The British bombardment relied heavily on shrapnel, while less than eight percent of the shells were high explosive and only four guns exceeded 9.2 inches. Those limits mattered because German dugouts were deep, concealed, and reinforced with concrete, steel, and timber, leaving many defenders protected through the shelling. Rain softened the ground, and postponing the assault caused the rate of fire to be reduced so the ammunition stockpile would last. When the guns shifted targets, warned German troops emerged before densely packed British infantry could cross no man's land. The East Surrey Regiment's footballs, kicked forward in a contest whose prize was never claimed, supply a vivid human detail within the larger planning failure. Ammunition mix, intelligence gaps, weather, scheduling, and infantry tactics compounded one another on 1 July 1916. The book is judged well written and worth reading, although some of its opinions remain open to dispute.
Notable Point · 2:39-5:00
Why the Somme bombardment failed
A reading connects unsuitable shells, too few heavy guns, resilient German dugouts, wet ground, and altered fire plans to the catastrophe of 1 July 1916.