Leaving Cert History EUROPE (2) Nation states & international tensions: In this edited extract a German

Question

In this edited extract a German soldier describes the first day of the Battle of the Somme on 1 July, 1916. Read it and answer the questions that follow.

At 7.30 a.m. the hurricane of British shells stopped. Our men at once clambered up the steep shafts leading from the dugouts to the daylight, and ran to the nearest shell holes. The machine-guns were hurriedly pulled out of the dugouts and placed in position. Then a series of lines were seen moving from the British trenches. The first line was quickly followed by a second line and then a third and fourth.

When the first line of British soldiers were within a few hundred yards, the rattle of machine-guns and rifle fire broke out along the whole line of our shell holes. The British advance rapidly crumbled under the hail of German shells and bullets.

Source: quoted in A.H. Farrar-Hockley, The Somme, Surrey: Pan/Severn House, 1976.
1. On the morning of 1 July, when did the British stop shelling the German trenches?
2. When the shelling stopped, what did the Germans do?
3. What did the Germans do with their machine-guns?
4. At what point did the Germans begin using their machine-guns?
5. Apart from the Somme, name one major battle on the Western Front, 1914-1918.

In this edited extract a German soldier describes the first day of the Battle of the Somme on 1 July, 1916 - Leaving Cert History - Question A - 2012

Worked Solution & Example Answer:In this edited extract a German soldier describes the first day of the Battle of the Somme on 1 July, 1916 - Leaving Cert History - Question A - 2012

1. On the morning of 1 July, when did the British stop shelling the German trenches?

2. When the shelling stopped, what did the Germans do?

3. What did the Germans do with their machine-guns?

4. At what point did the Germans begin using their machine-guns?

5. Apart from the Somme, name one major battle on the Western Front, 1914-1918.

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