Editing First day on the Somme (section)

====Mining====
{{see also|Mines on the first day of the Somme}}

[[File:Battle of the Somme 1916 - Lochnagar mine, La Boisselle.jpg|thumb|{{centre|Diagram of the [[Lochnagar mine]]}}]]
The chalk soil of the Somme was ideal for tunnelling and the British inherited a number of mine workings from the French army.{{sfn|Edmonds|1993|p=38}} The [[Tunnelling companies of the Royal Engineers|British tunnelling companies]] placed [[Mines on the first day of the Somme|19 mines]] beneath the German front positions and prepared [[Russian sap]]s from the British front line into [[no man's land]], to be opened at [[Zero Hour (military designation)|zero hour]] and allow the infantry to attack the German positions from a comparatively short distance.{{sfn|Jones|2010|p=115}} The mines on the Somme were the largest yet in the war. The mines were to destroy the German defences and to provide shelter in no man's land for the advancing infantry. Eight large and eleven small [[Mining (military)|mines]] were prepared for the first day of the battle; three large mines of up to {{cvt|24|LT}} and seven mines around {{cvt|5000|lb|LT}}.{{sfn|Edmonds|1993|pp=286–287}}

When the mines were blown, infantry were to rush forward to seize the craters; the largest mines, each containing {{cvt|24|LT}} of [[ammonal]], were on either side of the Albert–Bapaume road near [[La Boisselle]], [[Y Sap mine]] north of the road and [[Lochnagar mine]] to the south. H3, the other large mine was planted under [[Hawthorn Ridge Redoubt]] near [[Beaumont Hamel]], containing {{cvt|18|LT}} of explosive. The mines were to be detonated at {{nowrap|7:28 a.m.,}} two minutes before zero hour, except for the Hawthorn Ridge mine, which was to be sprung at {{nowrap|7:20 a.m.}} (The small mine at [[Kasino Point]] was mistimed and blown after the infantry attack had commenced.){{sfn|Edmonds|1993|pp=329, 331, 348–349, 374–375, 380, 429–430, 439}}