Somme Offensive | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Part of the Western Front of the First World War | |||||||
British soldiers attacking | |||||||
| |||||||
Belligerents | |||||||
United Kingdom Canada Australia New Zealand South Africa India Newfoundland France | Germany | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Douglas Haig Ferdinand Foch | Max von Gallwitz Fritz von Below | ||||||
Strength | |||||||
13 British and 11 French divisions (planned) 51 British and 48 French divisions (actual) | 10½ divisions (planned) 50 divisions (actual) | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
623,907 casualties 782 aircraft lost | 465,000 men |
The Battle of the Somme took place in World War I. The battle began on 1 July 1916, and ended on 18 November 1916. The battle was named after the French River Somme where it was fought.
On the first day the British Army had 57,470 casualties, of whom 19,240 were killed. The French Army had 1,590 casualties and the German Army lost 10,000–12,000 men. The Allies planned to attack together, but the French were busy with the Battle of Verdun, so the main attackers were British. The cost of the battle, and the small gains, have been a source of grief and controversy in Britain. In German and French writing, the first day of the Battle of the Somme has been little more than a footnote to the mass losses of 1914–1915 and the Battle of Verdun.