Answer to Question #94706 in History for Nathananel Olajide

Question

Write an account of how the Battle of the Somme led to heavy casualties

Answer 1

The battle was concentrated on a small area where the German soldiers were exclusively instructed not to surrender. Both sides were locked at a small area and they were heavily armed and this made the battle more bloody. Starting from June 24th, the British soldiers under Sir Douglas Haig fired shells towards the German sides in an effort to cripple then and destroy their barbed  fences. Unfortunately more than half of the shells did not detonate and this put the Germans at an advantage since the Germans wire barricades and dugouts remained intact.

The Germans were well prepared as they had a deep network of fortified trenches. The British and French infantry left their trenches expecting little resistance from the Germans but that was not the case as they were attacked by German artillery and machine guns. The soldiers could not move with ease as they were carrying luggage weighing an average of 60 pounds and this worked to the advantage of the German soldiers.

Despite odds being stuck against them, the advancing troops were seeking out openings in the loosely damaged German barbed wires and this made them easy targets resulting to such heavy casualties.

There was also the deployment of modern weapons by both sides which resulted to horrific outcomes. artillery shells were fired in tons by both sides, chemical weapons flame throwers and tanks which were deployed by the British soldiers for the first time were heavily supplied and this resulted to more damages. Casualties kept rising as both sides deployed more weapons with little changes in tactics.