The Battle of the Somme

Write down three things you remember about the Battle of Verdun

Today we will learn about The Battle of

the Somme

Today we will…

• Understand the events of the Battle of the Somme

• Assess the British battle plan for the Somme

• By 1916, Generals knew they had to try and make a breakthrough

• The British Generals decided to attack the Germans near the River Somme

• They hoped this ‘big push’ would finally win the war

• They planned to do it in August 1916, but the French asked them to do it earlier since they were being beaten at Verdun

Lord Kitchener

Many men volunteered to join

his army

Many of these men fought at the

Somme

Field Marshal Douglas Haig- in charge of the in charge of the

battlebattle• Haig likes cavalry

and thinks that can win the war

• He doesn’t think machine guns and tanks are very important

Haig’s plan for the Somme

1. Bombard 30 km of German trenches for a week solidly

2. Use British planes to spy on German artillery then try and destroy them

3. Use shells to destroy barbed wire in front of German trenches

4. Once machine guns and trenches were destroyed, British soldiers would walk across No-Man’s land and capture the German trenches

He felt it would be an easy victory for Britain

Haig’s plan for the Somme

1.2.3.4.

What can you remember?

What do you think were the problems with Haig’s battle

plan?

Problems1. German trenches were damaged

but not destroyed – they also had deep dugouts

2. Foggy weather made aerial spying very difficult

3. Shelling did not cut the wire, and many shells were faulty

4. British troops were mowed down by machine gun fire as they advanced

Look at the diagrams o

n

page 44

Important vocabulary…

• Battle of the Somme – a joint ‘push’ by the British and French near the River Somme

• General Haig – leader of the British forces

• Kitchener’s Army – British volunteer soldiers

The Battle of the Somme

Lesson starter:Who was Douglas Haig?

Today we will find out what happened at the Battle of the Somme

Today we will…

• Understand why Douglas Haig has been a subject of debate

• Assess his leadership of the British in 1916

• On 21 July, British soldiers fixed their bayonets and went ‘over the top’

• They had on huge packs of ammunition and supplies

• One general gave his troops a football and told them to try and be the first to get the ball across to the other side of No Man’s Land

• What Happened?

• The Allied bombardment had not been enough to destroy the Germans

• Thousands of British soldiers ran straight into machine gun fire

• By the night of 21 July, 20,000 British were dead

Only some of the empty shell casings from 21 July 1916

A demolished trench and dugout

British dead awaiting burial

The first day of the Somme was the biggest ever loss of

British life

• The Battle of the Somme showed the end of enthusiasm for the war

• Men realised there was nothing glorious about a long slow death in No Man’s Land

• ‘War Fever’ was definitely over

• Somme - Pals Battalions

• Dulce et Decorum Est

• Somme Remembrance

The Battle of the Somme: Factfile

Date:Battle between:Leader of British Forces:Battle Plan (four stages):Battle Reality (problems of four

stages:)Battle end: First day casualties:Overall casualties: Pages 4

4-45

textbook

•General Haig has been criticised for his Somme battle plan

•He has become known as the ‘Butcher of the Somme’

•Can you think why people might see him in this way?

•After the war he was made an Earl for his ‘good work’ serving his country

•He was also given £100,000

•Do you think the government was right to do this?

After Britain lost so many men at the Battle of the Somme, many people

described the Battle as

‘Lions led by Donkeys’

• Haig has been widely criticised for his leadership at the Somme

• This caricature shows Haig as being needed like a ‘hole in the head’

Source 1)Positive / negative 2)evidence?

A

B

C

D

ECopy this table and fill it in using

the sources on the following slides

Source A

‘It was clear that the plan to shell the German barbed wire had not worked. Hundreds of dead bodies hung from the wire in front of the German trenches.’

Written by a British soldier from the Somme

Source B

‘It was pure bloody murder. Douglas Haig should have been hanged for what he did on the Somme. Top class young British men were sent out to their inevitable death’

Private P. Smith, July 1916

Source C

‘ To have refused to fight at the Somme would have meant abandoning the French who were fighting at Verdun.’

From a book about Haig, written in 1936

Source D‘The Somme was

successful. The pressure was taken off the French and the German strength was worn down. Haig was right to send them in to battle. Death is always a result of war.’

From a book about the Battle of the Somme

Source E‘Haig was called the butcher

because he didn’t care about sending thousands of men to their death. It was a waste of human life. He didn’t care about those boys because they were ordinary working lads. All he cared about was winning medals for bravery. You didn’t see him going over the top, did you?’

A British soldier who fought at The Somme, speaking in 1993

General Haig

1.Glue the picture of General Haig into

your jotter

2.Using the green box on p45, write a

detailed summary of General Haig next to

the picture