The Somme

Reference

Remembering

Interpretations

Tours

Location Map of The 1916 Somme Battlefields

This is a current map showing the location of the battlefields of the Somme in northern France (Départment de la Somme). The grey circled area is the main area of the British and German front line and rear areas which feature in the 1916 battles. The map features:

• Main towns:Albert and Amiens behind the Allied Front Line; Bapaume and Péronne behind the German Front Line.
• Main villages: Hover over each small orange square to highlight the name of the village.
• Main roads and motorways: Motorways are shown as thicker grey lines with an A and E road number.
• Railways (black dashed lines).
• Rivers and canals: La Somme flows from the south to Péronne and then from east to west into Amiens and on towards the French coast. The Somme river is characterised by the marshes along its course (les marais). The small river l'Ancre flows through the valley west of Bapaume in a south-easterly direction, passing the villages of Irles, Miraumont, Grandcourt, Beaucourt, Authuille, Aveluy, through Albert, from where it flows into the Somme river near Corbie. Two canals shown on the map existed before the First World War. The Canal de la Somme runs parallel to the Somme river, turning south at Péronne. This canal was used to transport British and French wounded soldiers on barges from the front line to hospitals in the rear areas. The Canal du Nord runs from the north of Péronne in a northerly direction to Douai. North of Péronne a long canal tunnel is indicated by a dashed line.

Copyright Joanna Legg & Graham Parker © 2004. All rights reserved.