World+war+1+battles

The Somme

//The Breakthrough battle had become part of the war of attrition //

 * 1915-1916, year long war was excessive and unpredicted by both sides, but particularly the Germans who expected to capture France in a six week period as planned in the schlieffen plan.
 * In February 1917 after Somme Germans withdrew to their newly completed hindering line of fortifications.
 * British from line advanced a mere 15kilometres in their attempt to gain ground on the German forces.
 * By not gaining land, allied and German forces never had the chance to gain momentum over the opposing force.
 * Large casualty count
 * 485 000 French & British (British figures)
 * 630 000 German troops killed. (British figures)
 * Accepted figures
 * Allied – 620 000
 * German – 500 000
 * Large amounts of troops in the battle added to the war of attrition as there was almost an endless amount of troops on either side.
 * Allied & German forces both had machine guns, tanks, and artillery aiding to the restrictive nature of the trench warfare during the battle of the Somme.

> ==== The bombardment on the first day failed to destroy either the barbed-wire or the concrete bunkers protecting the German soldiers ====
 * Took place during first world war- 1 July to 18 November 1916 in Somme department of France on both banks of the Somme river
 * Joint British and French operation spearheaded by the French commander in chief Joseph Joffre
 * Attempt to destroy German man power and well as a matter of territorial gain
 * Consisted of an offensive by the British and French against German army
 * This failure to destroy the fences allowed for the German army to relocate to higher ground, providing stronger defence.
 * Attack on the second day managed to create a temporary gap but German reinforcement managed to regain the gap.
 * Gains were constantly achieved but were unable to be upheld causing the German armies to regain their previous loss
 * Germany effectively defended their trenches against the British using machine guns causing British forces to retreat to their trenches.

Verdun

Considered a brutal battle of attrition, French persisted in counter attacks in order to slow German advances - The use of heavy guns by the German troops contributed to the stalemate as they quickly destroyed French trenches - The French took back the loss of forts and territory through counter attacks. - Germans suffered from huge loss of troops and decided to withdraw from the attack on Verdun, troops were transferred to the trenches of Somme. - Considered a brutal battle of attrition - Massive loss of troops for both France and Germany contributed to the stalemate - German troops failed to besiege Verdun, therefore the French were successful in battle, however massive loss of troops for both sides contributed to the stalema

The battle of Verdun was one of the most costliest battles of world war one which had begun on the 21st February 1916, between the French and German armies, ending on the 19th December 1916 in which resulted in the French tactical victory. This battle was viewed as the’ war of attrition’ and a ‘costly strategic stalemate’, which was pursued by both sides in which cost many lives. The battle of Verdun came about when the Germans made an attempt to destroy the French position into a ruinous battle of attrition at a site the French would have to defend.

However Germany had been defeated, which was due to, not being able meet their main objectives. One of the main objectives that the German had set out, were to capture the city of Verdun, and to impose a much higher casualty count on its French opposition. By the end of 1915 the western front had become a stalemate as a result of both sides engaging in trench warfare.

A brutal battle of attrition, Verdun cost the French an estimated 161,000 dead, 101,000 missing and 216,000 wounded. German losses were approximately 142,000 killed and 187,000 wounded. After the warfare, von Falkenhayn claimed that his intention at Verdun was not to win a decisive battle, but rather to "bleed the French white" by forcing them to make a stand at a place from which they could not retreat.

Passchendaele > > Purpose > > Significance
 * Infantry soldiers found movement very difficult. The impact of the artillery bombardment had destroyed the drainage systems of the region which greatly added to the problem.
 * The shell craters made by the Allied shelling filled with water and did not allow advancing men the opportunity to hide in them. The fields through which men should have gone became impassable.
 * few kilometres, the British had lost 310,000 men and the Germans 260,000
 * the area was saturated with the heaviest rain the region had seen in thirty years. The area in Flanders became effectively a swamp. Tanks, sent forward to help the infantry, simply got stuck.
 * It was a work of energy to keep a rifle in a state fit to use.
 * Robert Sherriff (british captain) pointed out: "The living conditions in our camp were sordid beyond belief. The cookhouse was flooded, and most of the food was uneatable. There was nothing but sodden biscuits and cold stew. The cooks tried to supply bacon for breakfast, but the men complained that it smelled like dead men.
 * Date of incidence: 31 July 1917 – early December 1917
 * To capture strategic German position of Passchendaele
 * Held view of surrounding area
 * Through leap frog tactics
 * Defeat Germany through attrition warfare as it was believed that German morale was on verge of collapse
 * Severe casualties sustained on both sides: 360,000 Allied casualties, 245,000 German casualties
 * Considered to be most terrible, bloody battle of WWI, known as the “Battle of Mud"
 * Last major campaign of attrition tactics
 * The battle proved the last great battle of attrition on the western front and again saw the use of mustard gas and other deadly chemical weapons.
 * Large blow to Allied morale, loss of confidence in Haig who continued the offensive
 * Loss of success at Battle of Cambrai as reserves were not sent to exploit gains made by the Tank Corps
 * Strategic gains were small; naval bases Ostend, Zeebrugge were not captured, Germany recaptured land lost in April 1918