12 things you might not know about the Battle of the Somme

(1916)

The Battle of the Somme was originally meant to be a French led offensive with the British in support. It was also initially planned for August 1916

1

But, Germany attacked Verdun in Feb 1916. France could not launch an attack, indeed a British offensive was needed to divert German resources away from Verdun

2

In the preliminary artillery bombardment for the Battle of the Somme, British artillery fired 1.73 million shells on to the German lines

3

During the battle of Flers-Courcelette on 15 September 1916 the tank made an appearance on a battlefield for the first time.

4

During the Battle of the Somme, 51 Victoria Crosses were awarded. 17 of them were awarded posthumously

5

The average British infantryman carried 50lbs (30KG) of equipment as he went over the top during the first phase of the Battle of the Somme

6

7 Britain lost 57,470 casualties (killed and wounded) on the first day of the Battle of the Somme (1 July 1916)

During the battle between July and November 1916, the Allied armies suffered around 615,000 casualties. Germany lost around 500,000

8

A huge mine consisting of 14,000KG of explosives was detonated under a German strongpoint at Hawthawn Ridge Redoubt at 7.20am on 1st July 1916. Ten minutes

before the general attack started.

9

An even bigger mine was blown at La Boisselle at 7.28am. It consisted of two charges with over 27,000KG of explosives and when blown it produced the largest

man made sound in history at that time.

10

Two cameramen, Geoffrey Malins and John McDowell, were allowed to film the early days of the battle. Producing some of the most iconic images of the war

11

It is estimated that 20 million people went to see the film in the cinema. Nearly half the

population of Britain at that time.12

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