Detailed document of key battles in the First World War, exploring the themes of the OCR Changing Nature of Warfare course e.g. generalship, tactics etc.
Date: July - Nov 1916
Casualties: 60,000 casualties for the British on the first day alone. Total casualties for the
British were over 400,000, for an advance of just 7 miles.
Alarmed at a potential breakthrough by the Germans, allied commanders agreed that
something had to be done to take pressure off the French, and plans were launched for a
British attack at the Somme. It was designed to distract the Germans and draw their men
and munitions from Verdun.
Generalship / Haig:
Haig’s frontal assault tactics at the Somme in 1916 led to 60,000 British deaths on the first
day. Continuing the assault into Oct and Nov was a disaster and led to more needless
deaths.
Quality of Soldiers:
Commanders didn’t believe that mass citizen armies could perform complex manoeuvres so
there was a reliance on mass frontal assaults.
Tactics:
There was a week-long artillery barrage of almost 2 million shells by an Allied infantry over
no man’s land → failed as Germans had successfully defended themselves in the trenches.
Weaponry:
Tank breakthrough.
Impact was limited at the Somme → poor reliability, 2mph speed and weak armour. 32/49
tanks broke down.
Conscription:
Successful conscription meant the British had a large focus available to wear down the
German army. Germany wasn’t able to replenish front line troops in the same way the Allies
could.
Public Opinion:
Public support for ‘big push’ strategies allowed the generals to use continuous frontal
assaults. Headlines such as “all goes well for England and France” during the Somme.
The Battle of Verdun
Date: Feb - Dec 1916
Casualties: 542,000 (French) + 434,000 (Germans)
Tactics:
, Shock tactics - mass of soldiers stormed enemy troops, designed to lure the French into a
‘blood-letting’ attritional assault.
As the war carried on into 1916, the German high command began to plan a huge assault on
Verdun, designed to ‘bleed the French white’ and break their morale.
Weaponry:
Verdun was the first time flamethrowers were used in battle, a shocking yet devastating
effective new weapon.
Transportation:
The key to French success at Verdun was their ability to resupply. The internal combustion
engine helped the French with their supplies, with trucks rolling in night and day.
At the height of the effort, 6,000 trucks and cars arrived at the terminus every 24 hrs.
Generalship:
Falkenhayn’s inability to sustain heavy casualties - Germany accumulated huge losses and
gained little territory, leading to Falkenhayn throwing more and more men into battle. This led
to him being sacked in August and replaced by Hindenburg and Ludendorff.
The Third Battle of Ypres (Passcendale)
Date: July - Nov 1917
Casualties: 250,000 deaths for the Allies. 200,000 for the Germans.
Although the Allies were victorious, they suffered devastating casualties. There was no
substantial breakthrough, or change of momentum on the Western Front. It remains one of
the most costly and controversial offensives of WW1, representing the epitome of the
wasteful and futile nature of trench warfare.
Generalship:
The offensive was driven by Haig’s (mistake) belief that the German army was on the verge
of collapse, and would be completely broken by a major Allied victory.
Alliances:
The German army couldn’t afford the losses that occurred at Ypres. While the Allies would
soon be reinforced by the Americans, Germany couldn’t replace the manpower.
Appointment of General Hubert Gough and Strategy:
General Herbet Plumer was replaced by Hubert Gough as commander during the battle.
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