After the initial 7 day [start 24 June] bombardment of the German lines the battle consisted in the main of a series of attacks, almost on a daily basis, by British, Commonwealth and French forces on established German positions to the north of the river Somme. German counter-attacks often took back all or most of the gains made. The final British gain was a strip of land of an average depth of six miles along twenty miles of the front. Manpower losses on both sides were significant and about even. On the 15th September this battle saw the first use/misuse of tanks.

The battlefield centred about 90 miles north of Paris on the Franco-Belgian border between the towns of Albert and Baupaume. The front ran roughly northwest to southeast for a distance of approximately twenty miles. (France)

• Battle of Albert 1, Somme day 1 01 July 1916
• Bernafay Wood, Somme day 3 03 July 1916
• La Boiselle, Somme day 4 04 July 1916
• Quadrangle, Somme day 5 05 July 1916
• Triangle Trench, Somme day 6 06 July 1916
• Mametz Wood 1, Somme day 7 07 July 1916
• Trones Wood 1, Somme day 8 08 July 1916
• Trones Wood 2, Somme day 9 09 July 1916
• Mametz Wood 2, Somme day 10 10 July 1916
• Mametz Wood 3, Somme day 11 11 July 1916
• Mametz Wood 4, Somme day 12 12 July 1916
• Bazentin Ridge 1, Somme day 14 14 July 1916
• Delville Wood 1, Somme day 15 15 July 1916
• Ovillers, Somme day 16 16 July 1916
• Delville Wood 2, Somme day 18 18 July 1916
• Delville Wood 3, Somme day 19 19 July 1916
• High Wood 1, Somme day 20 20 July 1916
• Pozieres Ridge, Somme day 23 23 July 1916
• Pozieres Ridge 2, Somme day 24 24 July 1916
• Pozieres Ridge 3, Somme day 25 25 July 1916
• Pozieres Ridge 4, Somme day 26 26 July 1916
• Delville Wood, Somme day 27 27 July 1916
• Pozieres Ridge 6, Somme day 28 28 July 1916
• Pozieres Ridge 8, Somme day 29 29 July 1916
• Pozieres Ridge 9, Somme day 30 30 July 1916
• Pozierers Ridge 10 Somme day 32 01 August 1916
• Pozierers Ridge 11, Somme day 33 02 August 1916
• Pozierers Ridge 12, Somme day 34 03 August 1916
• Pozierers Ridge 13, Somme day 35 04 August 1916
• Pozieres Ridge 14, Somme day 36 05 August 1916
• Pozieres Ridge 15, Somme day 37 06 August 1916
• Pozieres Ridge 16, Somme day 38 07 August 1916
• Pozieres Ridge 17, Somme day 39 08 August 1916
• Pozieres Ridge 18, Somme day 40 09 August 1916
• Pozieres Ridge 19, Somme day 42 11 August 1916
• Pozieres Ridge 20, Somme day 43 12 August 1916
• Pozieres Ridge 21, Somme day 44 13 August 1916
• Pozieres Ridge 22, Somme day 45 14 August 1916
• Pozieres Ridge 23, Somme day 46 15 August 1916
• Pozieres Ridge 24, Somme day 47 16 August 1916
• Pozieres Ridge 25, Somme day48 17 August 1916
• Pozieres Ridge 26, Somme day 49 18 August 1916
• Pozieres Ridge 27, Somme day 50 19 August 1916
• Pozieres Ridge 28, Somme day 51 20 August 1916
• Pozieres Ridge 29, Somme day 52 21 August 1916
• Pozieres Ridge 30, Somme day 53 22 August 1916
• Pozieres Ridge 31, Somme day 54 23 August 1916
• Pozieres Ridge 32, Somme day 55 24 August 1916
• Pozieres Ridge 33, Somme day 56 25 August 1916
• Pozieres Ridge 34, Somme day 57 26 August 1916
• Pozieres Ridge 35, Somme day 58 27 August 1916
• Pozieres Ridge 36, Somme day 59 28 August 1916
• Pozieres Ridge 37, Somme day 60 29 August 1916
• Pozieres Ridge 38, Somme day 61 30 August 1916
• Pozieres Ridge 39, Somme day 62 31 August 1916
• Pozieres Ridge 40, Somme day 63 01 September 1916
• Pozieres Ridge 41, Somme day 64 02 September 1916
• Guillemont 1, Somme day 65 03 September 1916
• Guillemont 2, Somme day 66 04 September 1916
• Guillemont 3, Somme day 67 05 September 1916
• Guillemont 4, Somme day 68 06 September 1916
• Somme day 69 07 September 1916
• Somme day 70 08 September 1916
• Ginchy, Somme day 71 09 September 1916
• Somme day 72 10 September 1916
• Somme day 74 12 September 1916
• Somme Day 75 13 September 1916
• Somme day 76 14 September 1916
• Flers-Courcelette 1, Somme day 77 15 September 1916
• Flers-Courcelette 2, Somme day 78 16 September 1916
• Flers-Courcelette 3, Somme day 79 17 September 1916
• Flers-Courcelette 4, Somme day 80 18 September 1916
• Flers-Courcelette 5, Somme day 81 19 September 1916
• Flers-Courcelette 6, Somme day 82 20 September 1916
• Flers-Coucelette 7, Somme day 83 21 September 1916
• Flers-Courcelette 8, Somme day 84 22 September 1916
• Somme day 85 23 September 1916
• Somme day 86 24 September 1916
• Morval 1, Somme day 87 25 September 1916
• Morval 2/Thiepval 1, Somme day 88 26 September 1916
• Morval 3/Thiepval 2, Somme day 89 27 September 1916
• Morval 4/Thiepval 3, Somme day 90 28 September 1916
• Thiepval 4, Somme day 91 29 September 1916
• Thiepval 5, Somme day 92 30 September 1916
• Ancre Heights 1, Somme day 93 01 October 1916
• Ancre Heights 2, Somme day 94 02 October 1916
• Ancre Heights 3, Somme day 95 03 October 1916
• Ancre Heights 4, Somme day 96 04 October 1916
• Ancre Heights 5, Somme day 97 05 October 1916
• Ancre Heights 6, Somme day 98 06 October 1916
• Ancre Heights 7, Somme day 99 07 October 1916
• Ancre Heights 8, Somme day 100 08 October 1916
• Ancre Heights 9, Somme day 101 09 October 1916
• Ancre Heights 11, Somme day 103 11 October 1916
• Ancre Heights12, Somme day 104 12 October 1916
• Ancre Heights 14, Somme day 106 14 October 1916
• Ancre Heights 15, Somme day 107 15 October 1916
• Ancre Heights 18, Somme day 110 18 October 1916
• Ancre Heights 19, Somme day 111 19 October 1916
• Ancre Heights 20, Somme day 112 20 October 1916
• Ancre Heights 21, Somme day 113 21 October 1916
• Ancre Heights 22, Somme day 114 22 October 1916
• Ancre Heights 23, Somme day 115 23 October 1916
• Ancre Heights 25, Somme day 117 25 October 1916
• Ancre Heights 26, Somme day 118 26 October 1916
• Ancre heights 28, Somme day 120 28 October 1916
• Ancre Heights 29, Somme day 121 29 October 1916
• Ancre Heights 32, Somme day124 01 November 1916
• Ancre heights 33, Somme day 125 02 November 1916
• Ancre Heights 34, Somme day 126 03 November 1916
• Ancre Heights 36, Somme day 128 05 November 1916
• Ancre Heights 42, Somme day 134 11 November 1916
• The Ancre 1, Somme day 136 13 November 1916
• The Ancre 2, Somme day 137 14 November 1916
• The Ancre 3, Somme day 138 15 November 1916
• The Ancre 4, Somme day 139 16 November 1916
• The Somme Final Attack, Somme day 141 18 November 1916
• Last day, Somme day 142 19 November 1916

