Somme
1 July – 18 November 1916
WW1 - Battle of the Somme
One of the defining battles of the First World War, the Somme began on a summers day on 1st July 1916 when 57,000 British soldiers fell in a single day: the blackest, most costly day in British military history.
The Facts
- Date: 1 July – 18 November 1916
- Location: Somme, France
| Countries Involved | |
|---|---|
| British Empire France |
German Empire |
| Countries Commanders | |
| Douglas Haig Ferdinand Foch Henry Rawlinson Émile Fayolle Hubert Gough Joseph Alfred Micheler |
Crown Prince Rupprecht of Bavaria Max von Gallwitz Fritz von Below |
| Number of Casualties | |
| Over 600,000 | Over 900,000 |
Battle result: Inconclusive
But the fighting went on and gradually the Germans were pushed back. Tanks were used here for the first time at Flers-Courcelette on 15th September 1916 and the British Army began the start of a change in approach to the fighting, but always at great cost.
The Somme came to a close on 18th November 1916 in a snowstorm. By that time more than 450,000 British and Commonwealth soldiers had become casualties with more than 150,000 killed. The fighting destroyed the German defences on the Somme, forcing them to withdraw to the Hindenburg Line in 1917, but at such a cost that it will forever remain one of the most controversial battles of WW1.
British Mark I tank
