The Opposing Sides --; Origins and recruitment --; Training, weapons and tactics --; Leadership Morale, motivation and logistics --; Serre --; 1 July 1916 --; Guillemont --; 30 July 1916 --; Thiepval --; 26-27 September 1916 --; Analysis & Conclusion --; Lessons learned: the British --; Lessons learned: the Germans --; Unit Organizations --; Orders of Battle.
The mighty struggle for the Somme sector of the Western Front in the second half of 1916 has come to be remembered for the dreadful toll of casualties inflicted on Britain's 'New Armies' by the German defenders on the first day of the offensive, 1 July. The battle continued, however, throughout the autumn and only came to a close in the bitter cold of mid-November. The British plan relied on the power of artillery to suppress and destroy the German defences; the infantry were tasked with taking and holding the German trenches, but minimal resistance was anticipated. Both sides incurred major losses, however; German doctrine emphasised that the first line had to be held or retaken at all costs, a rigid defensive policy that led to very high casualties as the Germans threw survivors into ad hoc, piecemeal counterattacks all along the line.
British Infantryman vs German Infantryman; Somme 1916
Germany. -- Heer -- History -- World War, 1914-1918.
Great Britain. -- Army -- History -- World War, 1914-1918.