The Somme: A Lesson in Mud and Blood

July 1st, 1916 — the Battle of the Somme begins. British and French

troops rise from the trenches, believing the German lines are shattered. They were wrong.

In minutes, machine guns tear through the first waves. On the first

day alone — nearly 60,000 British casualties. For months, both sides fight for mere yards

of ground. Mud, blood, and barbed wire define the Western

Front. The Somme saw the first tanks — symbols of a new,

mechanized war. But even they couldn’t break the stalemate. When it ended

in November, over a million men were dead or wounded. And the front