Somme, Battle of The

(July 1–Nov. 13, 1916) Allied offensive in World War I. British and French forces launched a frontal attack against an entrenched German army north of the Somme River in France. A weeklong artillery bombardment was followed by a British infantry assault on the still-impregnable German positions.

Nearly 60,000 British casualties (including 20,000 killed) occurred on the first day. The offensive gradually deteriorated into a battle of attrition, hampered by torrential rains in October that made the muddy battlefield impassable. By the time it was abandoned, the Allies had advanced only 5 mi (8 km). The staggering losses included 650,000 German casualties, 420,000 British, and 195,000 French. The battle became a metaphor for futile and indiscriminate slaughter.