What was the Battle of the Somme?
Q: What was the Battle of the Somme?
A: The Battle of the Somme was a battle that took place in World War I. It started on 1 July 1916 and ended on 18 November 1916, and it was fought near the French River Somme.
Q: How many casualties were there on the first day of the battle?
A: On the first day of the battle, there were 57,470 casualties; 19,240 of them were killed. The French Army had 1,590 casualties and the German Army lost 10,000–12,000 men.
Q: Who planned to attack together during this battle?
A: The Allies (British and French) planned to attack together during this battle but due to France being busy with another battle (the Battle of Verdun), only Britain attacked.
Q: How many people died or went missing during this battle?
A: During this battle more than 1.5 million people either died, were wounded or went missing. This made it one of worst battles in WWI from Britain's point of view.
Q: What did British generals do at 7:30 am on 1 July?
A: At 7:30 am on 1 July British generals ordered their soldiers out of their trenches and to advance towards German trenches.
Q: Why did British attack fail in some cases ?
A: In some cases where enough German machine-gunners survived supported by their artillery ,the British attack failed with many casualties .The effectiveness of defensive weapons decided result .In such an environment a soldier with bayonet was obsolete and infantry formations useless .
