Beaumont Hamel - map of the battleground at the time of the Somme
Start line on 1 July for 1st Lancashire Fusiliers, part of the largely Regular 29th Division. Most of these men had already fought in Gallipoli and they were experienced, but they fared no better than most inexperienced battalions that day.
The first objective was the village of Beaumont Hamel. The village is dominated by Hawthorne Ridge, to its south-west, and a mine was exploded under this at 7.20 that morning. Although some British soldiers raced for the crater the Germans beat them to it.
The main attack failed: the fusiliers were machine-gunned as they came up out of the sunken lane. The battalion lost 7 officers and 156 men killed, and 14 officers and 298 men wounded.
