The Battle of Verdun & the Battle of the Somme

The Battle of Verdun

•One of the biggest battles of WWI▫Fought in 1916, from Feb – Dec

•Fought between the French and Germans▫Part of the Schlieffen Plan

•Key to determining who would win on the Western front

•At the time: the longest battle history had ever known

Goals of the Germans:

•German Army’s chief of staff wanted to strike a fatal blow▫Verdun had important symbolic value to the

French▫Germans thought the French would bleed

out their army trying to defend it▫Thus, they saw Verdun as a chance to

destroy the French army

Soldier’s Experiences of Verdun

The Toll

•Verdun resulted in 306,000 battlefield deaths▫163,000 French▫143,000 German

•And at least 1/2 million wounded

In the end

•Counts as a strategic victory for France•But – was a costly stalemate for both

countries in terms of death tolls

Verdun today

•Land around Verdun is still marked by war▫Thousands of shell holes in countryside▫Trenches slice through the woods▫Mine craters still visible▫Barbed wire and remains of fortresses still

can be seen•War memorial

▫Remains of 130,000 French and German soldiers

Battle of the SommeAn overview of the battle

Overview

• July 1 – Nov. 18, 1916

• One of the costliest battles of WWI

• Approximately 1.2 million casualties• 420,000 British • 200,000 French • 500,000 German

Dead German soldiers at Battle of the Somme

British gains

Cause and effect

• Attempt by the British to “push through” the German lines

• Fought along northwestern part of the Western Front

• After months of fighting, and several assaults up and down the front, resulted in small gains in land for England

• Greatly weakened German war effort overall

Causes of high death toll

Massive loss of life due to new military technologies:• machine guns• artillery/mines• hand grenades• gas• airplanes• first use of tanks

British gun crew wearing PH-type anti-gas helmets

Central Historical Question:

A British trench July 1916 during the Battle of the Somme

Who won the first day of the Battle of the Somme?

Document Analysis Worksheet

•Our job today is to investigate what happened on the first day of the battle, July 1, 1916, by reading three historical accounts of the day:▫a British newspaper article written by a

journalist who was at the battle▫the memoir of a British soldier who fought

in the battle▫the memoir of a German soldier who fought

in the battle

Read Document A

•Answer the questions on the graphic organizer.

Read Documents B & C

•Answer the questions on the graphic organizer

Free Write

•Who won the first day at the Battle of the Somme?▫Use evidence to support your answer!

Discussion Questions

•Why are documents B & C so different from document A?

•Which of the documents is most trustworthy? Why?

Central Historical Question

Who won the first day of the Battle of the Somme?

Day One Casualties:

• 57,470 British• 8, 000 German• 7, 000 French

Which documents does this data support or corroborate?