Editing First day on the Somme (section)

{{Short description|Start of the Battle of Albert}}
{{About|the event|the book|The First Day on the Somme}}
{{See also|Battle of Albert (1914)|Battle of Albert (1916)|Battle of Albert (1918)}}
{{Use British English|date=May 2025}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2018}}
{{Infobox military conflict
| conflict          = First day on the Somme
| partof            = the [[Battle of the Somme]] ([[First World War]])
| image             = File:Map of the Battle of the Somme, 1916.svg
| image_upright = 1.0
| caption           = Battle of the Somme, 1 July – 18 November 1916
| date              = 1 July 1916
| place             = [[Somme (department)|Somme]], [[Picardy]], France
| coordinates       = {{Coord|50|00|56|N|02|41|51|E|type:event_region:FR|display=inline,title}}
| map_type          = France
| map_size          = 200
| map_caption       = {{centre|[[Somme (department)|Somme]] is a [[departments of France|department]] in northern [[France]], of the [[Hauts-de-France]] [[regions of France|region]] of France}}
| map_label         = Somme
| result            = See the [[First day on the Somme#Aftermath|Aftermath]] section
| combatant1        = {{flag|British Empire}}
* {{flagcountry|United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland}}
* {{flag|Bermuda}}
* {{flagcountry|Newfoundland}}
{{flagcountry|French Third Republic}}
| combatant2        = {{flag|German Empire}}
| commander1        = [[Douglas Haig]]<br />[[Henry Rawlinson, 1st Baron Rawlinson|Henry Rawlinson]]<br /> [[Ferdinand Foch]]<br />[[Émile Fayolle]]
| commander2        =  [[Fritz von Below]]
| strength1         = 13 British divisions<br />6 French divisions
| strength2         = 6 divisions
| casualties1       = British: 57,470 (19,240 killed)<br />French: 1,590
| casualties2       = 6,226–12,000
| notes = In the German ten-day casualty accounting period (10 {{lang|de|tägigen Truppenkrankenrapporten}}) for 1 to 10 July, there were 46,319 casualties and 7,539 men reported sick.{{sfn|Whitehead|2013|pp=474–477}}
| campaignbox       = {{Campaignbox Battle of Albert (1916)}}
{{Campaignbox Somme 1916}}
{{Campaignbox Western Front (World War I)}}
}}
The '''first day on the Somme''' (1 July 1916) was the beginning of the [[Battle of Albert (1916)|Battle of Albert]] {{nowrap|(1–13 July)}} the name given by the British to the first two weeks of the [[Battle of the Somme]] ({{nowrap|1 July–18 November}}) in the [[First World War]]. Nine [[corps]] of the French [[Sixth Army (France)|Sixth Army]] and the British [[Fourth Army (United Kingdom)|Fourth]] and [[Third Army (United Kingdom)|Third]] armies attacked the German [[2nd Army (German Empire)|2nd Army]] (General [[Fritz von Below]]). The attack was from [[Foucaucourt-en-Santerre|Foucaucourt]] south of the [[Somme (river)|Somme]], northwards across the Somme and the [[Ancre]] to [[Serre-lès-Puisieux|Serre]] and Gommecourt, {{cvt|2|mi}} beyond, in the Third Army area. The objective of the attack was to capture the German first and second defensive positions from Serre south to the Albert–Bapaume road and the first position from the road south to Foucaucourt.

The German defence south of the road mostly collapsed and the French had ''complete success'' on both banks of the Somme, as did the British from Maricourt on the army boundary with the French northwards. XIII Corps took Montauban and reached all its objectives, [[XV Corps (United Kingdom)|XV Corps]] captured Mametz and isolated Fricourt. The III Corps attack on both sides of the Albert–Bapaume road was a disaster, making only a short advance south of La Boisselle, where the [[34th Division (United Kingdom)|34th Division]] suffered the most casualties of any Allied division on 1 July. Further north, [[X Corps (United Kingdom)|X Corps]] captured part of the {{lang|de|Leipzig}} [[Redoubt]] (an earthwork fortification), failed opposite Thiepval and had a great but temporary success on the left flank, where the German front line was overrun and {{lang|de|Schwaben}} and Stuff redoubts captured by the [[36th (Ulster) Division]].

German counter-attacks during the afternoon recaptured most of the lost ground north of the Albert–Bapaume road and more British attacks against Thiepval were costly failures. On the north bank of the Ancre, the attack of VIII Corps was a costly failure, with large numbers of British troops being shot down in [[no man's land]]. The VII Corps diversion at Gommecourt was also costly, with only a partial and temporary advance south of the village. The German defeats, from Foucaucourt to the Albert–Bapaume road, left the German defence on the south bank incapable of resisting another attack; a substantial German retreat began from the Flaucourt plateau to the west bank of the Somme close to Péronne. North of the Somme in the British area, Fricourt was abandoned by the Germans overnight.

Several [[truce]]s were observed to recover wounded from no man's land on the British front; the Third Army diversion at Gommecourt cost {{nowrap|6,758 casualties}} against {{nowrap|1,212 German}} and the combined casualty count with the Fourth Army reached {{nowrap|57,470,}} (19,240 of which had been fatal). The French Sixth Army suffered {{nowrap|1,590 casualties}} and the German 2nd Army suffered {{nowrap|10,000–12,000 casualties.}} Orders were issued to the Anglo-French armies to continue the offensive on 2 July; a German counter-attack on the north bank of the Somme by the [[12th Division (German Empire)|12th Division]], intended for the night of {{nowrap|1/2 July,}} took until dawn on 2 July to begin and was destroyed by the French and British troops opposite. Since 1 July 1916, the British casualties on the First Day and the "meagre gains" have been a source of grief and controversy in Britain.