|
The Battle of the Somme, at the heart of the Great War, marked the point where Britain was able to apply the force of the New Armies
that she started creating in August 1914. By the summer of 1916, men were trained, equipped and supported but they, and many of their
commanders, lacked experience borne of the rapid expansion of the Army and the death of a high proportion of the Regular Army in 1914.
The Somme was to be the training ground of the citizen Army, including the Westcountry Regiments but experience and skill was bought
at a very high price, starting with the 57,000 casualties on day one of a battle that was to grind on for four and a half months
and ultimately costing almost 600,000 casualties.
Despite their success on 1st July, the Germans, however, became increasingly aware that they were not winning the battle. Summing
up the battle the German Official Historian wrote:
'The Somme was the muddy grave of the German field army and the death of the belief in the infallibility of the High
Command.'
The Keep Military Museum is grateful to the support of the following, whose generosity has made the development of these web pages
possible:
Click here to start | 
