My Beloved Wife Perry : The Battle Of Somme

The British launched The Battle of the Somme to achieve two objectives. The first and most important goal was to relieve pressure on the French Army at Verdun, and the second was to inflict as heavy a loss as possible on the German Armies. The Battle of the Somme had to be fought to save the French Army from the crucifixion of Verdun. The head of the French Army, General Fock, and some leading British commanders did not believe this battle would help, but political masters in London and Paris supported the campaign. For many years The Battle of the Somme received much criticism for the way the battle was fought based on the number of casualties.

I am sitting here in my trench with my fellow brothers. We are soaked from head to toe with mud all over us. I haven’t had a change in socks in weeks and I have seen men around me get trench foot. Trench foot is something I have seen and I never want to experience if we don’t have to. The lice have been spreading from man to man very quickly. At first the lice really bothered us but now it is just a part of our lives in these trenches. We have to be careful with our rations because the rats that have grown to the size of Oscar, so we have to keep our rations in a safe place

Trenches were long, narrow ditches dug into the ground where soldiers lived day and night. There were many lines of German trenches on one side and many lines of the trenches on the allied side. In the middle there was no-man’s land, so called because it didn’t belong to either army. Soldiers crossed no- man’s land when they wanted to attack. Soldiers in the trenches did not get much sleep, but when they did it was in the afternoon during daylight and at night for only 1 hour at a time. They were woken up at different times, either to complete one of the daily chores or the go to fight. The system of trenches was employed because a German commander, General Erich von Falkenhayn, decided that his troops must at all costs hold onto those parts of France and Belgium that Germany still occupied. Falkenhayn ordered his men to dig trenches that would provide them with protection from the advancing French and British troops. The Allies soon realised that they could not break through this line and they also began to dig trenches.

The battle of the Somme, intended to end the war that year, had ambitious objectives, it was significant for failing to achieve almost all of these. One of these was Beaumont Hamel, a fortified village behind the German lines. The Battle plan called for the village to be taken on the first day. The fact that the village was not taken until the very end of the battle on the 13th of November, illustrates how much the plan failed. Demonstrating the level to which the plan failed Private Anthony Stacey reports that this was a death trap for our boys as the enemy just set the sights of their machine guns on the gaps in the barbed wire and fired . Another objective, Serre, was not taken at all. In fact, the British staff were so unaware of modern weapons, that they had cavalry ready to attack after the infantry broke through. This is significant as it shows how inexperienced the British army was when it came to trench warfare. Had the staff understood the trench tactics better, they would not have

The Battle of the Somme epitomizes the harsh realities of trench warfare for the Allies and represents the negligent battle planning and technological advancements that are associated with the stalemate of World War One. Trench warfare was common across the Western Front, with similar strategies being employed by both opposing sides. Sir Douglas Haig, one of the British coordinators for the Somme offensive is blamed with an offensive strategy destined for failure. The British offensive, an utter failure, resulted in a stalemate, which was common throughout World War One. The British development of the tank, while it eventually ended the horrendous stalemate, was ineffectively used during the Somme.

Trenches were dug out in the ground for protection, against machine guns and bombs, however the trenches were not made for comfort or for soldiers to live in for a long time. Most trenches were muddy and wet and soldiers had terrible living conditions which would cause disease, and eventually death. In document two, by Robert Donald, he exclaims that “I do not see why the war in this area should not go on for a hundred years.” Usually, life in the trenches meant consent fighting and battles, no side ever won because each side would encounter a bomb or some kind of causality and make their trenches deeper, and deeper. This was one cause of a stalemate, and why it was predicted that war in the trenches would continue for years and many more soldiers would die. In an outside source, a diary written by a man named Endy, talks about his life in the trenches and how their were many deaths. Although, this was not the only reason the trenches were deadly. The use of poisonous gas was also used in trenches caused many

It was poorly constructed, polluted with human excrement and contained pools of water. Buried about a foot deep, hundreds of Germans and French lied in the trench since last October. Mud was my best friend, and sleep was interrupted by the booming of German shells. There was infection everywhere. Men were blown or shot to pieces, and their bodily fluids fed the rats. Those malicious critters were immense, crawling on and eating the decaying bodies. Some of the men had gotten a nasty disease that ate away at their feet. Trench foot, they called it. Unless we could dry our feet, our feet began to rot. Making up the majority of our diets were stale bread. With no appetite, I starved for most days. And containing no proper washrooms, we had areas in the trench where we relieved ourselves. Oh how the banging never ceased for sixty seconds! Some men were terrified of fighting, mama. Their minds went crooked, and their bodies twitched and trembled constantly. They wouldn't fight, or listen to orders. Most of them were executed, unless they had an injury that could send them home. Mama, Riley was shot in the heart yesterday. But, he died grateful. "It's an end to those shells, bombs, rats, lice and mud," he spoke his last

