The Battle of the Somme is the name given to a series of attempts by British forces to advance into the area around the River Somme in northwest France during the First World War. The battle took place to the north of this river from 1 July to late November 1916. Most earlier battles had been fought in the northern section of the British line in Flanders, on the boundary of Belgium and France near the town of Ypres.
Vague ideas for a British attack in 1916 suddenly became urgent as the French army was under extreme pressure at Verdun. The British were expected to open a new ‘front’, a site for another active offensive. A number of troops were moved from the area of Ypres, and a huge concentration of artillery was assembled along the line of the River Somme. Throughout June there was a steady bombardment of the German positions, and in the last week of the month this reached a climax.
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