Rising had taken place; in spite of this, the Dublin Fusiliers still performed with dedication to their duty. The British launched the Somme offensive on 1 July and the 1st and 2nd Dublins took part in the First day on the Somme that saw the British forces sustain heavy casualties; some 60,000, about 20,000 of which were killed. The 8th and 9th Dublins took part in their first major battle during the Somme Offensive, taking part in the capture of Ginchy on 9 September, in which Lieutenant Tom Kettle fell in action. The Dublins also took part in the last major battle of the offensive, at the Ancre that took place between 13–18 November. The Dublins, once again, had suffered large numbers of casualties during the Somme offensive. In March 1917 the Germans retreated to the Hindenburg Line which was a formidable series of defences that the Germans had constructed. In April the British launched the Arras Offensive and the Dublin Fusiliers took part in the two battles of the Scarpe that took place in April. The 10th Dublins took part in the Battle of Arleux (28–29 April) that saw the Dublins last involvement in a major battle of the Arras offensive. Half of the French Army, exhausted and angry at the enormous losses it had sustained, mutinied, refusing to fight unless it was to defend against German attacks. This compelled the British Army to take the leading role, and this would see the Dublin Fusiliers take part in further offensives before the year ended. In June, the Dublins took part in the capture of Wytschaete during the Battle of Messines. The Regiment's battalions subsequently took part in the Third Battle of Ypres (31 July –10 November), being involved in several of its subsidiary battles, including at Langemarck. As during Second Ypres, the Regiment suffered heavily, indeed the 9th Dublins had sustained such losses that they effectively ceased to be a fighting unit, and were amalgamated with the 8th Dublins in October, forming the 8th/9th Dublins. The Regiment's last major action of 1917 was a diversionary attack during the Battle of Cambrai (28 November – 3 December). In February 1918, due to the heavy losses that had been sustained, the 8th/9th and 10th Dublins were disbanded and its men were transferred to the 1st and 2nd Dublins. On 21 March the Regiment was on the defensive during the Battle of