Western Front
Front
(489)1916
January
February
- 21
- Key eventStart of the Battle of VerdunOn 21 February 1916 more than 1,200 German guns opened fire on the French positions at Verdun. A battle began that lasted until December 1916.
- Airship LZ 77 shot downOn the evening of 21 February 1916 a French anti-aircraft gun shot down the airship LZ 77 near Revigny, flying behind Verdun. None of the crew survived.
- Macready leaves the BEF staffOn 21 February 1916 General Nevil Macready ceased to be Adjutant-General of the BEF. He had handled its manpower since the first days of the war in France.
March
April
May
June
- 02
- Battle of Mount Sorrel beginsOn 2 June 1916, after a hurricane bombardment, Württembergers took Mount Sorrel and Tor Top near Ypres. Gen. Mercer of the 3rd Canadian Division was killed.
- Germans take Fort VauxOn 2 June 1916 the Germans broke into Fort Vaux at Verdun. Major Raynal's garrison held out underground until 7 June, when the water ran out.
July
- 01
- Key eventFirst day on the SommeOn 1 July 1916 the British and French attacked on the Somme. The French and the British right succeeded, but the British Army lost 57,000 men.
- Key eventThe Lochnagar mine is blownAt 7.28 a.m. on 1 July 1916 the Lochnagar mine, the largest yet on the Western Front, went up at La Boisselle. The 34th Division's attack still failed.
- First RFC contact patrolsOn 1 July 1916 over the Somme, RFC airmen closely followed the infantry's advance, watching for flares and flashing mirrors. Such trials dated from 1915.
August
September
- 03
- Key eventBattle of Guillemont beginsOn 3 September 1916 British and Irish troops took Guillemont on the Somme in under three hours, after it had been fought for in vain since late July.
- Battle of Delville Wood endsOn 3 September 1916, by British naming, the Battle of Delville Wood ended. An attack on the wood's eastern edge, supporting an assault on Ginchy, failed.
- End of the Battle of Pozières RidgeOn 3 September 1916 the Australians attacked Mouquet Farm for the last time. They held it for a few hours, but kept only a stretch of trench on the ridge.
- 15
- Key eventStart of the Battle of Flers-CourceletteOn 15 September 1916 tanks went into battle for the first time, on the Somme. The British took Flers, Martinpuich and High Wood; the Canadians took Courcelette.
- Aircraft co-operate with tanksOn 15 September 1916 RFC airmen followed the first tanks in battle on the Somme. They sent the famous report of a tank driving up the main street of Flers.
- 28
- End of the Battle of MorvalOn 28 September 1916 the Battle of Morval died down. The British held the villages taken and handed part of the front to the French, but could not go on.
- End of the Battle of Thiepval RidgeOn 28 September 1916 the British broke into the Schwaben Redoubt above Thiepval. The Germans, however, held part of the redoubt until mid-October.
October
- 01
- Key eventStart of the Battle of the Transloy RidgesOn 1 October 1916 the British Fourth Army attacked on the Somme at Eaucourt l’Abbaye and the Flers Line, aided by tanks and New Zealanders. Next day it rained.
- Key eventStart of the Battle of the Ancre HeightsOn 1 October 1916 the Canadians attacked Regina Trench beyond the Thiepval ridge on the Somme. Uncut wire and German marines repelled almost the whole assault.
- Shooting down of airship L 31On the night of 1–2 October 1916 Wulstan Tempest shot down L 31 near Potters Bar, killing Heinrich Mathy, the most famous German airship commander.
November
- 18
- Key eventEnd of the Battle of the SommeOn 18 November 1916, in the first snowstorm of winter, the British attacked on the Ancre for the last time. After four and a half months the Somme was over.
- End of the Battle of the AncreOn 18 November 1916, in the first snowstorm, Canadians and British attacked Desire Trench and Grandcourt on the Ancre. At Serre the attack failed again.