1916 Timeline of the Battle of the Somme

As you look at the timeline the first thing you’ll notice is just how long it was. The First Day of the Battle of the Somme was the beginning of of six months of slaughter from July to November 1916. It was actually one of the largest battles in the war and one in which over a million lives were lost.

The battle consisted of three phases a short first phase of just over two weeks and longer second and third phases lasting two to three months. Eventually heavy rains and the resulting mud halted progress. By the end the British had advanced roughly five miles.

The battle was preceded by five days of bombardment designed to knock out the German positions and remove the barbed wire defences. In the end it had little effect on the barbed wire and gave a warning about the forthcoming attack.

The Battle of Verdun as this had great bearing on the Somme offensive. The Somme was part of a wider strategy designed to attack the Germans in combined offensives. The decision for the Battle of the Somme was taken before the start of the Verdun battle. It was intended that French troops would be available for the Somme offensive. However, as you can see from the timeline Verdun extended past the Somme offensive and large numbers of French troops were diverted to it. At over nine months Verdun was another long and hugely costly battle with an average of 70,000 casualties a month. Some have argued that if the Somme offensive can claim to have achieved anything it was to divert some of the German troops who would have been sent to Verdun.

The Somme offensive was spread over a 15 mile front and this explains where there were so many smaller battles running concurrently or close to each other. Take a look at the end of September 1916 for a good example of this.

 

Related Books

The latest book about the Battle of the Somme and it’s been getting some very good reviews.