Why is the Battle of the Somme regarded as such a great military tragedy?

... Why is the Battle of the Somme regarded as such a great military tragedy? The Battle of the Somme started on July 1st 1916 and lasted until November that year. The battle took place in Somme, France. The Somme was an idea pitched to Sir Douglas Haig by Joseph Joffre the French Commander-in-Chief. Joffre wanted the attack to gain large amounts of territory and destroy German manpower but Haig wanted a large attack to take place in Flanders. Haig accepted Joffre's proposal. The attack was used as a diversion to release the pressure on the French army at Verdun. To come to my conclusion on whether the Somme was a military tragedy or not I will discuss the following: causes of the battle; the events leading up to the battle; the result; and the different opinions. In 1916, the trenches were such a small area crammed with ammunition dumps, hospitals, delousing centres and light

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