Battle of the Somme 100th Anniversary

bruno

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http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-devon-36644373
A friend of mine who is a WW1 historian by trade reminded me of the salient points of this epic battle. The casualty numbers experienced by both sides- not just on the first day but throughout the subsequent 4 months is just staggering:
The Battle of the Somme, the bloodiest day in the history of the British Army, begins this morning (1 July 1916) at 0720 with the explosion of the Lochnagar mine- by the end of the day there will be approximately 57,000 British and commonwealth casualties , of which 19,000+ are KIA. The Germans have already endured a week of constant artillery fire before the attack. The campaign will continue until 18 Novemberand result in 146,431 Allied KIA and 164,055 German KIA with total Allied casualties at 623,907 and German casualties of 465,000".
 
The War to end all Wars. Lest we forget there is no end.
 
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