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Step back in time to the nearly five-month Battle of the Somme, which transpired from July 1 to November 18, 1916. Learn about the reasons behind the battle and its impact on history.

Discover how the battle marked a significant milestone in military history as it saw the debut of the tank on the battlefield. However, these early tanks were unreliable, with many breaking down before reaching the front lines, and their limited numbers failed to make a decisive impact on the fighting.

Learn about the main goal of the Somme offensive, which was to relieve pressure on the French forces at Verdun and to divert German resources. While the offensive was successful in this tactical goal, it ultimately yielded minimal territorial gains for the Allies, who advanced only a few miles into German territory by the battle's end.

Hear about the immense suffering and loss caused by the prolonged nature of the battle, which lasted for five months. Over three million soldiers from the British, French, and German armies fought in the conflict, with more than one million men killed or wounded in total, solidifying the Somme's legacy as one of World War I's most catastrophic confrontations.

Between 1914 and 1918, Ypres lay within the “Ypres Salient,” a bulge in the Allied lines. It witnessed the First, Second, and Third Battles of Ypres, including the Battle of Passchendaele, where poison gas was first used, and nearly 850,000 casualties occurred. The city was reduced to rubble but painstakingly rebuilt in its original Gothic style, rejecting post-war proposals to leave it in ruins.

Ypres anchors the remembrance landscape of Flanders Fields. The Menin Gate Memorial lists 54,000 missing soldiers and hosts the nightly Last Post ceremony. The In Flanders Fields Museum in the Cloth Hall interprets the war’s impact, while cemeteries such as Tyne Cot Cemetery and Langemark German War Cemetery lie nearby.