in the battle of somme,when was most of the fighting done(eg night,morning)?

Question

plz add as much detail as you can as it is important.

Answer 1

The up out of the trenches cry was mostly at the break of dawn it was chosen as the most likely time the opposition would not be at their most alert.~~

Answer 2

The Battle of the Somme stretched over several Months and was fought morning noon and night - - - - via artillery shelling for hours on end, then an attack by masses of troops scheduled for 7:30 AM on the opening day/ Intial battles were launched around Dawn to take advantage of cooler weather and to have more daylight for fighting. Later Night attacks were tried as a way to catch the enemy off guard and the battlefield would be spooky with star shells above a Moonsape of crattered ground.

See the silent Movie 'The Big Parade.'

Here are some links and blurbs..

http://www.ulster.ac.uk/thisisland/modules/pityofwar/ww1.html

"""Early Sunday morning, July 1st, company guides began to lead their fellows forward across the dark wet ground. The German lines were quiet as the soldiers marched heavily into the foremost trenches weighed down with full marching rifle and ammunition, grenades or bombs, a digging tool and perhaps some other special load. Below ground, the German miners waited, sweating in the heat of the narrow tunnels leading to the mine chambers they had cut under the enemy positions. The warm sun rose dispelling the mist. It was z day. Zero hour approached. The British and French gunfire was intense from the early morning and rose to a furious climax shortly before zero hour. The French and British bombarded the Germans for seven hours straight. When they stopped they thought that all the Germans were dead but little did they know that the Germans had underground tunnels. The English strolled over no-mans land to the German trenches to claim victory, some smoking cigars, to be met by bullets from the machine-guns of the Germans. The Germans didn't even have to aim their guns, they just fired and killed."""

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Somme_%281916%29
""""
Gough wanted the Australian 1st Division to attack immediately, but the division's British commander, Major General Harold Walker, refused to send his men in without adequate preparation. The attack was scheduled for the night of 23 July to coincide with the Fourth Army attack of 22–23 July.

Going in shortly after midnight, the attack on Pozières was a success, largely thanks to Walker's insistence on careful preparation and an overwhelming supporting bombardment; however, an attempt to capture the neighbouring German second position failed, though two Australians were awarded the Victoria Cross in the attempt. The Germans, recognising the critical importance of the village to their defensive network, made three unsuccessful counter-attacks before beginning a prolonged and methodical bombardment of the village. The final German effort to reclaim Pozières came before dawn on 7 August following a particularly heavy bombardment. The Germans overran the forward Australian defences, and a wild mêlée developed from which the Australians emerged victorious."""

and
http://www.battlefield-site.co.uk/somme.htm

Peace.....

Answer 3

Usually in the morning when the dawn was breaking the shelling and bombardment started (a rude awakening) and then the troops would go 'over the top' when the light was better so they could see their target. Unfortunately this left many wounded stranded on No Mans' Land until night fell to crawl back to the trenches.

Answer 4

there was two battles of the somme one in 1916 and the other one in 1918.
man to man fighting was done during the day because of the tactics of the the time (trench warfare)The lines were first shelled and at first light with fixed bayonets they would attack the trenches( in the dark one could easily loose direction and in the mayhem you would not be able to identify friend from foe in the dark)

Answer 5

Artillery bombardment's took place for most of the night then at dawn it was up and over in the hope that the bombardment had softened them up but as history recalls in most cases it had'nt.

Answer 6

there's an anecdote told in french history classes: it was firmly recommended not to smoke at night or the light would give away your position.
which means the battle was fought day and night, i suppose!

Answer 7

go to wikipedia.org and type in the search line Battle Of Somme, there is has LOTS of information about it......

Answer 8

morning