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Battle Of The Somme Analysis

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Robert Colley does not just cover the gruesome catastrophe of the Battle of the Somme, he makes sure that reader understands the reasoning behind the attack and the reasoning for Great Britain entering the war against Germany. Once revered as the greatest nation in the world, Great Britain was definitely put to the test in 1914. As the war began to pick up, so did the number of casualties that the British Army began to take. The BEF or the British Expeditionary Forces, were known as the “professional forces began to take losses to and force the hand of the British Government. With the Government needing more men to fight in the war, they began a scheme to lure in young men and “boys” to volunteer for the war effort. Horatio Kitchener was the face of these posters that caught the patriotic eye of these men, but there …show more content…

The reasoning for the plan was to draw Germans troops away from the ancient city of France, Verdun. Verdun was being attack heavily by the Germans and at first according to Colley, the French Leadership was not afraid of losing the city. The City of Verdun meant everything to the citizens of France, the tradition and history behind the city made the leadership act and the Battle of Verdun began. The Battle of Somme was to happen west of Verdun and the British was planning on a non-stop barrage on the German frontline, with the hope of wiping out the entire German line. According to Colley the plan was simply this, “The attack on the Somme would be preceded by a preliminary bombardment of the German lines 4,500 yards in depth, utilizing some 1,500 artillery guns, about one big gun for every 17 yards of German Frontline. Beginning on Saturday 24 June and lasting eight days, they would fire 1.5 million shells (more than had been fired during the whole first year of the war).” The plan was simple, but biggest question on the minds of the British would it

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