activity helps you make links between the different areas about the Battle of the Somme. In pairs, make links between each hexagon and write two sentences for each link explaining them fully.

Task This learning grid activity helps you make links between the different reasons why the Berlin Wall being built. Can you link .... Link 2 images together. Link 3 images together. Link 4 images together. Link 5 images together. Link 6 images together. Extra challenge ... Link all 12 images together!