The 17th London Regiment travels through the swamp.

From July 1, 1916 to November 18, the spirit of British youth, along with the flowering of German and French youth, disappeared into dust in the mud of the Somme River in northern France.The British Supreme Command deployed large numbers of infantry and launched a group of strikes against the insurmountable striped iron grid and hidden German machine gun positions, striving to seize hundreds of yards of groundbreaking useless land, thereby sacrificing the lives of thousands of young soldiers¡ªonly on the first day, England lost 60,000 (of which 1,90,000 were killed).

On June 30, the British 4th Army, under the leadership of Admiral Henry Larinson, launched a five-day offensive north of the Somme. Foch's troops were stationed on the south bank of the river. They wanted to draw the Germans between their armies and then attack them.

The assault was planned a few months ago, but was delayed to this day due to unfavorable progress in Verdun. Since February 21, 1,000 German cannons began to bomb around the ancient city, both sides were badly injured. On June 20, the German army used a new type of double-photovoltaic gas bomb. A group of blind and paralyzed soldiers had to be evacuated first and hadn¡¯t come to the Somme to gather any aid. Fortunately, the Russian army in Brusil began a massive counterattack on the Front of Ode on June 2, forcing Germany to withdraw some troops from Verdun.

How can we avoid the transformation of the Somme River into another Verdun?In addition to the strategy of attacking the north and south, Britain also invented a new type of weapon.

July 1.The large-scale offensive launched by the Allied forces this morning was forced to stop at night. Only the French won some battles, the British pushed only some forward on the edge, but the casualties were severe.

With 250 cannons (half of France) prepared for the bombing, 11 divisions of the British Fourth Army launched an offensive north of the Somme River. The black-pressed soldiers executed the army now, in a "wire-shaped" line, advancing in the rain of cannons, machine guns and shelling guns, each carrying 66 pounds of equipment.

The British army did not make hidden preparations in the back of the enemy, coupled with long artillery coverage, so that the British lost hope of a sudden attack, only to occupy a few villages on the side wing.

According to preliminary reports, the British army suffered 60,000 casualties today. This is the largest number of casualties reported so far in this costly war. Although the losses of the French army were not light, they were far less than the number of British casualties. The British commander-in-chief, Sir Douglas Haig, must now choose between continuing this war of attrition and armistice fortification.

A cottage on the Som River.

A 8-inch caliber grenade cannon of British artillery in the Frico-Mametz Valley Defense Forces

German corpses folded around Gillemont machine gun positions

During the Battle of the Som, the French infantry advanced.

The battle of the ¡°hanging-meat machine¡± in the first war!