NZ in the Battle of the Somme

Announcement Date: 15/09/1916

Battle of the Somme: 1st July – 18th November 1916

The New Zealand Division takes part in the third push on the 15th September 1916 near Flers. It was meant to create a decisive breakthrough on the German lines but the battle along the Western Front would prove to be a miserable and devastating struggle, resulting in over 8000 New Zealand casualties. All told, after 4.5 months of fighting the Allies had managed to advance 10km into German held territory, with a cost of up to 1.2 million men from both sides killed or wounded. Of those New Zealanders who lost their lives on the Somme, over half have no known grave.