On August 4, 1914, Britain declared war on Germany. Their claim was to keep Belgium as neutrality but Britain also wanted to eliminate, or at least decrease, Germany’s power and dominance as a rivalry in trade of maritime and imperial interests. Britain had a long understanding with the French government, that once both countries were at war with Germany, British Forces would cross to France and fight with them. France’s main objective was to regain large areas of France they had once lost Germany. The terrain of la Somme was composed of large, dry trenches as well as many dug outs that were favoured by the soldiers. Large, grassy land and intact villages located near the rear of the land were found by the battle field as well as the Somme River where soldiers could swim up to the front line in. The Germans advantageously placed themselves in trenches and fortified villages uphill, which meant British troops were forced to charge upwards to reach their objective, as well as crossing open land known as “No Man’s Land” to attack their adversaries. Because Germans were placed at a higher altitude, they had an advantage for artillery placement once they saw where the British were coming from. Throughout the 5 month battle, the British Empire composed of the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and Newfoundland, which totalled a
The Essay on Compare And Contrast The Treatment Of Native Americans By Britain And France
The Colonial Period began with the settled countries of the time wanting to launch voyages to explore ‘the new world’. One of the first successes was the Spanish, when they were able to settle in South America as early as 1252. But the biggest exploration of the time by far was set off by Columbus who, in search of the Indies, instead fell upon America, which started mass colonization. ...
The attack was led by two British generals; Sir Douglas Haig and Sir Henry Rawlinson who had both drawn up plans for penetrating German defences. Rawlinson’s plan was faulty and though Haig did not agree, he made no attempt to change the procedure. This attack led to one of the worst casualties in British Army history with 21, 392 dead, 35, 493 wounded and 585 imprisoned. His plan left the British at the mercy of the German’s machine guns and heavy artillery as the soldiers were open targets on “No Man’s Land.” After Rawlinson’s attack had failed, Haig’s tactics were then put into action. Haig bombed the Germans, affecting them only slightly, as they were hiding in their trenches and dug-outs. Historians deem this tactic as a waste of ammunition, seeing as though the barbed wire of the Germans was untouched it also proved that the two British Generals had underestimated the position of the Germans. Lastly, the British failed to use time of day and their position on the territory as a surprise. The British first attacked the Germans at seven thirty in the morning, when they were clearly visible coming from across the long plain stretch. The Germans, seeing them coming, had ample time to prepare themselves and their fire.