WWI US British French Army 1916 1 July Battle of the Somme Campaign History Book for Sale

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WWI US British French Army 1916 1 July Battle of the Somme Campaign History Book For Sale

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WWI US British French Army 1916 1 July Battle of the Somme Campaign History Book:
$37.00

The First World War touched the livesof many thousands of people at the time around the world, both on the fightingfronts and on the home front. Many people from France, Belgium, the UnitedStates, and the Great Britain wanted to journey to the battle fields to see,and experience, where their beloved soldiers had seen and sacrificed so much.

Michelin came up with the idea ofproviding tours of the battlefields along with complimentary souvenir historybooks on the battle and of the tour. Provides fascinating insight into thebattle, the towns, and the region before and after the battle.

A great read!

The Battle of the Somme (French: Bataille de la Somme;German: Schlacht an der Somme), also known as the Somme Offensive, was a battleof the First World War fought by the armies of the British Empire and FrenchThird Republic against the German Empire. It took place between 1 July and 18November 1916 on both sides of the upper reaches of the River Somme in France.The battle was intended to hasten a victory for the Allies and was the largestbattle of the First World War on the Western Front. More than three million menfought in the battle and one million men were wounded or killed, making it oneof the bloodiest battles in human history. The Battle of the Somme was foughtin the traditional style of World War I battles on the Western Front: trenchwarfare. The trench warfare gave the Germans an advantage because they dugtheir trenches deeper than the allied forces which gave them a better line ofsight for warfare. The Battle of the Somme also has the distinction of beingthe first battle fought with tanks. However, the tanks were still in the earlystages of development, and as a result, many broke down after maxing out attheir top speed of 4 miles per hour (6.4 km/h).

The French and British had committed themselves to anoffensive on the Somme during Allied discussions at Chantilly, Oise, inDecember 1915. The Allies agreed upon a strategy of combined offensives againstthe Central Powers in 1916, by the French, Russian, British and Italian armies,with the Somme offensive as the Franco-British contribution. Initial planscalled for the French army to undertake the main part of the Somme offensive,supported on the northern flank by the Fourth Army of the British ExpeditionaryForce (BEF). When the Imperial German Army began the Battle of Verdun on theMeuse on 21 February 1916, French commanders diverted many of the divisionsintended for the Somme and the "supporting" attack by the British becamethe principal effort.

The first day on the Somme (1 July) saw a serious defeat forthe German Second Army, which was forced out of its first position by theFrench Sixth Army, from Foucaucourt-en-Santerre south of the Somme to Maricourton the north bank, and by the Fourth Army from Maricourt to the vicinity of theAlbert–Bapaume road. The first day on the Somme was, in terms of casualties,also the worst day in the history of the British army, which suffered 57,470casualties. These occurred mainly on the front between the Albert–Bapaume roadand Gommecourt, where the attack was defeated and few British troops reachedthe German front line. The British troops on the Somme comprised a mixture ofthe remains of the pre-war regular army; the Territorial Force; and Kitchener'sArmy, a force of volunteer recruits including many Pals' Battalions, recruitedfrom the same places and occupations.

The casualties during this battle are absolutely unbelievable.