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The Battle of the Somme

As a result of the fighting at Verdun, the Allied plans for an offensive along the Somme were modified to make it a largely British operation. Moving forward with the goal of easing pressure on Verdun, the main push was to come from General Sir Henry Rawlinson's Fourth Army which was largely comprised of Territorial and New Army troops.

Preceded by a seven-day bombardment and the detonation of several mines under German strong points, the offensive began at 7:30 AM on July 1. Advancing behind a creeping barrage, British troops encountered heavy German resistance as the preliminary bombardment had been largely ineffective. In all areas the British attack achieved little success or was repulsed outright. On July 1, the BEF suffered over 57,470 casualties (19,240 killed) making it the bloodiest day in the history of the British Army (Map).

While the British attempted to restart their offensive, the French component had success south of the Somme. By July 11, Rawlinson's men captured the first line of German trenches. This compelled the Germans to halt their offensive at Verdun in order to reinforce the front along the Somme. For six weeks, fighting became a grinding battle of attrition. On September 15, Haig made a final attempt at a breakthrough at Flers-Courcelette. Achieving limited success, the battle saw the debut of the tank as a weapon.

Haig continued to push until the battle's conclusion on November 18. In over four months of fighting, the British took 420,000 casualties while the French sustained 200,000. The offensive gained around seven miles of front for the Allies and the Germans lost around 500,000 men.

Victory at Verdun

With the opening of fighting at the Somme, the pressure on Verdun began to wane as German troops were shifted west. The high water mark of the German advance was reached on July 12, when troops reached Fort Souville. Having held, the French commander in Verdun, General Robert Nivelle, began planning a counter-offensive to push the Germans back from the city. With the failure of his plan to take Verdun and setbacks in the East, Falkenhayn was replaced as chief of staff in August by General Paul von Hindenburg.

Making heavy use of artillery barrages, Nivelle began attacking the Germans on October 24. Recapturing key forts on the city's outskirts, the French had success on most fronts. By the end of fighting on December 18, the Germans had effectively been driven back to their original lines. The fighting at Verdun cost the French 161,000 dead, 101,000 missing, and 216,000 wounded, while the Germans lost 142,000 killed and 187,000 wounded. While the Allies were able to replace these losses, the Germans increasingly were not. The Battle of Verdun and the Somme became symbols of sacrifice and determination for the French and British Armies.

The Italian Front in 1916

With the war raging on the Western Front, Hötzendorf moved forward with his offensive against the Italians. Irate at Italy's perceived betrayal of its Triple Alliance responsibilities, Hötzendorf opened a "punishment" offensive by attacking through the mountains of the Trentino on May 15. Striking between Lake Garda and the headwaters of the River Brenta, the Austrians initially overwhelmed the defenders. Recovering, the Italians mounted a heroic defense which halted the offensive at a cost of 147,000 casualties.

Despite the losses sustained in the Trentino, the overall Italian commander, Field Marshal Luigi Cadorna, pressed forward with plans for renewing attacks in the Isonzo River valley. Opening the Sixth Battle of the Isonzo in August, the Italians captured the town of Gorizia. The Seventh, Eight, and Ninth battles followed in September, October, and November but gained little ground (Map).

Russian Offensives on the Eastern Front

Committed to offensives in 1916 by the Chantilly conference, the Russian Stavka began preparations for attacking the Germans along the northern part of the front. Due to additional mobilization and the re-tooling of industry for war, the Russians enjoyed an advantage in both manpower and artillery. The first attacks began on March 18 in response to French appeals to relieve pressure on Verdun. Striking the Germans on either side of Lake Naroch, the Russians sought to retake the town of Vilna in Eastern Poland. Advancing on a narrow front, they made some progress before the Germans began counterattacking. After thirteen days of fighting, the Russians admitted defeat and sustaining 100,000 casualties.

In the wake of the failure, the Russian Chief of Staff, General Mikhail Alekseyev convened a meeting to discuss offensive options. During the conference, the new commander of the southern front, General Aleksei Brusilov, proposed an attack against the Austrians. Approved, Brusilov carefully planned his operation and moved forward on June 4. Using new tactics, Brusilov's men attacked on a wide front overwhelmed the Austrian defenders. Seeking to take advantage of Brusilov's success, Alekseyev ordered General Alexei Evert to attack the Germans north of the Pripet Marshes. Hastily prepared, Evert's offensive was easily defeated by the Germans. Pressing on, Brusilov's men enjoyed success through early September and inflicted 600,000 casualties on the Austrians and 350,000 on the Germans. Advancing sixty miles, the offensive ended due to a lack of reserves and the need to aid Romania (Map).

Romania's Blunder

Previously neutral, Romania was enticed to join the Allied cause by a desire to add Transylvania to its borders. Though it had had some success during the Second Balkan War, its military was small and country faced enemies on three sides. Declaring war on August 27, Romanian troops advanced into Transylvania. This was met by a counter-offensive by German and Austrian forces, as well as attacks by the Bulgarians to the south. Quickly overwhelmed, the Romanians retreated, losing Bucharest on December 5, and were forced back to Moldavia where they dug in with Russian assistance (Map).

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