first use of british tanks battle of the somme

More than 19,000 men were killed going “over the top” in the face of heavy German machine-gun fire. The first day, 1st July, was the bloodiest in the history of the British Army. The Battle of the Somme in 1916 holds several notable distinctions. Tanks Make Their World War I Debut on the Somme The tank prototype known as “Mother,” via the Australian War Memorial, Campbell

In wresting the strategic initiative from Germany, the battle changed the course of the war.1. In its scale, the battle marked the ramping up of both Britain’s industrial war effort and the fighting power of its army. Though failing to deliver a decisive breakthrough, the battle had wide-ranging strategic effects. The British had suffered 419,654 casualties, the Germans around half a million. In four and a half months, the British and French forces had advanced six miles. The Battle of the Somme ended on 18 November 1916, when General Sir Douglas Haig called a halt. As the battle ground on into autumn, the worsening weather made living conditions ever harsher. On 15 September, the British used tanks for the first time. The Allies succeeded in making small advances into enemy territory, but slowly and at heavy cost, as the German army made equally costly counterattacks.

Over gruelling months, the battle became a relentless attritional struggle. By nightfall, after a day of ferocious German resistance, the British Army had suffered 57,470 casualties. While the more experienced French forces captured their objectives with only light losses, the British Army endured a day of disaster. On 1 July 1916, British and French troops launched their assault. Britain’s General Sir Douglas Haig hoped for a decisive breakthrough, but also saw that the battle would harden his largely inexperienced army.įrom late June, British artillery bombarded German positions, firing more ammunition from more guns than ever before. After the Germans launched a devastating assault on French forces near Verdun in February 1916, it became clear that the British army would need to lead the campaign. In December 1915 British and French officers agreed to mount a joint attack on German positions in Picardy, astride the River Somme. Over the course of 141 days, more than a million men became casualties.

The Battle of the Somme was a key battle in the First World War, and one of the bloodiest battles in military history.

First use of british tanks battle of the somme