Battle of the Somme

1. Battle of the Somme A case study in trench warfare on the Western Front

2. Overview • July 1 – Nov. 18, 1916 • One of the costliest battles of WWI • Approximately 1.2 million casualties • 420,000 British • 200,000 French • 500,000 German Dead German soldiers at Battle of the Somme

3. Battle Basics • Attempt by the British to “push through” the German lines • “Battle of Attrition” • Fought along northwestern part of the Western Front • After months of fighting, resulted in small gains in land for England • Greatly weakened German war effort overall

4. Causes of high death toll • Massive loss of life due to new military technologies: • machine guns • artillery/mines • hand grenades • gas • airplanes • first use of tanks British gun crew wearing PH-type anti-gas helmets

5. Preparations for The Somme • 1,738,000 shells fired at German lines over a week • Germans had deep dugouts and stayed safe • General Haig

7. British gains

8. Who won the first day of the Battle of the Somme? Read Document A and fill in chart Read Documents B and C and fill in chart Central Historical Question: A British trench July 1916 during the Battle of the Somme

9. Who Won The First Day of the Somme? In your journal, use evidence from the readings to answer the question: “Who won the first day of the Battle of the Somme” -Consider each source, and how trustworthy it might be -Use examples from sources (“Source A says…” or “Coppard says…”

10. Central Historical Question Who won the first day of the Battle of the Somme? • Day One Casualties: • 57,470 British • 8, 000 German • 7, 000 French

11. Battle of the Somme – Primary Sources  Read the primary sources with a partner and discuss, and answer, each of the 4 questions. **Pay attention to author, year, and bias in each source**  USE SPECIFIC EVIDENCE AND ANALYSIS TO SUPPORT YOUR OPINIONS (SOURCE A SAYS…)

12. Logout – Should the Battle of the Somme be considered a victory for the Allies?