Number of artillery shells produced in Britain during the Battle of the Somme 1916
This graph shows the total number of artillery shells manufactured by the British forces in 1916. The Battle of the Somme took place from July 1, until November 18, 1916, with a week long bombardment by the British forces in the week leading up to July 1, 1916. In this week a total of 1.7 million shells were fired by the British Royal Regiment of Artillery against the German lines and their supply routes. The German trenches however were too deep and well-dug for the artillery fire to have its desired effect, and the German forces were able to mobilize quickly once the bombardment stopped.
As the war progressed and trench warfare became more common, the role of artillery in suppressing the enemy, clearing wire from the battlefield and disrupting the enemy supply lines became increasingly important. From the graph we can see that in the lead up to the battle the number of shells being produced in Britain grew rapidly, and in October alone more shells were produced than in all of March, April and May combined. Another interesting statistic is that almost as many shells were fired in one week before the Battle of the Somme as were made in Britain in all of March.
As the war progressed and trench warfare became more common, the role of artillery in suppressing the enemy, clearing wire from the battlefield and disrupting the enemy supply lines became increasingly important. From the graph we can see that in the lead up to the battle the number of shells being produced in Britain grew rapidly, and in October alone more shells were produced than in all of March, April and May combined. Another interesting statistic is that almost as many shells were fired in one week before the Battle of the Somme as were made in Britain in all of March.
