Why Is The Battle Of The Somme Important

The Battle of The Somme The Battle of The Somme was one of the first major battles of WW1. With about 1,120,000 casualties The Battle of The Somme was a devastating battle. Lasting 141 days and around 58,000 British casualties on the first day this was a battle to remember. The battle also showed new technology. The British plan was made at the end of 1915. It was supposed to be the British and the French attacking. The French commander in chief Joffre wanted to reduce the strength of the Germans and take out their reserves. To move forward was not his primary plan. The new British commander in chief was Sir Douglas Haig. He liked the plan but wanted to attack in a region in Belgium. Haig was promoted to commander in chief of the BEF on December 19, 1915. The British government led by Prime Minister Asquith let Haig attack in 1916. The British Forces had more troops, but Joffre and Haig wanted it to be a French attack. German Army Chief of Staff von Falkenhayn wanted to 'bleed France white' after the loss at Verdun. Haig was put in charge over Joffre of how the battle was supposed to go. Haig planned it carefully and slowly, even though that made Joffre very annoyed. Haig also used General Rawlinson's plans too.

Then an artillery strike was going to last 8 days. The artillery was supposed to take out all of the German front line so that the Allies could go across No Man's Land and take the German Front lines. The infantry would move forward and take all of the German trench lines. While they are doing this they would take telephone cables with them to communicate with commanding officers. Rawlinson's troops who were at the center of the line were told to only go a limited distance then report back to Haig. The troops would cross with supplies weighing them down which made it more difficult to