<Tr> <Td> November </Td> <Td> 39,784 </Td> <Td> 20,129 </Td> <Td> 59,913 </Td> <Td> 45,000 </Td> <Td> 75.0 </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> Total </Td> <Td> 415,690 </Td> <Td> 202,567 </Td> <Td> 618,257 </Td> <Td> 434,500 </Td> <Td> 70.3 </Td> </Tr> <P> Defensive positions held by the German army on the Somme after November 1916 were in poor condition, the garrisons were exhausted and censors of correspondence from front - line soldiers reported tiredness and low morale . The situation left the German command doubtful that the army could withstand a resumption of the battle . The German defence of the Ancre began to collapse under British attacks, which on 28 January 1917 caused Rupprecht to urge that the retirement to the Siegfriedstellung (Hindenburg Line) begin . Ludendorff rejected the proposal next day but British attacks on the First Army, particularly the Action of Miraumont (also known as the Battle of Boom Ravine, 17--18 February) caused Rupprecht on the night of 22 February to order a preliminary withdrawal of c. 4 mi (6.4 km) to the R. I Stellung (R. I Position). On 24 February the Germans withdrew, protected by rear guards, over roads in relatively good condition which were then destroyed . The German withdrawal was helped by a thaw, which turned roads behind the British front into bogs and by disruption to the railways which supplied the Somme front . On the night of 12 March the Germans withdrew from the R. I Stellung between Bapaume and Achiet le Petit and the British reached the R. II Stellung (R. II Position) on 13 March . </P> <P> The Royal British Legion with the British Embassy in Paris and the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, commemorate the battle on 1 July each year, at the Thiepval Memorial to the Missing of the Somme . For their efforts on the first day of the battle, The 1st Newfoundland Regiment was given the name "The Royal Newfoundland Regiment" by George V on 28 November 1917 . The first day of the Battle of the Somme is commemorated in Newfoundland, remembering the "Best of the Best" at 11 am on the Sunday nearest to 1 July . The Somme is remembered in Northern Ireland due to the participation of the 36th (Ulster) Division and commemorated by veterans' groups and by unionist / Protestant groups such as the Orange Order . The British Legion and others commemorate the battle on 1 July . </P>

How many british soldiers fought in the battle of the somme