Battle Of The Somme: A Comparative Analysis

One hundred years can make all the difference in society, considering that this is essentially two generations; two generations of innovation, two generations of progress, two generations of revised understanding. The extent of change that can occur in this block of time is hard to capture in a few sentences, however, it is best understood by examining what are two events similar in nature, though vastly different when looking at the details. The Battle of Waterloo in 1815 and the Battle of the Somme in 1916 are prime examples of this; both were European war battles, though there are more differences than similarities, which, at least in part, can be traced to a number of events occurring in the time between; most notably, the Industrial revolution. …show more content…
Clouds of smoke smattered the sky while explosions propelled dirt and men through the air. Gunfire was rampant, and generals were nowhere to be seen from the battlefield. Security was not held within the depth of a regiment’s formation, but in a secured location well beyond the sanctity of the battlefield. Machine gun fire fell like rain, largely in the realm of no man’s land sandwiched comfortably between the opposing sides. Medical tents coated the sidelines of the battle like fans to a football game, picking and choosing which casualties were to be saved and which were to be preserved as long and as comfortably as possible until their inevitable death. The destruction in this scene was so much more prominent, obvious, than its predecessor following the turn of the 19th century, and it’s no surprise that this significant battle in perhaps the world’s most significant war is studied so closely to this day. It was not organization that led to the huge number of deaths attributed to the battle, but the confusion all around - the disorganization and almost accidental killings make the Somme the memorable battle that it