After four days of fighting at Amiens the battle was halted as its effects diminished, with a fresh offensive launched elsewhere. But unlike offensives of the past, the Allies now knew when to stop. Secretive preparations ensured surprise and the BEF made gains of seven miles on that one day – German General Erich Ludendorff described it as the 'black day' of the German Army. The first Allied counter-attacks began in July and the Battle of Amiens opened on 8 August. Both sides had suffered heavy casualties, but the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) had made no strategic gain. Many soldiers felt utterly demoralised and the government's confidence in Haig hit a low point. Although the Canadians finally captured Passchendaele ridge on 10 November, the vital railway still lay five miles away. But the rain returned and conditions once again deteriorated. This period encouraged Haig to continue the offensive in October. This demoralised the Germans, who did not have an answer to the British 'bite and hold' tactics of taking limited portions of German positions and holding it against counter-attacks that cost the German Army further casualties. The drainage of the low-lying battlefield had been destroyed by the bombardment, creating muddy conditions that made movement difficult.ĭrier conditions in September enabled British forces to make better progress during this phase of the offensive.
Initial attacks failed due to over-ambitious plans and unseasonal rain.
British commanders learned difficult but important lessons on the Somme that would contribute to eventual Allied victory in 1918.Ī preliminary operation to seize the Messines Ridge was a dramatic success, but the Germans had reinforced their position by the time the main battle was launched on 31 July. But the Allied offensive on the Somme was a strategic necessity fought to meet the needs of an international alliance. The Somme, like Verdun for the French, has a prominent place in British history and popular memory and has come to represent the loss and apparent futility of the war. British casualties on the first day – numbering over 57,000, of which 19,240 were killed – make it the bloodiest day in British military history. More than one million men from all sides were killed, wounded or captured. Over the next 141 days, the British advanced a maximum of seven miles. Despite a seven-day bombardment prior to the attack on 1 July, the British did not achieve the quick breakthrough their military leadership had planned for and the Somme became a deadlocked battle of attrition. They were faced with German defences that had been carefully laid out over many months.
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