Battle of the Somme

The first day on the Somme, 1 July 1916, was the beginning of the Battle of Albert (1–13 July), the name given by the British to the first two weeks of the 141 days of the Battle of the Somme (1 July–18 November) in the First World War. Nine corps of the French Sixth Army and the British Fourth and Third armies attacked the German 2nd Army (General Fritz von Below) from Foucaucourt south of the Somme, northwards across the Somme and the Ancre to Serre and at Gommecourt, 2 mi (3.2 km) beyond, in the Third Army area. The objective of the attack was to capture the German first and second defensive positions from Serre south to the Albert–Bapaume road and the first position from the road south to Foucaucourt. The German defence south of the road mostly collapsed and the French had "complete success" on both banks of the Somme, as did the British from Maricourt on the army boundary with the French northwards. XIII Corps took Montauban and reached all its objectives, XV Corps captured Mametz and isolated Fricourt. The III Corps attack on both sides of the Albert–Bapaume road was a disaster, making only a short advance south of La Boisselle, where the 34th Division suffered the most casualties of any Allied division on 1 July. Further north, X Corps captured part of the Leipzig Redoubt (an earthwork fortification), failed opposite Thiepval and had a great but temporary success on the left flank, where the German front line was overrun and Schwaben and Stuff redoubts captured by the 36th (Ulster) Division. German counter-attacks during the afternoon recaptured most of the lost ground north of the Albert–Bapaume road and more British attacks against Thiepval were costly failures. On the north bank of the Ancre, the attack of VIII Corps was a disaster, with large numbers of British troops being shot down in no man's land. The VII Corps diversion at Gommecourt was also costly, with only a partial and temporary advance south of the village. The German defeats, from Foucaucourt to the Albert–Bapaume road, left the German defence on the south bank incapable of resisting another attack; a substantial German retreat began from the Flaucourt plateau to the west bank of the Somme close to Péronne. North of the Somme in the British area, Fricourt was abandoned by the Germans overnight. Several truces were observed to recover wounded from no man's land on the British front; the Third Army diversion at Gommecourt cost 6,758 casualties against 1,212 German and the combined casualty count with the Fourth Army reached 57,470, (19,240 of which had been fatal). The French Sixth Army suffered 1,590 casualties and the German 2nd Army suffered 10,000–12,000 casualties. Orders were issued to the Anglo-French armies to continue the offensive on 2 July; a German counter-attack on the north bank of the Somme by the 12th Division, intended for the night of 1/2 July, took until dawn on 2 July to begin and was destroyed by the French and British troops opposite. Since 1 July 1916, the British casualties on the First Day and the "meagre gains" have been a source of grief and controversy in Britain.

L'îlot de La Boisselle (French: ilôt meaning "small island") is a small, 3.12-hectare (7.7-acre) historic site in the commune of Ovillers-la-Boisselle in the Somme department in Picardie in northern France. L'îlot was heavily fought over during the First World War, when it was known as Granathof (German: "shell farm") to the Germans and as Glory Hole to British soldiers. The site is private property and opens to the public by appointment with Claudie Llewellyn (who lives in Montauban-de-Picardie: 06 11 30 76 35).

The Leipzig Salient was the British term for a German defensive position built in 1915 on the Somme in France, during the First World War, opposite the village of Authuille which contained the Leipzig Redoubt on its west face. The position was to the south-west of the site of the later Thiepval Memorial, north-east of the La Boisselle–Authuille and Thiepval–Aveluy crossroads. The German front line bulged around a quarry which the Germans fortified and enclosed with Hindenburg Trench, across the chord of the salient. A redoubt named the Wundtwerk (Wonderwork to the British) lay beyond, on a reverse slope. Nab Valley lay on the east side, Thiepval was to the north, with the fortified Mouquet Farm and the village of Pozières to the north-west. On the First day on the Somme (1 July 1916), the Leipzig Salient was attacked by the 1/17th Highland Light Infantry (17th HLI) of the 32nd Division. The battalion crept forward at 7.23 a.m., ready to rush the German defences as soon as the British barrage lifted at 7:30 a.m. The Scots advanced until 30–40 yd (27–37 m) short of the German front line, rushed the redoubt when the barrage lifted and caught the German garrison sheltering in their quarry dugouts at the centre of the redoubt. The 17th HLI pressed on to the next objective but were forced back to the Leipzig Redoubt and consolidated with parties of the 2nd King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry. The 17th HLI was joined at the redoubt by parties of the 11th Border Regiment, 1st Dorset Regiment and the 19th Lancashire Fusiliers (3rd Salford Pals) during the day and the 17th HLI was withdrawn overnight. British and German attacks at the salient continued during July, when the Reserve Army divisions north of the Albert–Bapaume road reverted to trench warfare, in which the 32nd Division, 25th Division and the 49th (West Riding) Division (X Corps) occupied Leipzig Redoubt in turn during the rest of the month. The divisions were to push forward to improve their positions and to prevent the Germans from withdrawing troops for operations against the Fourth Army to the south. Both sides made costly attacks but could rarely consolidate gains before being forced out by counter-attacks. Intermittent operations at the Leipzig Salient continued as part of the Battle of Pozières (23 July – 3 September) and the Battle of Thiepval Ridge (26–28 September), when the Thiepval Spur was captured by the 18th (Eastern) Division.

