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Why is the Battle of the Somme regarded as such a great military tragedy?
Member rating: No Rating | Words: 1019 | Submitted: Sat Feb 09 2008
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Why is the Battle of the Somme regarded as such a great military tragedy? The Battle of the Somme was fought from June to November of 1916, and is one of the most significant events in the war for British history. Overall for the British army, there were about 420,000 casualties, 60,000 of those on the first day alone. The battle was originally planned as an attack by the French with British support, but the German attack in Verdun altered these plans. The French were under immense pressure at Verdun, and the Germans were heavily attacking them. The French couldn't last much longer, so they had to somehow create a diversion. So it was agreed that General Haig would lead a mainly British offensive in the area around the River Somme. The Plan Apart from trying to distract German troops away from Verdun, the aim was to kill as many German troops as...
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