In almost two years of occupation the Germans had built a double series of lines – a front line backed up by a second line two miles behind the first. The trenches they had built were particularly strong, whilst underground they had gone to considerable lengths.
The chalk of the Somme was relatively easy to work, so with characteristic German engineering skill they had carved out some deep and particularly secure fortifications.
By the summer of 1916 every hilltop and village was a fortress, every wood an arsenal and every farm a stronghold. In particular, the former villages of Thiepval and Beaumont Hamel had become particularly well defended areas.
