The Battle of the Somme (French: Bataille de la Somme; German: Schlacht an der Somme), also known as the Somme offensive, was a battle of the First World War fought by the armies of the British Empire and the French Republic against the German Empire.
First Battle of the Somme, (July 1–), costly and largely unsuccessful Allied offensive on the Western Front during World War I. The horrific bloodshed on the first day of the battle became a metaphor for futile and indiscriminate slaughter.
The Battle of the Somme, which took place from July to November 1916, began as an Allied offensive against German forces along the Western Front of World War I, near the Somme River in France.
The Battle of the Somme, fought from 1 July to 18 November 1916, stands as a monumental episode in World War I’s history. Situated along the River Somme in northern France, it became one of the largest battles on the Western Front.
A short summary and map of the Battle of the Somme, which took place along the Western Front in France and was one of the deadliest battles in history.
Discover Somme. Recommended places to stay and visit in or near Somme, Picardy, all reviewed by our own travel experts.
The 1916 Somme offensive was one of the largest and bloodiest battles of the First World War (1914-18). The opening day of the attack, 1 July 1916, saw the British Army sustain 57,000 casualties, the bloodiest day in its history.
The result is not just a memorial to all those that fought and died on the Somme, but one that acknowledges the British and French alliance during the battle, and perhaps most importantly, it commemorates over 72,000 British and South African soldiers that have no known grave.