It is with a heavy heart that I write to you all, but I do hope you all are well. It has been a rough three months since I've joined the other nurses in aiding this war and needless to say I have settled in and adapted to the conditions. Since the beginning, nothing has changed within these 3 months, neither side had gotten much advantage of the war. It would be as if a back and forward tug of war between the two sides. Everyday I watch from the tent as hundreds of men rot away in the horrid conditions of the trenches. Many were brought in but many doesn't mean all. After barely being treated and having about a week of recovery soldiers were sent back to suffer in the battlefield. A few weeks ago a huge storm crossed the battlefield. The trenches

After the U.S. began to push out the Germans and enlarge the pathway to Bastogne at the end of December 1944, the U.S. troops and some British soldiers started a counterattack, to eliminate the bulge in the American line. This success was largely due to General Patton’s third army, that attacked from the North and the South. On January 8, 1945, the German forces began to pull out of the Bulge. As the Americans advanced, they continued to erase all German gains. By the end of January, 1945, all territory that was captured by the Germans was back under Allied control (“Battle of the Bulge”). The Battle of the bulge was one of the most difficult battles of the war for the United States. Along with having the most American casualties of any other battle, many of the soldiers suffered great emotional and physical trauma from the cold, and lack of medical supplies, and the horrors that many of them witnessed on the battlefield (Farmer). One battalion, the 551st Parachute Infantry Battalion, is a notable example of the physical and emotional trauma of the Battle of the Bulge. At the start of the battle the battalion had 793 men. By the end, only 110 were left alive. The 551st was the worst casualties of any unit during the Battle of the Bulge (Orfalea). Nearing the end of the battle, the allied troops fought harder than ever, partly to ensure that all of the bloodshed and death was not in vain.

July 1st, 1916 marks the commencement of a memorable battle in the world’s history: the Battle of the Somme. This eminent battle, as well as its catastrophic first day is referred to as a symbol of the extravagancy and unfortunate outcome of Britain’s First World War. It was originally arranged to relieve the pressure on the French at Verdun. The immense count of casualties and deaths during this battle have totaled to a record of over 1.25 million dead on both sides. Both the Allies and Central Powers experienced great losses as a result of the poor decisions made on behalf of the higher commanders. The relation between the total casualties and ineffective strategies are clearly seen through the outcome of this battle; with a gain of only

Trenches were built about every way that you could imagine. They were built above ground and underground. Building trenches was very difficult and time consuming. It would take 450 men six hours to construct a trench that was 250 meters long. Most trenches where about two meters deep and two meters wide and where never built in a straight line. They built the trenches zigzagged because when they dropped a bomb on one part of the trench the blast wouldn’t be able to kill everyone. They also

In relation to the statement made I think that this source I quite useful as it depicts our victory – showing it as not a disaster. This source is useful as a whole too because after cross-referencing to source A and then also seeing it to be the opposite of source C, we can declare this last source historically accurate. Yet still as with all the sources there are some limitations. Just like source D, this source does not reflect the negative aspects of the Battle of the Somme for the British. Additionally, as I have just made some predictions about the purpose of this source, my theory is probably not correct but it s a possibility. If I ignore my own thoughts about the purpose, we could think about how the government would not want to convey their forces badly and so the artist may have been under the influence to make up some factors which again makes us question how reliable parts of this source are. As a whole the uncertainties of this source make it difficult to draw any conclusions about some elements but we know it is in opposition to the statement and also that it has some factors which are definitely

Infantry containing new machinery and lack of protection and medical equipment was a major cause of the lethality during the Battle of Somme. In fact, the highest casualties were found in units manned by infantry. Machine guns, tanks, gasses, and new explosives were massively powerful; artillery heavier than ever, but protection was not. On the first of July, 1916 “mines under the German strong points were exploded”, leaving creators that still mark the battle field, and the beginning of chaos for the Battle of Somme, exemplifying the new abilities of destruction. Moving forward, firepower was to overwhelmingly lethal for medical assistance and medics struggled to keep up. Artillery covered a larger surface area and could shoot off more

The Battle of the Somme started in 1916 in the month of July and ended in

The Battle of the Somme, also known as the Somme Offensive, was a battle of the First World War. The battle was fought by the armies of the British and French empires against the German Empire, including Australia who came to support the “mother county”. It took place between 1th July and 18th November 1916 on both sides of the River Somme in France. It was one of the largest battles of World War I, in which more than 1,000,000 men were wounded or killed, making it one of the bloodiest battles in human history. (Wikipedia, 2015)