First Battle of the Somme

First Battle of the Somme, (July 1–November 13, 1916), costly and largely unsuccessful Allied offensive on the Western Front during World War I. The horrific bloodshed on the first day of the battle became a metaphor for futile and indiscriminate slaughter.

On July 1, 1916, after a week of prolonged artillery bombardment, 11 divisions of the British Fourth Army (recently created and placed under Sir Henry Rawlinson) began the attack north of the Somme on a front extending for 15 miles (24 km) from Serre and Beaumont-Hamel southward past Thiepval, Ovillers, and Fricourt (east of Albert) and then eastward and southward to Maricourt, north of Curlu. At the same time, the French attacked with five divisions on a front of 8 miles (13 km) mainly south of the river (from Curlu toward Péronne), where the German defense system was less highly developed.

Western Front Events

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Battle of Verdun

February 21, 1916 - December 18, 1916

First Battle of the Somme

July 1, 1916 - November 13, 1916

Second Battle of the Somme

March 21, 1918 - April 5, 1918

Second Battle of the Marne

July 15, 1918 - July 18, 1918

battles of the Meuse-Argonne

September 26, 1918 - November 11, 1918

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Whereas the French had more than 900 heavy guns, the British had barely half this number for a wider front. Additional handicaps were recounted in the History of the Great War Based on Official Documents (British Official History), which states that the problem that confronted British Commander in Chief Douglas Haig was, fundamentally, that of “storming a fortress…It must be confessed that the problem was not appreciated at G.H.Q. (general headquarters).” Instead, “the failures of the past were put down to reasons other than the stout use of the machine-gun by the enemy and his scientifically-planned defences.” Thus was produced an atmosphere of false confidence. It encouraged Haig to gamble on a breakthrough, while Rawlinson’s more reasonable doubts led to the plan’s becoming a compromise, suited neither to a swift penetration nor to a siege attack. Rawlinson desired a long bombardment and a short advance. He was eventually allowed the first but was overborne by Haig on the second, being instructed that on his left he should take both the German first and second positions in a single stroke. Haig was warned even by his own artillery adviser that he was “stretching” his available gun power too far. “Rawlinson assured the Commander-in-Chief that he would loyally carry out ‘these instructions’ but privately he was convinced that they were based on false premises, and on too great optimism.” The battle’s outcome was to show the danger of this kind of loyalty.

“Increasing optimism” was shown by Haig as the day of battle drew nearer, though the resources of the French and, consequently, their prospective contribution were steadily shrinking because of the drain of the Battle of Verdun. Haig’s optimism appeared even in the additional instructions that he issued: British cavalry was to ride through to Bapaume on the first morning, into open country. More curious than Haig’s opinion was the way in which Rawlinson joined him in assuring their subordinates repeatedly that the bombardment would swamp all resistance and that “the infantry would only have to walk over and take possession.” In the early discussions Haig had also said that the “corps were not to attack until their commanders were satisfied that the enemy’s defences had been sufficiently destroyed; but this condition seems to have been dropped as time passed.”

The question that remained was whether the British infantry could cross no-man’s-land before the barrage lifted. It was a race with death run by nearly 60,000 troops. The whole mass, made up of closely packed waves of men, was to be launched together, without determining whether the bombardment had really paralyzed the resistance. Under the Fourth Army’s instructions, those waves were to advance at “a steady pace” symmetrically aligned, like rows of ninepins ready to be knocked over. “The necessity of crossing no-man’s-land at a good pace, so as to reach the parapet before the enemy could reach it, was not mentioned.” Yet to do so would have been physically impossible, for “the infantryman was so heavily laden that he could not move faster than a walk.” Each man carried about 66 pounds (30 kg) of equipment, a load that often amounted to more than half the soldier’s own body weight, “which made it difficult to get out of a trench, impossible to move much quicker than a slow walk, or to rise and lie down quickly.”

The race was lost before it started and the battle soon after. More than 60,000 men were casualties of the plan that failed. The 20,000 killed in action marked the heaviest day’s loss that a British army had ever suffered. That result and its causes cast a strange reflection on the words which Haig had written on the eve of the attack: “I feel that every step in my plan has been taken with the Divine help.” Behind the front, commanders had been rendering reports rosier than the facts warranted and also, apparently, than the commanders themselves believed. “Captures of prisoners, but not the heavy casualties, were regularly reported.” Ignorance in such conditions was natural but deception less excusable.

The Allies failed to capitalize on the success that had been obtained in the south by the British right wing and more conspicuously by the French. “No orders or instructions were issued during the day by Fourth Army Headquarters” save on a few minor details, reported British Official History. At 10:00 pm on July 1, Rawlinson merely ordered his corps to “continue the attack” uniformly. “No suggestion was made to utilize the successes gained by some to assist in improving the situation of those who had failed.” The unconcealed preparations and the long bombardment had given away any chance of surprise, and, in the face of the German resistance, weak in numbers but strong in organization, the attack failed along most of the British front. Because of the dense and rigid wave formations that were adopted, the losses were appallingly heavy. Only on the south of the British front, near Fricourt and Montauban, did the attack gain a real footing in the German defenses. The French, with slighter opposition and with far more heavy artillery—as well as aided by the fact that they were less expected—made a deeper advance.

This setback removed the possibility of a fairly rapid penetration to Bapaume and Cambrai, and Haig adopted the attrition method of limited advances aimed to wear down the German strength. Haig rejected the plan of the French commander, Joseph-Jacques-Césaire Joffre, that he should again throw his troops frontally on the Thiepval defenses. The attack was resumed on the southern British flank alone, and on July 14 the capture of the Germans’ second line (Longueval, Bazentin-le-Petit, and Ovillers) offered a chance for exploitation, which was not taken. From that point a methodical but costly advance continued, although little ground was gained.

In one respect, the Somme shed a significant light on the future, for on September 15, 1916, the first tanks appeared. Their early employment before large numbers were ready was a mistake: it forfeited the chance of a great strategic surprise, and, because of tactical mishandling and minor technical defects, they had only a limited success. Though the higher military authorities lost faith in them (with some going so far as to urge their abandonment), more-discerning eyes realized that here was a key which, when properly used, would unlock the trench barrier.

The Somme offensive foundered in the mud when November came, though its dismal finale was partially redeemed by a stroke delivered on November 13 by Gen. Hubert Gough on the still untouched flank of the main 1916 offensive. The four months’ struggle had certainly imposed a severe strain on the German resistance as well as on the attackers. Both sides had lost vast numbers of men who would never be replaced. The British losses amounted to some 420,000. The French, who had played an increasing part in the later stages, had raised their own war casualty bill by 194,000. Against this Allied total of more than 600,000, the Germans had suffered rather more than 440,000 casualties. This number had been much increased by Prussian Gen. Fritz von Below’s order that every yard of lost trench must be retaken by counterattack.