The
battle most people associate with the Somme is the one that
opened on 1 July 1916 when a mainly volunteer British Army
of 16 divisions in concert with 5 French divisions attacked
entrenched German positions in the Department of the Somme
in France. Over-reliance by the British on the destruction
of the enemy defences by preparatory artillery bombardment
led to almost 60,000 British casualties on the first day and
more than 400,000 before the fighting ended on 17 November
1916. The maximum advance made in all that time was six and
a half miles. Total German casualties are estimated to have
been about the same as the British, and the French were almost
200,000. In the larger Somme guide book the actions of the
Australians, Canadians and Americans on the Somme are covered.
This
is the sort of very brief summary that precedes each of the
27 different battles covered in our two books Western Front
- North, and Western Front - South. A more detailed description
follows in the books with a point to point battlefield tour
as well as up to date photographs.
HOW TO LEARN
MORE ABOUT THE BATTLE
This battle is described
in Western Front - South and in much greater detail in our
Battlefield Guide to the Somme. Please click below to go
to details of the two guide books in which the Battle of
the Somme is described.
WE ALSO
DO A SOMME BATTLEFIELD MAP - PLEASE CLICK ON THE PICTURE
