A massive animated map, incorporating contemporary photographs and film, illustrates the impact of the Great War on the Somme. This vast installation retraces the evolution of the front line between 1914 and 1918. It also offers some perspective on the sheer scale of the destruction and loss of life, still commemorated in the many cemeteries and memorials dotted throughout the region.

The bloodiest battle of the entire First World War, for many British people the Battle of the Somme is synonymous with the Great War.
The room leads on to the panoramic fresco created by artist Joe Sacco, an hour-by-hour breakdown of the fateful day of 1st July 1916. Presented in an impressive 60m backlit frame, this vast panorama of the battlefield acts as an illustrated narrative of the military operations which took place on the bloodiest day in the history of the British Army: 20,000 soldiers lost their lives in the space of a few hours, mown down by German machine guns. Set into the floor in the centre of the room, a vast display case contains period objects and archaeological artefacts from the war. There are also a number of short films providing more background and detail, helping visitors to better understand the fresco.

An audiovisual installation explores the experiences of those on the other side of No Man’s Land, the Germany army which had dug in here in the Somme in the Autumn of 1914. The installations explores various themes: the Germans’ arrival, the day-to-day reality of occupation, defending the lines, preparing for battle, the retreat, remembering the war…

During much of the Great War, the east of the Somme was divided north to south by the front line, which was largely stable in 1915 and 1916. The civilian population endured a long and draining occupation. To the west of the front line was the zone known as the “rear.” Homes on both sides of the lines were devastated by artillery fire from all sides. The perspectives of France’s civilian population and soldiers are explored on a large map of the region, which also serves to illustrate the disastrous destruction and lasting impact of the conflict on the Somme region.

Like a ‘Chapel of the Disappeared,’ an intimate space is dedicated to the memory of the thousands of men utterly destroyed by the war. An innovative multimedia installation provides an interactive insight into the individual life stories of the missing soldiers. The display cases feature objects of great symbolic value (items kept by families, letters, official documents, personal effects) which speak eloquently of these disappearances and the processes of familial and collective grieving.

In contrast to the tragic masses of soldiers missing in action, the next section explores the myth-making which surrounded the first “flying aces.”
This large space includes a life-size replica of the aeroplane flown by Georges Guynemer, along with numerous portraits of aviators from the Great War.

The epilogue evokes the Somme’s role as a focal point of European memory and international reconciliation. A film of the battlefields seen from the sky lays bare the scars which still define the landscape, along with the diversity and scale of the cemeteries, memorials and monuments erected on the sites of the major battles.