Leaving Cert History EUROPE (2) Nation states & international tensions: This is an edited extract from a

Question

This is an edited extract from a German soldier's account of the first day of the Battle of the Somme. Read it and answer the questions which follow.

The men in the dugouts waited, ready, bells full of hand-grenades around them and gripping their rifles. It was of vital importance to lose not a second in taking up position in the open to meet the British infantry that would advance immediately behind the artillery fire.

At 7.30 a.m., the hurricane of shells stopped. Our men at once climbed up from the dugouts to daylight and ran to the nearest shell holes. The machine guns were pulled out of the dugouts and hurriedly placed in position.

A few minutes later, when the first British line of soldiers were within a hundred yards, the rattle of machine gun and rifle fire broke out along the whole line of shells. The British advance rapidly began to crumble under the hail of shells and bullets. All along the line, men could be seen throwing up their arms and collapsing, never to move again. The badly wounded rolled about in their agony.

Source: A.H. Farrar-Hockley, The Somme. Pan/Seven House. 1976.

This is an edited extract from a German soldier's account of the first day of the Battle of the Somme - Leaving Cert History - Question A - 2010

Worked Solution & Example Answer:This is an edited extract from a German soldier's account of the first day of the Battle of the Somme - Leaving Cert History - Question A - 2010

1. What weapons did the German soldiers carry?

2. What did the men do once they left the dugouts?

3. How close were the British soldiers when the Germans opened fire?

4. What happened to the British line of advance?

5. Apart from the Battle of the Somme, name one major battle in World War I.

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