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Battle of the Somme

1916, World War I

Citation Formats

General Reference

War and Military Atlas. "Battle of the Somme." Accessed August 30, 2026. https://military.interactiveatlas.org/battles/battle-of-the-somme.

APA Style

War and Military Atlas. (n.d.). Battle of the Somme. Retrieved August 30, 2026, from https://military.interactiveatlas.org/battles/battle-of-the-somme

BibTeX

@misc{warandmilitaryatlas-battle-of-the-somme,
  author = {War and Military Atlas},
  title = {Battle of the Somme},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://military.interactiveatlas.org/battles/battle-of-the-somme},
  note = {Accessed August 30, 2026}
}

The Battle of the Somme was a First World War battle fought from 1 July to 18 November 1916 along the Somme river in France between the British Empire and France on one side and the German Empire on the other. More than three million combatants took part, with over one million killed or wounded, making it one of the deadliest battles in history, and the battle ended inconclusively with only a small Allied advance into the Noyon salient.

Facts

Battle Type

Prolonged offensive battle (trench warfare) 1

Year

1916 1

Location

Somme river region, France 1

Outcome

Inconclusive; a bulge driven into the Noyon salient 1

Cross-Tradition Connections

Led By

Erich Ludendorff

Additional Source Wikipedia: Battle of the SommeInfobox: Commanders (German, second)

Additional Source Wikipedia: Battle of the SommeInfobox: Commanders (French)

Paul von Hindenburg

Additional Source Wikipedia: Battle of the SommeInfobox: Commanders (German)

Part Of

Additional Source Wikipedia: Battle of the SommeInfobox: Part of

Sources

1. Wikipedia: Battle of the Somme

Lead section, para 1

Quote, Lead section, para 1

the deadly potential of mechanized warfare that began in the mid-19th century

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1. Wikipedia: Battle of the Somme

Infobox: Date

Quote, Infobox: Date

July 1 - November 18, 1916

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1. Wikipedia: Battle of the Somme

Infobox: Location

Quote, Infobox: Location

Somme River region, north-central Somme and southeastern Pas-de-Calais Departements, France

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1. Wikipedia: Battle of the Somme

Infobox: Result

Quote, Infobox: Result

Inconclusive; territorial changes included a bulge driven into the Noyon Salient

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1. Wikipedia: Battle of the Somme

Part Of: World War I, Infobox: Part of

Quote, Part Of: World War I, Infobox: Part of

Western Front (World War I) of the First World War

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1. Wikipedia: Battle of the Somme

Led By: Ferdinand Foch, Infobox: Commanders (French)

Quote, Led By: Ferdinand Foch, Infobox: Commanders (French)

Ferdinand Foch

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1. Wikipedia: Battle of the Somme

Led By: Paul von Hindenburg, Infobox: Commanders (German)

Quote, Led By: Paul von Hindenburg, Infobox: Commanders (German)

Paul von Hindenburg

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1. Wikipedia: Battle of the Somme

Led By: Erich Ludendorff, Infobox: Commanders (German, second)

Quote, Led By: Erich Ludendorff, Infobox: Commanders (German, second)

Erich Ludendorff

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