A simplified account of the Battle of the Somme, for those who don't know too much about it.

1. The Battle of the Somme: A Layman’s Guide.
Scott Addington

2. For many people The Battle of the Somme is synonymous with
military blundering and unnecessary slaughter.
Picture: IWM Q65442

3. It is true that the first day of the battle is still the
blackest moment in British military history…

4. … but the battle was more than just one day.

5. And the story starts way before July 1st 1916.
1914

6. Field Marshall Earl Kitchener of Khartoum became Minister of
War on 5th August 1914 and immediately put together plans to
expand the British Army.

7. He did not think the war would be over by Christmas. Instead he
foresaw a long drawn out conflict that would require many more
men than the BEF currently had.

8. Kitchener didn’t want to rely on the Territorial Army for the
expansion because they could opt-out and avoid overseas service.
Shoulder badge of the 10th Btn. Royal Scots. Territorial Army

9. Instead he went about building an army of volunteers. The ‘Call to
Arms’ went out and the country listened…

10. … two weeks later 100,000 men had joined up.
Kitchener had his first Army: K1.

11. To help the recruitment effort men were encouraged
to join up with friends and work colleagues into what
became known as ‘Pals’ Battalions.

12. By the end of Sept 1914 over 50 towns had formed
one or more Pals Battalions. K2 was born.

13. By March 1915 enough men had volunteered to make five new
Armies and a sixth was well on its way.

14. Almost 600,000 men had answered Kitchener’s call in 6 months.
A quite remarkable achievement.

15. Over the following months the issues of training and equipping
these new recruits were slowly solved…

16. … and by the beginning of 1916 the Kitchener’s men were itching
to give ‘The Hun’ a good kicking.

17. It had long been decided that the main Allied assault on the
Western Front in 1916 would be in the Somme region.

18. It was originally planned to be a French assault with British support.

19. The objective was simple: To smash the German Army and deplete
their reserves of men and equipment.

20. As it was going to be their show, it was France who decided
to attack across the Somme region.

21. Haig didn’t agree. He preferred an attack in the north of Belgium,
but was forced to agree with his French friends.

22. Eventually it was all agreed.
The ‘Big Push’ was penciled in for August 1916.

23. Germany however ruined all of that planning when they decided
to attack Verdun at the beginning of 1916.

24. Suddenly it was France on the receiving end of a beating.

25. It quickly became apparent that France was going to struggle to
lead any kind of major offensive in the summer.

26. In fact, it was touch and go as to whether
they would survive at all.

27. France needed help. Fast.

28. The ‘Big Push’ was now going to be a large scale
British diversionary attack to relieve the pressure on Verdun.

29. Also, instead of being August, it was moved forward to 1st July.
1st July 1916

30. Haig’s plan was simple...

31. Use more guns than have ever been used before…

32. … to fire more shells than have ever been fired before…

33. … for longer than had ever been done before.

34. The German defenses would stand no chance.
They would be totally smashed to pieces.

35. Once the artillery had done their worst, the infantry
(750,000 men, many from Kitchener’s Armies)
would advance and consolidate.

36. The British guns smashed the German lines for 8 days
prior to the infantry advance.

37. However, due to a mixture of poor quality ammunition and world
class German defenses the bombardment failed.

38. German wire was not destroyed, their defences were still intact
and morale was not broken.

39. 2 minutes before ‘Zero’ several huge mines were detonated
underneath the German lines.

40. However, when the British infantry advanced the German
machine gunners were ready and waiting.

41. The advancing infantry were either cut down in No Man’s Land
or forced back to their own lines.
Any success was isolated and temporary.

42. The result was carnage.
The British Army suffered 57,470 casualties that day.
A third of that number were killed.

43. It still stands as the blackest day in the history of the British Army.

44. Despite this, Haig continued to press the offensive over the
following days and weeks.

45. On 11th July the first line of the German defense system was
secured.
Soldiers of 11th Btn. Cheshire Regiment occupy a captured German trench. July 1916 (IWM Q3990)

46. That same day Germany moved significant men from Verdun to
the Somme area, doubling the amount of men available.

47. The fighting continued throughout the summer, each side trying to
smash the other into submission, but to no avail.

48. On 15th September 1916 the British attacked again in the Battle of
Flers-Courcellete. It was here that the tank made its operational
debut.

49. Although the tanks scared the hell out of the Germans,
poor reliability and tactics meant these ‘land ships’
failed to make a real impact in the fighting.

50. The fighting continued until the snow of November forced the
suspension of operation. The Allies had gained a slither of
tortured land 8 miles across at its deepest point.

51. Britain and her Empire lost 419,654 men (wounded and killed)
during the Battle of the Somme.

52. Germany took a beating too, with casualties of around 500,000.
Fricourt German Cemetery. Photo from www.ww1battlefields.co.uk

53. Germany was also forced to stop attacking Verdun,
allowing the French to rest and regroup.

54. So, even though the tactics of the battle remain controversial,
Haig could be forgiven for saying ‘job done’.

55. This slideshare was inspired by the e-book
World War One: A Layman’s Guide
Available on Kindle for less than the price of a
cup of coffee.
Amazon.co.uk
http://tinyurl.com/mksc329
Amazon.com
http://tinyurl.com/lvbe4d2

56. Lest we forget.