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1
BATTLE OFTHE SOMME
1 July to 18 November 1916
The pleasant region of Picardy in Northern France is a rolling tableland dotted
with little towns and furrowed by hundreds of streams.The land hardly rises
above 500 feet.The cheerful countryside, through which the River Somme
winds, had been a cockpit of war for centuries but the front there had seen little
activity during the GreatWar until the summer of 1916.
The Allies had planned a summer campaign on three fronts, the Eastern by the
Russians, the Italian by the Italian Army and theWestern by Britain and France,
with the British attacking north of the River Somme and the French astride the
river and to the south. But they were pre-empted by their enemies.
Germany, having focused its attention in the east in 1915, switched its attention
to the west in 1916. In February it attacked the French strong-point of the small
city ofVerdun with its 17th century citadel.The Germans’ plans are not at all
clear, but by crushing the French Army atVerdun, they might have created the
opportunity for manoeuvre and breakthrough elsewhere in the west.
The Austrians, planning in isolation from their German allies, attacked the
Italians in May.They made initial gains, but their offensive was already losing
steam by 4 June, when they themselves were attacked by the Russians on the
eastern front. Germany was forced to come to its ally’s aid. It sent troops from
west to east, and so moved from attack to defence atVerdun.The battle atVerdun
ran on for the rest of the year, but now France – not Germany – was on the
offensive.The French contribution to the Somme battle was gradually cut back
because of the demands ofVerdun and so a proportionately greater burden fell on
the British.
The last week of June 1916 had been cloudy with showers but on the final day
the clouds cleared to leave a beautiful summer’s evening.That night the orders
went out, the attack would be delivered the next morning three hours after
dawn.
The first day of July 1916 dawned hot and cloudless and every gun along a twenty
five mile front opened up and went on firing until, at half past seven in the
morning, there was a pause and the Allied infantry went over the top into action.