1. How successful was the Battle of the Somme?
L.O.
Be able to explain why this Battle is so famous
Weigh up successes and failures
Be able to structure an essay

3. From George Coppard, ‘With a Machine Gun to Cambrai’ HMSO, 1969
‘Hundreds of dead were strung out on the enemy wire like fish caught in a net. The Germans must have been reinforcing the wire for months. Daylight could barely be seen through it. How did the planners imagine that British soldiers would get through the German wire? Who told them that artillery gunfire would pound such wire to pieces? Any Tommy [British soldier] could have told them that shell-fire lifts wire up and drops it down, often in a worse tangle than before.’

4. How successful was the Battle of the Somme?
What were the main aims of the Battle?
Relive pressure on Verdun
Lower German morale / inflict injuries
Breakthrough German lines and advance
Use new weaponry successfully
Which of these aims were met and which were not?
In what other ways was the Battle either a success or a failure?

5. How successful was the Battle of the Somme?
Suggested ways to approach the essay…
An essay of two halves (successes and failures) with a judgement at the end Or
- Focus on whether or not aims were achieved and then analyse other considerations with a judgement at the end

6. How successful was the Battle of the Somme?
How to structure your essay into clear paragraphs…
1. Top Bun
Topic sentence
How does para link to question & previous para
2. Burger & Filling
Points, explanation, evidence, analysis
3. Bottom Bun
Concluding statement
(8) Somme essay (examples of good paragraphs).ppt