Facts About The Battle Of The Somme

Here are some facts about the Battle of the Somme that you might find interesting:

• The Battle of the Somme was fought due to the on going attack on the French army in the city of Verdun. The idea of this battle was to break the German lines by dividing them in 2 fronts and then causing the defeat of the Germans.
• The French devised the idea of launching an offensive at Somme on the Germans, but it was the English who thought that by bombarding the front lines of the Germans, it would allow the British troops to cross the No Man's Land without any problems and take over the German trenches.
• Prior to the launch of the Somme Offensive, the German trenches were bombarded for around 8 days. However, this move proved futile as the German troops stayed safe inside their concrete bunkers that were 10 meters deep. In addition, the barbed wires along the front line were not destroyed.
• When the British soldiers advanced to the No Man's Land, they were culled down by the machine gun fire from the German side. Not too many British soldiers made it to the barbed wires laid by the German.
• On the first day of the battle, 20,000 British soldiers were killed, and around 40,000 were taken as prisoners of war or wounded quite badly.

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