A Day That Shook The World: Battle of the Somme
On 1 July 1916, the Battle of the Somme began.
Widely held to be one of the worst, most wasteful military campaigns in history, the battle - and the German machine guns - cost the lives of tens of thousands of young soldiers on only its first day - for no substantial territorial gains.
The battle would last three and a half bloody months, causing more than 1.5 million casualties in total, for a total gain of six miles.
Watch original footage from the battle, and the consequent protests in Britain, in this British Pathé video, above.
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