Battle of the Somme
1916 CE · France
The Battle of the Somme was fought in 1916 CE in France between British Empire and France vs Germany; inconclusive; the Allies advanced about six miles in four and a half months.
Battle of the Somme: quick facts
- Date
- 1916 CE
- Location
- France
- Belligerents
- British Empire and France vs Germany
- Commanders
- Douglas Haig and Ferdinand Foch vs Erich von Falkenhayn and Fritz von Below
- Result
- inconclusive; the Allies advanced about six miles in four and a half months.
- Casualties
- more than one million killed, wounded or missing across all armies
- Era
- 🪖 World Wars
- Quiz difficulty
- easy
What happened at the Battle of the Somme?
The first day of the Somme remains the bloodiest day in British military history, with nearly 60,000 casualties. Over 140 days, the Allies advanced just six miles at a cost of over one million casualties on both sides. The battle saw the first use of tanks in warfare and came to symbolize the horrific futility of trench warfare on the Western Front.
Did you know?
Tanks were first used at the Somme, but the initial models were so unreliable that of the 49 deployed, only 32 reached the start line and most broke down during the advance.
Sources and further reading
- Battle of the Somme on Wikipedia for the full account, historiography and primary sources.
- How BattleGuess compiles and checks battle facts: see the About page.
Entry last reviewed 26 September 2026.