1. Good Morning!!! NVC Soldier Poetry Battle of the Somme
Essential Question: How did the attitudes of soldiers fighting in WWI change during the course of the war?

2. How did the attitudes of soldiers fighting in WWI change during the course of the war?
“How do you fight?
“In Flanders Fields”
“Dulce et Decorum est”

3. Soldier Poetry
How did the attitudes of soldiers fighting in WWI change between 1914 and 1917?
Be sure to address the specific poems that we read!

4. Transition…
What are some of the hazards/dangers of trench warfare? List as many as you can, and be as specific as you can!
Mud can give you trench foot!
You can drown in mud, gas, or blood
Barbed wire all over the battlefield could cut or trap you
Poison gas can get into the open trenches
Boredom led to attacks!
Snipers
Drown in bullets
Tanks could run you over
Cant see anything, gotta keep your head down
Huge rats! Bring diseases
Surrounded by dead bodies
Sore from bending over/your gear on your back
Having your trench over run

5. Battle of the Somme
1916 Britain and France plan to break the stalemate
Somme Offensive: plan to push Germany out of northern France (occupied since 1914)
Battle of the Somme: begins July 1, 1916 and lasts four months
1.2 million soldiers killed or wounded
Britain and France win back 6 miles of land

6. Significance of the Somme
A Turning Point?
German war effort greatly weakened
One of bloodiest battles in human history
machine guns, artillery, landmines, gas, and first ever usage of tanks
“Somme. The whole history of the world cannot contain a more ghastly word.” —Friedrich Steinbrecher

7. Central Historical Question
Who won the first day of the Battle of the Somme?