Battle of the Somme

Battle of the Somme
Main aliases:	First Battle of the Somme Big Push
First appearance:	Time Bomb!
Appearances:	AUDIO: Men of War
Part of:	World War I
Dates:	1 July - 18 November 1916
Location:	The Somme

The First Battle of the Somme, (COMIC: Time Bomb!) usually called simply the Battle of the Somme or the Somme Offensive (AUDIO: Men of War) and informally described at the time as the Big Push, (COMIC: The Weeping Angels of Mons) was a major battle on the Western Front (COMIC: The Weeping Angels of Mons) of World War I that took place in the Somme (COMIC: Time Bomb!, The Weeping Angels of Mons) between 1 July and 18 November 1916. (AUDIO: Men of War)

The First Doctor, Steven and Sara during the Battle of the Somme. (AUDIO: Men of War)

Whilst searching through time for the Seventh Doctor, Death's Head materialised in the "no man's land" between the British and German lines of a battlefield in 1916. He mistook a German tank for his mother, then realised it wasn't and fired upon it. Before he could do more damage, he was again pulled through time by the Intra-Venus, Inc. time machine he was wearing. Mystified British soldiers thought that Death's Head was "Jerry's new secret weapon." (COMIC: Time Bomb!)

Richard Hadleman was near-mortally wounded in a poison gas attack in July 1916, but was saved by Timothy Dean, who was working with the Red Cross. (PROSE: Human Nature)

Jamie Colquhoun's regiment under the command of Captain Douglas Fairbairn participated in the Big Push in July 1916 and took the town of St Michel meeting no resistance because the town was emptied by the Weeping Angels. (COMIC: The Weeping Angels of Mons)

The Sontaran soldier Brak witnessed the battle, and was captured by British forces shortly after it. (AUDIO: Old Soldiers)

Paul Reynish fought in the battle. (HOMEVID: When to Die)

Andrew Medcalfe fought in the battle, after which he never wished for excitement again. (PROSE: Nightshade)

Jack Harkness fought in the battle. He compared this battle and the Battle of Passchendaele to "walking into Hell". (TV: To the Last Man)

Behind the scenes

• The name "Big Push" was actively used in contemporary press, such as this article "Battle of the Somme: The Big Push in Pictures" [1] in a New Zealand newspaper from October 1916.
• One possible "game over" for the video game Don't Blink has the player being sent back in time by a Weeping Angel to the year 1916 to die in the Battle of the Somme.