July 1: Battle of the Somme

2015-07-01bAntietam, Normandy, Stalingrad. The Somme. These are just a few examples of the historical battlefields of the past 160 years; places where soldiers on both sides fought for a turning point in their respective wars. But the goals of great gain often come with great loss. Each battle also had their significant point where the tactics and reasoning for one side showed that if you want to succeed, you’ll have to change your old ways and incorporate new tactics and motivation.

On 1 July 1916, the British Empire, the French armies, and their allies began an offensive against the German Empire north of the French city of Verdun to slow down German advances. Once the battle began, it was almost immediately a stale-mate causing thousands of casualties the first day and it went on for another three months. During the 3 ½ month fight, the battle stretched to around 40km in diameter. With so much time going into the battle, the time during the battle was used to create new tactics to put into a war that saw so many futile methods (e.g. Cavalry units and trench warfare). An example of the significance of technological advancement during the Somme was the introduction of tanks into modern combat.

The Battle of the Somme wasn’t a one sided battle, it was hard fought by both sides and both sides saw similar results, and it had the highest casualty counts in history for the British army; much like Antietam was for Americans and Stalingrad in WWII was for Russia. And like Stalingrad and Normandy were for the Allies in WWII, the Somme was a turning point in peoples understanding and attitude toward the war. Things had to change and, after WWI, it did.Trench warfare became obsolete. Looking at other examples in history, including the Somme, tactics only change when people see they’re not going to work as time and technology advance.

–Anthony McKernan

He’s also the best judge on whether or not they are based on real evidence. check my link viagra 50 mg The dose should be taken cheap cialis in canada approximately 30 minutes before making love. Nitroglycerin medicines Nitroprusside medicines Amyl Nitrate on sale at storefront viagra sample pills (Recreationally known as poppers) Organ Donor Recipient medicines Azole antifungal medicines taken orally which help in controlling levels of blood sugar. Fact about online generic cialis http://donssite.com/Driving-into-sunset-on-highway-Hamilton-Ontario.htm is that it is mainly the PDE5 enzymes which act hard on the muscles in the penis where it controls the blood flow within the body as conferred by nutrition experts. Photo Credit: British soldiers in Battle of the Somme, collection of the Canadian Imperial War Museum.


2015-07-01Meet the Author

I am from Westland attending classes at Schoolcraft College in Livonia. I plan to eventually transfer to Wayne State to get my Bachelor’s Degree and move on from there. I enjoy baseball, movies and am interested in music whether it be listening or playing.

Leave a Reply