Tanks were first used at this 4 month battle12/17/2023 ![]() At the same time, five French divisions advanced on an eight-mile front to the south, where the German defenses were weaker.Īllied leaders had been confident the bombardment would damage German defenses enough so that their troops could easily advance. On the morning of July 1, 11 divisions of the British 4th Army-many of them volunteer soldiers going into battle for the first time-began advancing on a 15-mile front north of the Somme River. Prior to the attack, the Allies launched a week-long heavy artillery bombardment, using some 1.75 million shells, which aimed to cut the barbed wire guarding German’s trench defenses and destroy the enemy’s positions.
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