The Battle of the Somme, 1st of July - 18th of November 1916.

The Battle of the Somme, 1st of July - 18th of November 1916.

At 7.30 am all along the front line, officers in the trenches blew whistles and troops scrambled up ladders to go over the top. There was no running. Instead troops were ordered to walk towards the enemy lines. Met with relentless and continuous machine gun fire, thousand of brave men were cut down in minutes. By the end of that first day, 19.240 British soldiers had lost their lives and the casualty figure (killed and wounded) was an over - whelming 57.470. It is the highest number of casualties suffered by the British Army in a single day. The 1st of July is rightly referred to as the worst day in British military history, but the battle raged on for another 140 days. When it finally ended of the 18th of November, more than a million men had been wounded or killed. After four months of fighting, the Allies had advanced a mere five miles.

Created by: , Desmond1478

  • Profile picture for Charles Higgins

    Born 1895

    Died 1916

    British Army 8178 Private Manchester Regiment 17th Battalion