Ovillers-la-Boisselle is a commune in the Somme department in Hauts-de-France in northern France.

The Capture of Ovillers (1–16 July 1916) was a British local operation during the Battle of Albert, the name given by the British to the first two weeks of the Battle of the Somme. The village of Ovillers-la-Boisselle (commonly shortened to Ovillers) forms part of the small commune of Ovillers-la-Boisselle, about 22 mi (35 km) north-east of Amiens in the Somme department in Picardie in northern France. By 1916, the village was called Ovillers by the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) to avoid confusion with La Boisselle south of the road. To the south-west of Ovillers lies La Boisselle. On 1 July 1916, the first day on the Somme, Ovillers was attacked by the 8th Division, part of the III Corps. The attack was a disaster and the division lost 5,121 casualties, the defending Infantry Regiment 180 had 280 casualties and Reserve Infantry Regiment 110 35 casualties. The 8th Division was withdrawn and replaced by the 12th (Eastern) Division, which resumed the attack on Ovillers on 3 July and lost 4,721 men by the time it was relieved. Attacks by the 25th Division continued and the village was captured during the evening of 16 July.

Norfolk Cemetery is a Commonwealth War Graves Commission burial ground for the dead of the First World War. It is located at the village of Bécordel-Bécourt, near Albert in the Somme department of France.

The Bécourt Military Cemetery is a cemetery located in the Somme region of France commemorating British and Commonwealth soldiers who fought in the Battle of the Somme in World War I. The cemetery contains those who died in a variety of dates from August 1915 to April 1917 manning the front line near the village of Becordel-Becourt and is managed by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.

Fricourt German war cemetery is near the village of Fricourt, near Albert, in the French département of the Somme. Most of the fallen were members of the Imperial German 2nd Army. Of the 17,000 burials, about 1,000 died in the autumn of 1914 and the ensuing trench warfare; about 10,000 during the Battle of the Somme (July–November 1916); and the final 6,000 in the German spring offensive of 1918 and the ensuing Allied counter-attack, the Hundred Days Offensive.

The Bapaume Post Military Cemetery (French: Cimetière militaire de Bapaume Post, Albert) is a cemetery located in the Somme region of France commemorating British and Commonwealth soldiers who fought in the Battle of the Somme in World War I. The cemetery is also known colloquially as the Tara Hill Cemetery and the Usna Hill Cemetery.The cemetery honors mainly those who were killed in the 1 July 1916 attack on the village of La Boiselle, those who died defending the line in the areas east and west of the cemetery, and those who died retaking the village and the surrounding area in August 1918.

Fricourt (French pronunciation: [fʁikuʁ]) is a commune in the Somme department in Hauts-de-France in northern France.

The Pozières Memorial is a World War I memorial, located near the commune of Pozières, in the Somme department of France, and unveiled in August 1930. It lists the names of 14,657 British and South African soldiers of the Fifth and Fourth Armies with no known grave who were killed between 21 March 1918 and 7 August 1918, during the German advance known as the Spring Offensive (21 March–18 July), and the period of Allied consolidation and recovery that followed. The final date is determined by the start of the period known as the Advance to Victory on 8 August.The memorial forms the perimeter walls of a Commonwealth War Graves Commission cemetery, which principally contains the bodies of men killed during the Battle of Pozières and the Battle of the Somme in 1916.

Bécordel-Bécourt (French pronunciation: [bekɔʁdɛl bekuʁ]; before 1900: Bécourt-Bécordel) is a commune in the Somme department in Hauts-de-France in northern France.