Not least because of much cross-community work in Northern Ireland, the role of nationalists on the Somme during September 1916 is much better known than it once was.2 Dubliners played their part in particular through the 8th and 9th Royal Dublin Fusiliers, both battalions being members of the 16th (Irish) Division for which Parliamentary nationalists had been such active recruiters. However, Dubliners were also there in other battalions, including the 6th Connaught Rangers who were in the very first wave of the attack on Guillemont.

Allied attacks on the Somme which began in early September 1916 represented an increase in the French role in the battle, with six British and six French army corps on hand. However, the 3 September attack still saw the British dominate with eight divisions compared to four French.