the world after world war 1 pictures and the damage

July 1, 1916, remains the single bloodiest day in the entire history of the British armed forces. PA Images/Getty Images British infantrymen on the march. In addition to British forces from the United Kingdom itself, the combined effort in northern France that converged on the Somme included units from across the broader British empire, namely from Canada, New Zealand, South Africa, and India. This approach was key to rapidly grow the British military. Some of these voluntary troops were assembled in the so-called ' Pal’s Battalions,' in which groups of friends from the same town or region would enlist, train, and fight together. By the time the Somme offensive kicked off, the number of British troops in battle had swelled to over 1.5 million.Īn interesting fact about the battle of the Somme is that the British army consisted of a mix of trained soldiers combined with entirely volunteer units. As late as 1914, the British army stood at about 250,000 soldiers. But what they lacked in combat training they made up for in numbers. The downside to the planned Somme attack, which was going ahead much earlier than Haig had anticipated, was that the British troops he took into battle were hardly trained.Ĭompared to France's troops, which underwent compulsory service requirements prior to the war, England's soldiers were amateurs. Some visual facts about the Battle of the Somme.Īfter much discussion and pressure from French leaders, it was agreed that July 1, 1916, would be the key date to launch a combined attack of British and French forces against the Germans in the battle of the Somme. therefore, was of the opinion that the 1st July was the latest date for the combined offensive of the British and French,' the British general noted.įrench General Joffre had even allegedly shouted at the British officials during a joint meeting, that 'the French Army would cease to exist' under their losses at Verdun if much more time passed without receiving help. If this went on, the French Army would be ruined. 'The French had supported for three months alone the whole weight of the German attacks at Verdun. In his personal papers, Haig wrote about the pleas for help he had received from France’s General Joseph Joffre.

But the situation at Verdun, which stretched over 10 months, was dire. Even with the revised strategy, Haig had wanted to wait until the end of summer to begin his efforts in the battle of the Somme and give his forces more time to train and prepare. By some accounts, Haig had preferred not to attack on the Somme at all but instead planned to attack in Flanders later in the same year.īut because of France’s heavy losses strategies had to be changed. Robert Hunt Library/Windmill Books/UIG via Getty imagesīritish General Sir Douglas Haig, who was in command of the British Expeditionary Force, launched the joint British and French attack on the Somme river months ahead of his preferred plan because of the precarious state of the French army at Verdun. By the end of the battle, more than one million soldiers would be killed or wounded from the fight and the British would ultimately fail to make much ground, but it would at least spell the beginning of the end to the Great War. The Somme offensive lasted for four months and would become both one of the brightest and darkest times in British military history. Then in July of 1916, British General Sir Douglas Haig joined forces with French commander General Joseph Joffre to launch a major Franco-British combined counter-offensive known as the Battle of the Somme with the hopes of retaking lost ground. The long and deadly gridlock had prompted leaders from the allied nations to come together for several conferences to coordinate their efforts and work together to finally end the war and defeat the Germans. Most of that time was spent in a stalemate between enemies. By the end of 1915, World War I had consumed the globe for nearly one and a half years.

The world after world war 1 pictures and the damage