The [[Battle of the Somme]], also known as the [[Battle of the Somme|Somme offensive]], was a major battle of the [[World War I|First World War]] fought by the armies of the [[United Kingdom|British Empire]] and the [[France|French Third Republic]] against the [[Germany|German Empire]]. It took place [[1916-07-01 - 1916-11-18|between 1 July and 18 November 1916]] on both sides of the upper reaches of the river [[Somme River|Somme]] in France. The battle was intended to hasten a victory for the [[Allied forces|Allies]]. More than three million men fought in the battle, of whom more than one million were either wounded or killed, making it one of the deadliest battles in all of human history.