Reference no: EM133598681
Read the following information:
The Battle of the SommeGeneral Douglas Haig, the British commander, believed the Alliedforces could break through the German lines at a location on theSomme River. This action would help stop German troops frombombarding the French near Verdun.
For two weeks, Allied artillery bombarded the German linealong a 45-kilometre front. Haig wanted to destroy the German trenchesand the barbed wire that protected them. But the tactic failed.
When British and Canadian troops started moving across no man'sland on July 1, 1916, they found the barbed wire intact and the Germanswith machine guns ready. Also taking part was the NewfoundlandRegiment, which was not linked to the Canadian Army becauseNewfoundland had not yet joined Confederation. The Newfoundlandersattacked at Beaumont-Hamel at the northern end of the front -- andsuffered terrible casualties. Of the nearly 800 men who went over thetop at Beaumont-Hamel, only 68 were able to report for duty the nextmorning.
Although the Allied force suffered 60 000 casualties on that firstday, Haig ordered the attack to continue. And it did, for more than fourmonths When the battle finallv ended in November 1916. the Allies hadsuffered about 650 000 casualties to gain just 545 square kilometres ofterritory. For good reason, this battle is sometimes called the bloodiestbattle in human historv Among the casualties were 24 000 Canadians.
Questions
Compare the number of dead to the number of Canadians killed in Canada's decade-long war in Afghanistan. What has changed and what has stayed the same?