Australians in The Battle of Somme and The Battle of

Ypres

The Battle of The SommeThe battle of Somme began in July of 1916 and ended in November of the same year.

Strategic Aim of The Somme

The allies aimed to achieve a better position in the war, by taking control of northern France, contesting the German occupation around the Somme River. This would assist them overall, in fighting on the Western Front.

In order to do this, allied troops had to overcome huge obstacles. This included:• Cutting through intricate German wiring that was

intended to hold them back• Going over the top of the trenches- being

vulnerable to the enemy• Dodging the machine gun when they were finally

in range of the German trenches.

Gains and Losses of The Somme

In the end, the allies didn’t really achieve their objective. Despite the enormous loss of life, only around 15 kilometres of land have been won back by the end of fighting. It was the battle with the greatest recorded number of military casualties with a total of 1,043,896: Allied 623,907; 419,989 Germans.

British/ French gained 7 miles during this battle along the Somme front. The allied forces managed to gain 12 kilometres up the Somme.

Trench Conditions of The Somme

Many soldiers had different kinds of sickness like trench foot. A lot of soldiers had trench foot in this battle that was mainly a major concern to some soldiers in the battle. With a lot of sickness spreading during the battle many men were put out of action. Trench foot is a medical condition caused by prolonged exposure of the feet to damp, unsanitary, and cold conditions.

With trench foot the soldiers foot would have started to become numb and they would not have been able to move their feet so therefore they could not fight. it was cold and wet and muddy soldiers would have to stay in the trenches for ever they would have to wait for an order with sometime could have taken days to get through to the troops.

The Battle of YpresThere were three battle’s of Ypres, dates of the three battles of Ypres:• First Battle-1914• Second Battle-25th May

1915• Third Battle- 31st July

1917-10th November 1917

First Battle of Ypres

The first battle was fought in autumn in the town of Ypres in Western Belgium. The German and Western Allies attempted to ensure the town from enemy attack. The strategy of the German and Western Allies is not entirely clear.

The established reasoning for the Ypres battle was the British’s desire to secure the English Channel ports and the British Army’s supply lines. The French strategy revolved around a desire to prevent German forces bypassing the Allied front from the north.

Second Battle of YpresThe second battle of Ypres was fought in the spring of 1915. It marked the first time that Germany used poison gas on a large scale on the Western Front. Germans lost close to 35,000 soldiers, British lost 59,000 soldiers, Canadian lost 6,000 soldiers.

Third Battle of YpresMethodically planned, the third battle of Ypres was commenced on 31 July 1917 to 6 November 1917. The attacking resulted in gains for the Allies but was by no means the outcome intended, and such gains as were made came at great cost in human terms.Australians lost 38,000 soldiers, and British and Germany lost around 310,000 soldiers

Trench Conditions of Ypres• The land surrounding the northern area of

the Ypres was flat and covered with canals and rivers.

• Over on the southern side of the Ypres there was a 500 feet high hilly terrain

• Throughout all three of the wars it was snowing

• During the battles the Germans were using toxic gasses, the gasses at the least caused burns. Sometimes caused temporary blindness and could even cause lungs to dissolve

• Soldiers not only died from the bullets, gases and explosions but died from diseases and infections

• A well-known infection that got hold of a lot of soldiers was called trench foot

• Trench foot is formed when some ones foot stays wet and cramped up for a long period of time

• Trench foot is another form of frostbite• Trench foot in severe cases caused some

of the soldiers feet to drop off, and according to a lot of the soldiers your feet are your best weapons in the war