Facts about the Battle of the Somme

The Battle of the Somme was one of the worst and bloodiest battles of the entire First World War. The sheer number of casualties from just one day of this battle was staggering and by the end of the battle, there were more than one million casualties. Here are some more facts and figures about the biggest offensive of 1916:

1. Allies bombard the German forces

After the Battle of Verdun, the allies wanted to further weaken the German forces so began shelling them on 24^th June 1916 for a whole 7 days. More than 1.5 million shells were fired, though a lot were defective.

2. 141 days

The Somme lasted for a staggering 141 days. It began on 1^st July 1916 and lasted for nearly 5 months. The last battle took place on 13^th November but was not officially declared over until 19^th November 1916.

3. 16 divisions

Consisting of both French and British troops, there were 16 divisions that fought in the battle. The British were led by Sir Henry Rawlinson and the French by General Ferdinand Foch.

4. First Tanks

The first time tanks appeared in warfare was during the Battle of the Somme. 15^th September 1916 was the first launching of the British 48 Mark I tanks. Only 23 made it as far as the front but they helped the allies advance by 1.5 miles. Inspired to try your hand at driving a real-life tank? Consider a Tank Driving with Armourgeddon.

5. Misplaced optimism

The Allies had overestimated the damage caused to the Germans during the week of shelling. The Germans had dug their trenches very deep and were thus protected from the majority of the British shells. The offensive that was planned was therefore based on inaccurate information.

6. 19,240 on day 1

Tragically, 19,240 British soldiers were killed on the very first day of the Somme.

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7. Heavy equipment

The packs that soldiers had to carry negatively affected their mobility. A big part of the warfare at that time was going over the top of the trench into No Man’s Land, for which speed and agility were vital. However, the soldiers were slowed considerably by the 30kg packs on their backs.

8. British deaths

After 141 days of intense fighting, almost half a million British soldiers had been killed. There were more than 1 million casualties between the French, British and German forces.

9. Filming of a documentary

A full-length documentary was filmed in 1916, the first to feature soldiers fighting at the front. Called ‘The Battle of the Somme’, it includes footage from before and during one of the bloodiest battles in British military history.