More about the Battle of the Somme
The Battle of the Somme started on 1 July 1916 and ended on 18 November 1916.
British and French soldiers fought together against the Germans near the French River Somme.
Before the battle, the war had been going on for years. Fighting from the trenches was taking a long time and wasn’t very successful.
The British and the French decided to come up with a new plan to push the Germans back. For 8 days straight they shot at the German trenches on the other side.
After the 8 days, the British and French soldiers came out of their trenches and went to the German trenches to fight them; they thought most of the Germans would have died from the attacks, but they were in for a surprise!
The Germans knew of their plan to destroy them and had been hiding deep down in their trenches with their machine guns. The German trenches were very deep and much better than the British trenches. When the British and French soldiers made their way towards them, the Germans came out with their guns and shot at them.
On the first day, more than 50,000 British soldiers were injured. The Germans also lost soldiers but not as many as their enemies.
During the battle, more than 1 million people on both sides were injured, making the Battle of the Somme one of the bloodiest battles in human history. It was the worst battle in World War I, especially for the British.
Today, where the battle took place, there are lots of cemeteries, war memorials, and museums where people can remember the soldiers that fought in the war.
Did you know?
- A lot of the British soldiers were volunteers. The volunteer army was called Kitchener’s Army because they were recruited by Lord Kitchener.
- Many soldiers fought side by side with their friends and neighbours, these groups of soldiers were called Pals battalions.
