First Battle of the Somme

The First Battle of the Somme took place in northern France during the First World War from 1 July to 18 November 1916. The battle (not to be confused with the Second Battle of the Somme, aka Somme Offensive of 1918) was fought between German forces and the armies of Britain and France and their respective colonial forces. One of the bloodiest battles in history, there were 58,000 British and British Empire casualties on the first day alone, a figure unmatched during the entire war. In total, over one million men were killed or wounded in the battle, and very little territory was gained by either side as this largely static war of attrition on the Western Front continued for another year and a half.