Other British and French forces had more success to the south, though these gains were limited compared to the devastating losses sustained on that first day of battle.īut British Field Marshal Douglas Haig was determined to press on with the offensive, and over the next two weeks, the British launched a series of smaller attacks on the German line, putting increasing pressure on the Germans and forcing them to divert some weapons and soldiers from the Battle of Verdun.Įarly on the morning of July 15, British troops launched another artillery barrage followed by a massive attack, this time on Bazentin Ridge, in the northern part of the Somme. Some 19,240 British soldiers were killed and more than 38,000 wounded by the end of that first day-almost as many casualties as British forces suffered when the Allies lost the battle for France during World War II (May-June 1940), including prisoners. But the barbed wire remained intact in many places, and the German positions, many of which were in trenches deep underground, were stronger than anticipated.Īlong the line, German machine gun and rifle fire cut down thousands of the attacking British troops, many of them caught in “no man’s land” between the two sides. At the same time, five French divisions advanced on an eight-mile front to the south, where the German defenses were weaker.Īllied leaders had been confident the bombardment would damage German defenses enough so that their troops could easily advance. On the morning of July 1, 11 divisions of the British 4th Army-many of them volunteer soldiers going into battle for the first time-began advancing on a 15-mile front north of the Somme River. Prior to the attack, the Allies launched a week-long heavy artillery bombardment, using some 1.75 million shells, which aimed to cut the barbed wire guarding German’s trench defenses and destroy the enemy’s positions.
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