Somme Battle Plan You have Study the Source

Somme Battle Plan: You have…

Study the Source. What does it suggest happened at the Battle of the Somme? From the RGA 69 th Siege Battery, Battery 25 th to 30 th June 1916.

What went wrong at the Battle of the Somme?

The Somme Battle Plan: The Reality 1. 2. 3. 8 day heavy artillery bombardment to kill/shell shock the German soldiers and break through their barbed wire. Mining tunnels were dug underneath the German lines and mines were set to explode 2 mins before the main attack began. Soldiers were heavily loaded with equipment (including field dressings and gas mask) and ordered to walk across No Man’s land towards the German trenches.

Battle of the Somme: The Facts • 1 st July – 18 th Nov 1916 • Aimed to force a breakthrough the German trenches to win the war. • 60 000 British soldiers killed, wounded or missing on the first day. • 712/780 Newfoundland soldiers killed or wounded. • By the end of the Battle, British forces had penetrated 6 miles into German territory.

Battle of the Somme 1, 732, 873 – number of shells in the preliminary bombardment. 19, 240 – the number of British Army soldiers killed on the first day of the battle. 159 – the number of men from 9 th Battalion Devonshire Regiment killed by one German machine gun at Fricourt Wood.

British Army HQ: Battle Reporting to: Reported by: Date of Battle: Location: Outline of Plan of Attack: Problems with the Attack: Final Outcome: Recommendations: OR Finish your diary – include information from the Somme (1 st July 1916)