battle of the somme first use of tanks what tank

But without British backup, they were forced to fall back as well. Meanwhile, the French advance to the south was more successful as they had more guns and faced weaker defenses. Item #4590996 – German Cross of Honor Medal. The loss was keenly felt in neighborhoods across Britain as many of the troops had enlisted in “pals battalions,” made up of men who joined together with the promise of serving with their school chums, coworkers or close friends as a unit. This marked their largest single-day loss of the war. Though a few British units managed to reach the German trenches, they were driven back before they could cause any major damage.īy the end of that first day, the British suffered 60,000 casualties, 20,000 of which were killed. But they were soon met with nonstop machine gun fire. Once the shelling ended, the German troops left their bunkers and took their positions as the 11 British divisions walked toward them. Item #M11406 shows some of the planes used in the war. While the German forces fortified their trenches, many of the British shells didn’t explode. However, the Allies failed to conceal their preparations and the continued attacks gave the Germans ample warning of the battle to come. The British commanders grew so confident that they told their troops to walk slowly toward the German lines. Prior to the start of the battle, the Allies fired constant artillery on the German lines for several weeks. Item #M10349 – World War I 90th anniversary stamp sheet. According to the plan, the British would attack along a 15-mile front north of the Somme River while the French battled along an eight-mile front to the south of it. It was the Allies’ planned decisive breakthrough of the German line in France. The Battle of the Somme was fought from July 1 to November 18, 1916, along the banks of the Somme River in northern France. On September 15, 1916, the first tanks were used in the World War I Battle of the Somme. First Use of Tanks in World War I Item #M11405 pictures some of the other tanks used in WWI.

Battle of the somme first use of tanks what tank