On earth, there are many memorable places. Some of them are filled with positive energy, others remind of the terrible and cruel events of the past. The Somme River is the site of one of the bloodiest battles in wars waged by humanity. The battle caused the deaths and injuries of more than a million people.
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 of the battle on the Somme River:
- Russia, Italy, France, Great Britain.
The Allied (Entente) states agreed on a joint offensive in the winter of 1915. The decisive role in the battle was to go to the French army. On the north side, the fourth expeditionary force of Great Britain undertook to support it.
- German and Ottoman empires, Bulgaria, Austria-Hungary.
The union of these states was called the Central Powers.
Training
The preparatory phase took the Allies five months. They understood that the battle would be exhausting and would take a long time. It was decided to alternately use artillery, which will be able to clear the territory, and infantry, which will occupy the vacant seat. Gradually, the enemy would be pushed back, and the whole territory would be under the control of the allies.
During the preparation, the 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 offensive on the Somme River underwent military exercises, including tactical training.
Military exercises were noticed by the Central Powers. However, the German command did not take them seriously, believing that the British could not organize an offensive. In addition, the French were greatly exhausted by the Battle of Verdun. They were hardly capable of conducting active operations at the front.
Battle progress
Artillery during the operation on the Somme River appeared in June 1916. Heavy guns worked for seven days and led to serious destruction of German defense. The British, together with the French, went on the offensive on July 1 of that year.
Four English 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 disabled due to injuries. The greatest losses were among the officers. This was due to the form, which stood out against the background of uniforms of ordinary and sergeants.
The French achieved some success, capturing two enemy defense positions. Barla was taken. Such actions violated the schedule of the offensive operation, so a decision was made to withdraw troops. The French returned to the offensive on July 5. During this time, the Germans strengthened. All attempts to capture Barle were failed. During July-October, the French lost several thousand soldiers.
The operation developed slowly. The British and French were forced to introduce new divisions. However, Germany also began to transfer its forces to the Somme River, including from Verdun. By September, Germany realized that it could not conduct two operations in France at once and stopped the offensive near Verdun.
The decisive attack took place on September 3. From the Entente, fifty-eight divisions came forward. They attacked forty divisions of the enemy. The fighting continued throughout September. Both sides were exhausted, but the Anglo-French troops were able to take the height between the Somme River and Ankr.
The results of the offensive were finally fixed. In mid-November, fighting near the Somme completely stopped. Both sides were utterly exhausted.
Tank attack
The tanks were first used by British troops on September 15 near the village of Fleur near the Somme River. 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 in the battle. Eighteen cars were involved in the battle.
The use of tanks allowed to significantly accelerate the offensive. The British advanced in five hours five kilometers inland German defense. Tanks have shown how significant psychological impact on the enemy can be. Despite the mass of shortcomings, they had a great future.
Summary
The results of the battle on the Somme River were mixed. The Entente was able to divert German troops from well-fortified positions. However, the forces of the allies were exhausted, and 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 the professional military. The ousting of the Germans was only the beginning before the events of 1917.
Apart from human casualties, the battle on the Somme allowed the Entente countries to achieve military and economic superiority.