France: Somme battlefields

36 photos taken in 2006, 90 years after the ghastly battle fought by the British and German Armies between 1 July and 18 November 1916. The French also took part, but were preoccupied with the equally grim (and much longer) struggle at Verdun, which the Somme battle was intended to relieve.

Thiepval memorial to the missing, 14 July 2006 1. Looking uphill to the hamlet of Thiepval and the memorial. Its position was a first day objective when the Battle of the Somme opened on 1 July 1916; it actually took three months to capture.

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Thiepval memorial to the missing, 14 July 2006 1. Looking uphill to the hamlet of Thiepval and the memorial. Its position was a first day objective when the Battle of the Somme opened on 1 July 1916; it actually took three months to capture.