The Battle of the Somme

By: Jan Nason

&

Allison Bishop

Participants The countries involved in the Battle of the Somme, were

the following : France Germany Britain Australia New Zealand Canada South Africa India Newfoundland (Became part of Canada in 1949)

Location of Battle

The Battle of the Somme was fought in the summer and autumn of 1916. It took place along a 40km front, north and south of the River Somme, in Southern France. They had the worst conditions to fight this war. It rained constantly making the trenches unbearable to be in, it also resulted in very muddy fields.

When did the Battle Occur ?

June 28th, 1914 –The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand sparked the beginning of the first world war.

On June 24th, 1916 there was an 8 day attack on the German lines. The actual battle started on July 1st, 1916. Originally it was to be

fought in August, but the French insisted that it would throw the Germans off at Verdun, giving the French more time to suit up at Somme.

At 7:20 am a series of 17 mines went off, sparking the start of the Battle of the Somme.

The battle ended November 18th , 1916. When the weather got bad and it started to rain and snow, the only safe thing to do was to call it all off, which is what they did.

Stated Objectives/ What Really Happened ?

The Battle of the Somme has no main reason as to why it was fought, but one purpose was to pull the Germans away from the battle of Verdun. By the time this happened the deaths from Somme had made Verdun's casualty count even higher.

Near the end of the battle each country only ended up with a couple of miles worth of land. Britain gained 2 miles of land and lost 420,000 soldiers in the process, meaning that every centimeter of land equals 2 deaths.

Important to the conclusion of the war/ Canada and Canadian forces : During the Battle of the Somme, the entire army was composed of

volunteers. This made people think more about the effects of war because almost every British family lost one or more family members.

People were a lot more reluctant to go to war, specifically after the Battle of Somme.

Tanks were used for the first time during the battle of the Somme. They are now a huge and important part of warfare.

The battle had a huge effect on women as well. While the men were away at war, the women were doing the jobs that the men in Britain would usually be doing. They kept their country running.

End Results - Success or Failure and

Casualties: Near the end of the battle each country only ended up with a couple

of miles worth of land. Britain gained 2 miles of land and lost 420,000 soldiers in the process, meaning that every centimeter of land there was 2 men lost.

More than one million troops on both sides were killed or wounded. Many debates have taken place on whether the Battle of the Somme

was actually a success or failure. Some historians have focused on the aims of the actual battle, while others have focused on the casualties. Others consider territorial gains and losses. There is evidence for success but also for failure.

Videos from the Battle of the Somme

http://www.iwm.org.uk/server/show/ConWebDoc.3802

Bibliography http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Somme_(1916) http://www.firstworldwar.com/battles/somme.htm http://www.johndclare.net/wwi2_Somme_Cheetham.htm http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_was_the_Battle_of_the_Somme http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/somme.htm http://www.cap.nsw.edu.au/bb_site_intro/secondary_modules/

SOMME/INDEX.HTM http://images.google.ca/images?

hl=en&q=the+Battle+of+the+somme&gbv=2

http://www.johndclare.net/wwi2_Somme_Cheetham.htm