The battle was fought over a huge area. In this region, the British attempted to move along a large line from Beaumont to Hardencourt. Further south the French attacked along a line from Combles to Chaulnes.

Cheshire Regiment sentry, Somme, 1916

The Battle of the Somme (Bataille de la Somme, Schlacht an der Somme), also known as the Somme Offensive, took place during the First World War between 1 July and 18 November 1916 on either side of the river Somme in France. The battle saw the British Expeditionary Force mount a joint offensive, with the French Army against the German Army, which had occupied large areas of France since its invasion of the country in August 1914. The Battle of the Somme was one of the largest battles of the war; by the time fighting paused in late autumn 1916, the forces involved had suffered more than 1 million casualties, making it one of the bloodiest military operations ever recorded.

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle of the Somme
• Spilling, M., 2010, Battles that Changed History: Key Battles that Decided the Fate of Nations: Amber Books, London, 448p