Battle of the Somme
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The Battle of the Somme happened in the First World War. It started on July 1, 1916. It was called off without any noticeable change on the 18th of November that same year. The Somme is a river in northern France and it is called the Battle of the Somme because the battle happened around the river. On the first day, there were about 60,000 casualties in the British force and 20,000 of those died. Overall, more than 1 million people died in the battle, were wounded or went missing. Today, it is considered the worst battle of the First World War, especially by Great Britain. In the minds of the French and the Germans, the Battle of Verdun (which was very similar) is considered to be the worst. In total between 450.000 and 600.000 German soldiers were killed in the Battle of the Somme.
The first day on the Somme was the bloodiest day in British military history. For 5 days before the 1st July, the British army shot non-stop at the German trenches, to destroy their trenches and the barbed wire that was in front of them. Thinking that most of the German defence was destroyed, at 7:30 on the morning of July 1st, the British generals told all of the British soldiers to get out of their trenches and walk slowly over to the German trenches. They thought that it would be safe to do this, but they were very wrong. It was really nice weather, which was perfect for the Germans because they could see everything the British and French were doing, and it meant the British and French couldn't surprise the soldiers. As the British soldiers climbed out of their trenches the German soldiers started to shoot them. The soldiers had to do what they were told and keep walking over to the German trenches, even though they were walking straight into bullets. This is why so many soldiers died. Many of the soldier's bodies lay in the mud for weeks after they had been killed because it was too dangerous for other soldiers to go and get them.
Today, the place where the Battle of the Somme took place is called the battlefields of the Somme and there are lots of cemeteries, war memorials and museums near these battlefields for people to visit and pay their respects.
