The Battle of the Somme: A Captivating Guide to One of the Most Devastating Events of the First World War That Took Place on the Western Front (Captivating History) by Captivating History

Author:Captivating History [History, Captivating]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2019-03-18T00:00:00+00:00

Conclusion

On both sides of the battlefield, the Somme left an indelible mark on the history of the nations that fought each other along the banks of the meandering river. The military, social, and political consequences of the Battle of the Somme were many and far-reaching. During the 141 days of horror, there were over one million casualties, and by the end of November, the Allies had only advanced seven miles into enemy territory. Kitchener believed in the advantages of a war of attrition, but many found it hard to justify the loss of almost 88,000 men for every mile gained.

When war broke out in 1914, young men in Britain were eager to do their bit for king and country, and in the early months of the war, they enlisted in droves. These volunteers were often the fittest and most educated citizens, but they had no experience as soldiers. An entire generation of fit, able-bodied fighting men in towns and villages across the country joined up together and formed what were to become known as Pals battalions.

The British Army thought that this was a splendid idea because it would give the battalions a local identity and forge them into cohesive fighting units that would stick together in battle. The first Pals battalion was signed up in Liverpool, but soon others followed in Manchester, Birmingham, Newcastle, and various other parts of the country. The 36th Division that fought at the Somme was predominantly made up of Ulster Protestants. Many of these Pals battalions took part in the Battle of the Somme, and there the British Army realized the fatal flaw in its recruitment strategy—all it took was one heavy artillery bombardment to wipe out an entire generation of young men from a town or village. On the first day of the Somme, 585 men from the 700-strong Accrington Pals were killed or wounded in just 20 minutes. After the devastating loss of life suffered by so many British communities at the Battle of the Somme, the British Army changed its recruiting policy and no longer formed Pals battalions. The existing Pals battalions were incorporated into other units.

The Battle of the Somme also saw the introduction of tank warfare on the modern battlefield with the British unleashing their secret weapon for the first time at the Battle of Flers-Courcelette and continuing to use tanks at the battles of Morval, Thiepval Ridge, Transloy Ridges, Ancre Heights, and Ancre. But it was not only at the Somme that the Germans had to contend with this new threat; once the British had introduced their tanks to the battlefield, they continued to use them until the end of the war in 1918. British tanks saw action at the Second Battle of the Somme as well as the battles of Hamel, Moreuil, Amiens, Arras, Mormal Forest, and more.

Few can argue that the Battle of the Somme was an unmitigated disaster for the British, an altar on which a generation of youth was sacrificed to the gods of war.

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