1916
Somme Northern Sector
Leads Third Army operations north of the main Somme battlefield.
Historical place archive
Browse historical events and people recorded at Somme in Great Britain. The records below are rendered directly from the World History Database into this page's initial HTML.
Leads Third Army operations north of the main Somme battlefield.
Serves on the Western Front during the Somme campaign
Haig expands preparations for the planned Anglo-French offensive while Verdun increases pressure on France.
Haig oversees the concentration of guns, ammunition and divisions for the coming offensive.
Leads the fourth army in the main part of the offensive North of the River Somme
24 June-13 November, tanks are used for the 1st time at the 1st Battle of the Somme
Haig's armies begin the prolonged bombardment intended to destroy German wire and forward defences.
Leads the 3rd Army south of the River Somme
Royal Flying Corps aircraft support preparatory operations by attacking German observation balloons.
Performs brigade staff duties during the Somme campaign and observes the heavy cost of offensive operations.
Commands the British Expeditionary Force as the Somme attack opens after a week of bombardment.
The British attack opens on the Somme, causing 57,470 British casualties on the first day.
Commands British Fourth Army in the main British attack north of the River Somme.
Commands British Fourth Army in the main attack north of the River Somme.
Haig reviews catastrophic first-day casualties but decides the offensive must continue.
Haig orders continued pressure to support France and wear down the German army.
Posted to No. 7 Squadron and flies bombing, reconnaissance and photographic missions over the Somme front.
Haig's armies increasingly use creeping barrages to improve infantry support during Somme attacks.
Supported by Fochs 6th Army but 20,000 British perish on the first day of the battle
Haig reviews deteriorating battlefield conditions as rain and mud sharply reduce operational mobility.
Haig ends major Somme operations after months of attritional fighting and limited territorial gains.
Death of Raymond Asquith, son of the Herbert Asquith, during the Battle of the Somme
The Alberich programme for German retreat to the Siegried Line is accelerated
The main German retreat to the Hindenburg line begins
Haig coordinates retreat and reinforcement as the Fifth Army falls back under intense German pressure.
The second phase of the offensive began on 21st August as the Second Battles of the Somme 1918. The French Tenth and 3rd Armies, and the British 3rd and First Army attacked. The ANZAC captured ground north of the Somme river at Peronne and Mont St. Quentin. Canadian forces captured ground near Queant
The second phase of the offensive began on 21st August as the Second Battles of the Somme 1918. The French Tenth and 3rd Armies, and the British 3rd and First Army attacked. The ANZAC captured ground north of the Somme river at Peronne and Mont St. Quentin. Canadian forces captured ground near Queant
The second phase of the offensive began on 21st August as the Second Battles of the Somme 1918. The French Tenth and 3rd Armies, and the British 3rd and First Army attacked. The ANZAC captured ground north of the Somme river at Peronne and Mont St. Quentin. Canadian forces captured ground near Queant
Begins the next phase of the Allied advance after Amiens by attacking toward Albert.
British Third and Fourth Armies renew the advance on the old Somme battlefield, forcing the German Second Army back.
Commands III Corps in Fourth Army operations during the renewed Somme advance.
By 4th September the German forces had withdrawn to the Hindenburg Line, the position from which they had advanced to make the offensives in the earlier part of the year
By 4th September the German forces had withdrawn to the Hindenburg Line, the position from which they had advanced to make the offensives in the earlier part of the year
Provenance
These entries are generated from stored World History Database records whose country and place fields match Great Britain and Somme. Names, dates, event labels and descriptions are reviewed and normalised as the database develops. Historical place names may not match modern administrative boundaries.
This database is a research index. For formal scholarly citation, verify individual claims against appropriate primary, archival, academic or specialist sources.