Photo of the Somme battlefield taken from a British observation kite-balloon, July 1916. The balloon is tethered near Bécourt, between La Boisselle and Fricourt, and the view is northeast towards Bapaume. The dark areas on the right of the photo are, from bottom to top, the woods of Fricourt, Mametz and Bazentin. The British front line is at the bottom foreground. The German front line is the blurred line across the centre of the photo, having been subjected to the prolonged British artillery bombardment. The Roman road from Albert to Bapaume is just visible running diagonally across the top-left of the photo.
Published in the Official History of Australia in the War of 1914-1918: Vol. III, C.E.W. Bean, 1929 Credit: British Air Force Photograph
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