Battle of the Somme

Our first article for 2007 looks at the battle of the Somme (June-November 1916), one of the most controversial battles of the First World War. The first day of the battle of the Somme saw the British army lose 19,240 dead, the worst single day in British military history. Over the next five months Haig kept attacking, suffering huge casualties, although also inflicting massive loses on the German army, including crucial loses amongst the highly skilled German junior officers.