Who won the Battle of the Somme, where was it, what date did it end and how many people died?
The brutal five-month battle saw more than 400,000 British soldiers killed
THE Battle of the Somme was one of the bloodiest in Britain's history, lasting nearly five months.
On July 1, 1916, brave British troops advanced but more than 400,000 died and 1.3 million were injured in the First World War battle.
November 18, 2016 marked the 100th anniversary of the final day of the Battle of Somme, with a service of remembrance held in northern France.
Around 2,000 guests gathered in Thiepval for the service, where a daily service has been held since July to mark the anniversary of every day of the battle.
We reveal the history behind the 141-day offensive.
Where was the Battle of the Somme?
Fighting began along a 15-mile front near the River Somme in northern France.
Around 100,000 British troops attempted to advance along the front to relieve the French Army fighting at Verdun and to weaken the German Army.
However, the Allies were unable to break through German lines and for five months the British and French armies fought the Germans in a brutal battle of attrition on a 15-mile front.
When did the Battle of the Somme end?
The battle lasted 141 days from July 1 to November 18, 1916.
The British captured just three square miles of territory on the first day.
At the end of hostilities, the British had advanced just seven miles and failed to break the German defence
Britain hoped to make the decisive blow against Germany on the banks of the Somme river in northern France after two years of stalemate in the trenches.
Generals hoped they could break through German lines and relieve pressure on the embattled French who were involved in a life and death struggle with Germany at Verdun.
A terrifying two-week artillery barrage aimed to soften up the Germans and clear the barbed wire that ran across No Man's Land - the area of muddied earth between the opposing trenches.
On 1 July 1916 the order came to go over the top, and hundreds of thousands of British and Commonwealth troops strolled across No Man's Land.
How many people died in the Battle of the Somme?
The first day was became the bloodiest in the history of the British army as 19,240 died.
Officers below Major died at a much higher rate on the Somme than private soldiers did, with 60 per cent of British officers who were involved on the first day losing their lives.
As the Brits went over the top, they were met with a hail of lead as German defenders emerged from deep shelters to man their machine guns.
In total, there were more than a million dead and wounded on all sides, including 420,000 British, about 200,000 from France and an estimated 465,000 from Germany.
The Thiepval Memorial to the Missing of the Somme is dedicated to 72,246 missing British Empire servicemen who died in the Battles of the Somme.
A two-minute silence and wreath laying were held to mark the 100th anniversary today.
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