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Battle of the Somme (July1916) - Coggle Diagram
Battle of the Somme (July1916)
Why did it start?
Britain started this battle to relieve pressure that they are receiving at Verdun.
The offensive began on 1 July 1916 after a week-long artillery bombardment of the German lines.
Why did it fail?
For Britain, they started on the back foot; there were many reasons for this including...
Little Experience
General Haig predicted that ther would be little resistance but it was actually the most defended part of the Front Line.
They placed too much faith in their new weapons, especially their tanks and artillery's ability to dislodge and destroy defenders in networks of trenches.
Why did they use underground battling?
The underground war continued with offensive mining to destroy the opponents' strong points and defensive mining to destroy tunnels.
In addition to their offensive and defensive works, the Royal Engineers also dug deep wells to supply the troops with drinking water.
Key Information
Tanks were used for the first time.
Mines were used a lot by both sides.
Britain used 'Creeping Barrage' technique.
There was 1 death every 5 seconds.
It lasted 141 days.
125,000 deaths.
General Haig led the British attack.