Battle of the Somme in 1916...
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September 16, 1916
SPRINGFIELD REPUBLICAN, Massachusetts, September 16, 1916
* Battle of the Somme... Flers-Courcelette (1st report)
* 1st use of tanks ever
This 16 page newspaper has two column headlines on the front page that include: "BIG ADVANCE BY BRITISH" "German Lines Driven Back" "IN SWEEPING OFFENSIVE AT SOMME" with subheads. (see)
This particular battle had the 1st ever use of tanks this is a early report on it.
Other news of the day. Light browning with minor margin wear, otherwise good.
wikipedia notes: The last great Allied effort to achieve a breakthrough came on 15 September in the Battle of Flers-Courcelette with the initial advance made by 11 British divisions (nine from Fourth Army, two Canadian divisions on the Reserve Army sector) and a later attack by four French corps.
The battle is chiefly remembered today as the debut of the tank. The British had high hopes that this secret weapon would break the deadlock of the trenches. Early tanks were not weapons of mobile warfare—with a top speed of 2 mph (3.2 km/h), they were easily outpaced by the infantry—but were designed for trench warfare. They were untroubled by barbed wire obstacles and impervious to rifle and machine gun fire, though highly vulnerable to artillery. Additionally, the tanks were notoriously unreliable; of the 49 tanks available on 15 September, only 32 made it to the start line, and of these, only 21 made it into action. Mechanical breakdowns were common, and many others became bogged or ditched in the shell holes and trenches of the churned battlefield.
* Battle of the Somme... Flers-Courcelette (1st report)
* 1st use of tanks ever
This 16 page newspaper has two column headlines on the front page that include: "BIG ADVANCE BY BRITISH" "German Lines Driven Back" "IN SWEEPING OFFENSIVE AT SOMME" with subheads. (see)
This particular battle had the 1st ever use of tanks this is a early report on it.
Other news of the day. Light browning with minor margin wear, otherwise good.
wikipedia notes: The last great Allied effort to achieve a breakthrough came on 15 September in the Battle of Flers-Courcelette with the initial advance made by 11 British divisions (nine from Fourth Army, two Canadian divisions on the Reserve Army sector) and a later attack by four French corps.
The battle is chiefly remembered today as the debut of the tank. The British had high hopes that this secret weapon would break the deadlock of the trenches. Early tanks were not weapons of mobile warfare—with a top speed of 2 mph (3.2 km/h), they were easily outpaced by the infantry—but were designed for trench warfare. They were untroubled by barbed wire obstacles and impervious to rifle and machine gun fire, though highly vulnerable to artillery. Additionally, the tanks were notoriously unreliable; of the 49 tanks available on 15 September, only 32 made it to the start line, and of these, only 21 made it into action. Mechanical breakdowns were common, and many others became bogged or ditched in the shell holes and trenches of the churned battlefield.
Category: The 20th Century
