todayinhistory:

July 1st 1916: Battle of the Somme begins

On this day in 1916 during World War One, the Battle of the Somme began. On the first day alone there were 60,000 British casualties, and there were over a million from all sides by the end of the battle in November. It was one of the bloodiest campaigns of the war, and is remembered for its attritional nature and seemingly fruitless losses.