Battle of the Somme A case study in
Battle of the Somme A case study in trench warfare on the Western Front
Overview • July 1 – Nov. 18, 1916 • One of the costliest battles of WWI • Approximately 1. 2 million casualties • 420, 000 British • 200, 000 French • 500, 000 German Dead German soldiers at Battle of the Somme 2
Battle Basics • Attempt by the British to “push through” the German lines • “Battle of Attrition” • Fought along northwestern part of the Western Front • After months of fighting, resulted in small gains in land for England • Greatly weakened German war effort overall 3
Causes of high death toll Massive loss of life due to new military technologies: • machine guns • artillery/mines • hand grenades • gas • airplanes • first use of tanks British gun crew wearing PH-type anti-gas helmets 4
Preparations for The Somme • 1, 738, 000 shells fired at German lines over a week • Germans had deep dugouts and stayed safe • General Haig 5
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British gains 7
Central Historical Question: Who won the first day of the Battle of the Somme? 1) Read Document A and fill in chart A British trench July 1916 during the Battle of the Somme 2) Read Documents B and C and fill in chart
Who Won The First Day of the Somme? In your journal, use evidence from the readings to answer the question: “Who won the first day of the Battle of the Somme” -Consider each source, and how trustworthy it might be -Use examples from sources (“Source A says…” or “Coppard says…” 9
Central Historical Question Who won the first day of the Battle of the Somme? Day One Casualties: • 57, 470 British • 8, 000 German • 7, 000 French 10
Battle of the Somme – Primary Sources Read the primary sources with a partner and discuss, and answer, each of the 4 questions. **Pay attention to author, year, and bias in each source** USE SPECIFIC EVIDENCE AND ANALYSIS TO SUPPORT YOUR OPINIONS (SOURCE A SAYS…) 11
Logout – Should the Battle of the Somme be considered a victory for the Allies? 12
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