There are many memorable places on earth. Some of them are filled with positive energy, others are reminiscent of the terrible and cruel events of the past. The River Somme is the site of one of the bloodiest battles in the wars fought by mankind. The battle caused more than a million deaths and injuries.
Party Parties
The river is located in the north of France, its length is 245 kilometers. The Somme originates near the village of Fonsom, flows into the English Channel. The historical events of 1916 took place near the city of Amiens. They concerned the First World War.
Participants in the Battle of the Somme:
Russia, Italy, France, UK
Allied states (Entente) agreed on a joint offensive in the winter of 1915. In the battle, the decisive role was to go to the French army. On the north side, it undertook to support the Fourth Expeditionary Force of Great Britain.
German and Ottoman Empires, Bulgaria, Austria-Hungary
The union of these states was called the Central Powers.
Preparation
The preparatory phase took the allies five months. They understood that the fight would be exhausting and take a long time. It was decided to alternately use artillery, which could clear the territory, and infantry, which would take the vacant place. Gradually, the enemy would be pushed back, and the entire territory would be under the rule of the allies.
During the preparations, a material and technical base was created, which consisted of ammunition, more than three thousand artillery pieces and three hundred aircraft. The military units that took part in the Somme offensive underwent combat exercises, including tactical training.
Combat exercises have been noticed by the Central Powers. However, the German command did not take them seriously, believing that the British were unable to organize an offensive. In addition, the French were severely exhausted by the Battle of Verdun. They were hardly capable of conducting active operations at the front.
Track of battle
Artillery during the operation on the Somme appeared in June 1916. Heavy guns worked for seven days and led to serious destruction of the German defenses. The British, together with the French, went on the offensive on July 1 of the same year.
Four British corps began to attack in thick waves, but were repulsed by machine-gun fire. In one day, the British army lost twenty-one thousand soldiers, another thirty-five thousand were put out of action due to wounds. The greatest losses were among the officers. This was due to the form that stood outagainst the background of uniforms of privates and sergeants.
The French have achieved some success, capturing two enemy defense positions. Barlet was taken. Such actions violated the schedule of the offensive operation, so it was decided to withdraw the troops. The French returned to the offensive on 5 July. During this time, the Germans fortified. All attempts to capture Barle were failed. During July-October, the French lost several thousand soldiers.
The operation progressed slowly. The British and French were forced to introduce new divisions. However, Germany also began to transfer its forces to the Somme, including from Verdun. By September, Germany realized that they could not conduct two operations at once in France and stopped the offensive near Verdun.
The decisive offensive took place on 3 September. Fifty-eight divisions advanced from the Entente. They attacked forty enemy divisions. The fighting continued throughout September. Both sides were exhausted, but the Anglo-French troops were able to take the high ground between the Somme and Ancre.
The results of the offensive were finalized. In mid-November, the fighting near the Somme ceased altogether. Both sides were at the limit of exhaustion.
Using a tank attack
Tanks were first used by British troops on September 15 near the village of Fleur near the River Somme. In total, about fifty combat vehicles of the MK-1 model were delivered. But their technical characteristics did not allow most of the tanks to take part inbattle. Eighteen vehicles were involved in the battle.
The use of tanks has significantly accelerated the offensive. The British advanced in five hours five kilometers deep into the German defenses. Tanks showed how significant the psychological impact on the enemy can be. Despite a lot of shortcomings, they had a great future.
Results
The results of the battle on the Somme were mixed. The Entente was able to withdraw the German troops from well-fortified positions. However, the allied forces were exhausted, and the human losses were colossal - about six hundred thousand people.
Germany lost about the same number of soldiers. But if volunteers fought from the side of England, then the German troops were filled at the expense of professional military men. The pushing back of the Germans was only the beginning before the events of 1917.
With the exception of human losses, the Battle of the Somme allowed the Entente countries to achieve military and economic superiority.
