Somme Battlefield, France. Somme WW1 Battlefield, July 1st-November 1916, France. July 2016 Rancourt Commonwealth War Graves Commission cemetery, Rancourt, France
Somme Battlefield, France. Somme WW1 Battlefield, July 1st-November 1916, France. July 2016 Images made on the centenary of the Somme battle-July 1st 1916- July 2016 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 and French empires against the German Empire. It took place between 1 July and 18 November 1916 on both sides of the River Somme in France. It was one of the largest battles of World War I, in which more than 1,000,000 men were wounded or killed, making it one of the bloodiest battles in human history. The main part of the offensive was to be made by the French Army, supported on the northern flank by the Fourth Army of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF). When the German Army began the Battle of Verdun on the Meuse on 21 February 1916, many French divisions intended for the Somme were diverted and the supporting attack by the British became the principal effort. The first day on the Somme (1 July) was a serious defeat for the German Second Army, which was forced out of its first line of defence by the French Sixth Army, from Foucaucourt-en-Santerre south of the Somme to Maricourt on the north bank and by the British Fourth Army from Maricourt to the vicinity of the Albert–Bapaume road. The first day on the Somme was also the worst day in the history of the British Army, which had c. 57,470 casualties, mainly on the front between the Albert–Bapaume road and Gommecourt, where the attack was defeated and few British troops reached the German front line. The British Army on the Somme was a mixture of the remains of the pre-war regular army, the Territorial Force and the Kitchener Army, which was composed of Pals battalions, recruited from the same places and occupations. The battle is notable for the importance of air power and the first use of the tank. At the end of the battle, British and French forces h
Size: 5013px × 3335px
Location: Somme Battlefield, Rancourt, France.
Photo credit: © BRIAN HARRIS / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: 1916, 1st, army, battle, battlefield, carnage, commonwealth, destruction, france, graves, july, kitchener, rancourt, slaughter, somme, war, world, ww1, wwi
