why were british casulaties so high on the first day of the battle of the Somme?

Answer 1

1.) They were attacking heavily fortified and manned positions.

2.) The soldiers were overloaded and intentionally slowed down as they advanced - making them easier targets.

3.) The British suffered from very poor communications, leading them to make decisions based on events that had actually not occurred - such as sending reserve divisions to reinforce a breach that had actually not occurred.

4.) The British officers wore different uniforms than non-commissioned men - making them obvious targets for the Germans.

5.) The pre-attack bombardment by the British was largely ineffective, and made it clear an advance was coming.

For extra info, the Wikipedia article is very well written.

Answer 2

Because the Germans knew the British were coming.

There was a basic radio system in the trenches to pass on messages. Use of the that system was banned at the Somme & written messages were passed up and down to ensure there was no interception by the Germans.

Unfortunately the ******** commander that set the time and date of the first wave attack was a lazy git and gave the message by radio. It was intercepted by the Germans, the element of suprise was lost and thus it became a bloodbath.

Another example of senior management not having a clue about life.

Answer 3

A Popular answer Seems to be Tactics,[or lack of Them].
The Officers in the Front Line Trenches wanted to Attack
Using Artillery Cover to Give the Men going over the Top
some protection,whereas the Generals sitting Miles back
From The Front[as per Usual],wanted to Stick to there own
Dogmatic Tactics and At First failed to Back up Their Own
Officers.
It was'nt until the Massive Loss of Life,caused an Outcry[that things started to slowly change..]

Answer 4

Just watched this on the history channel. It gave a lot of information on why the first day was a disater. One reason I had not Heard of was the fact that the british soldier carried too much Kit and also the soldiers were not allowed to run or weave accross no-mans land

Answer 5

because the british high command where relying on outdated tactics and because ze germans were much better dug in and protected. in short, it was like a duck hunt, easy targets!

Answer 6

the germans had early machinegun gun installations in their lines and strafed the advancing british infanty. rather than saving the lives of thousands of working-class british men, the middle and upper-class officers kept forcing them forward... tally-ho tarquin!

that's my slightly socialist perspective view on it anyway!

Answer 7

simple your higher echelon twits had,nt got a clue about tatics those pompous gits sent thousands of men to there death

Answer 8

Upper class twits.