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Chronology.
JULY
1-13 The Battle of Albert
1 Capture of Montauban
1 Capture of mametz
2 Capture of Fricourt
2-4 Capture of La Boiselle
3 Capture of Bernafay Wood
7-11 Mametz Wood
10 Capture of Contalmaison
7-13 Fight for Trones Wood
14-29 Capture of Longueval
15-3 Sept. Battle of Delville Wood
17 Capture of Ovillers
20-30 Attacks on High Wood
23-13 Sept Battle of Pozieres Ridge
27-28 Capture of Delville Wood

AUGUST
6-3 Sept Fighting for Mouquet Farm
8-9 Fighting for Waterlot Farm, Guillemont

SEPTEMBER
3-6 Battle of Guillemont
9 Battle of Ginchy
14 Capture of the Wonder Work
15-22 Battle of Flers-Courcelette [First use of Tanks]
15 Capture of Flers
15 Capture of High Wood
15 Capture of Martinpuch
25-28 Battle of Morval
25 Capture of Lesboeufs
26 Battle of Thiepval Ridge
26 Capture of Combles
26 Capture of Grid Trench and Gueudecourt
26 Capture of Mouquet Farm

OCTOBER
1-18 Battle of Transloy Ridge
1- 11 Nov. Battle of the Ancre Heights
1-3 Capture of Eaucourt l'Abbaye
7 Capture of Le Sars
7-5 Nov. Attack on the Butte de Warlencourt
9 Capture of Stuff Redoubt
14 Capture of Schwaben Redoubt
21 Capture of Regina Trench and Redoubt
21 Capture of Stuff Trench

NOVEMBER
3-11 Battle of the Ancre
13 Capture of Beaumont Hamel
14 Capture of Beaucourt
13-18 Battle of the Ancre.

This campaign ended in mud, cold and exhaustion for both sides. Overall an Allied gain of about 120 square miles for over 600,000 casulties, which is about 5,200 for each square mile. A German staff officer described the Somme as 'the muddy grave of the German field army.'

Allied Forces [British, Dominion & French]

Number engaged :

n/a

Casualties :

623,907

German 2nd Army

Number engaged :

n/a

Casualties :

680,000