Battle of the Somme

On the Western Front, French forces under General Joseph Joffre had born the brunt of the 1914 German offensive into Belgium and France, only managing to halt the wheeling advance well inside French territory. In support of their Allies, the British had deployed the small British Expeditionary Force (BEF) to Flanders in 1914, being committed in piecemeal actions against the Germans in the north of the Western Front. By the end of 1915 the BEF had... more

On the Western Front, French forces under General Joseph Joffre had born the brunt of the 1914 German offensive into Belgium and France, only managing to halt the wheeling advance well inside French territory. In support of their Allies, the British had deployed the small British Expeditionary Force (BEF) to Flanders in 1914, being committed in piecemeal actions against the Germans in the north of the Western Front. By the end of 1915 the BEF had grown substantially in numbers to a force of two Armies. But there were to be no more penetrating attacks from either side, and the front had become stationary, with German, British and French forces facing one-another from their trenches across no-mans-land stretching from the English Channel to the Swiss Border. The BEF Commander, General Sir Douglas Haig intended to launch the first major British offensive in Flanders in the north, where he believed the German defences were less well prepared and there was a greater likelihood of success.... less