This section of captured German trench near the Albert-Pozieres road shows the deep bunkers in which the German machine-gunners sheltered during an artillery attack, and from which they emerged to set up their machine-guns once the attack lifted to herald the infantry attack.Īfterwards in World War One the barrage evolved into the incredibly powerful, brief ‘ hurricane’, typically making use of intensive gas for suppression. Large firepower (even the 7-day barrage that preceded the beginning on the Somme) cannot wipe out an entrenched opponent per se. This kind of tutorial of the machine-guns on the Somme battle relearned by the US Marines on Tarawa in 1943 during WW2 and numerous occasions throughout the Vietnam War. The front-line machine-guns overcome the barrage in their strong dugouts. However, regardless of the duration of the British barrage, the German machine-guns on the Somme demonstrated that firepower can’t win a battle alone. The infantry would then, as outlined by strategy, just capture the ground. The BEF initial onslaught had been supposed in order to wipe out the machine-guns. This mine heralded the Battle of the Somme and removed one of the major German strong points. The machine-gun decides a battle This mine explodes under the Hawthorn Redoubt 10 minutes before the attack on Beaumont Hamel. 18 divisions (incl 4 reserves and 5 cavalry) with c.500,000 soldiers and 100,000 horses
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