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New Developments
The months of tiresome, grinding battle at the Somme were a time of important
learning and advances for the Allies, both in terms of tactics and equipment.
The hated Canadian Ross rifles were now officially abandoned for the British
Lee-Enfields as the grimy fighting at the Somme was more than a match for the
Ross's finicky mechanism. On a much larger scale, tank warfare made its debut.
And, though the Mark I was a clanking, half-blind, soldier-oven of a vehicle,
the terror it inspired, and its ability to slowly crush barbed wire and machine
gun nests showed it had promise in the future.
The "creeping barrage" was another innovation that marked a refinement
in troop movement and coordination. It wasn't perfect – many first wave
soldiers were killed by "friendly fire" – but it was a vast improvement
over the near-Napoleonic attempts at line advancement that had been tried early
in the conflict. |
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A
trench showing funkholes
The funkholes in these Canadian trenches allowed soldiers
on the frontlines to get some rest, even under the hammering guns of The Somme. |
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