The First Day of the British Offensive on the Somme on 1 July 1916 That Killed Approximately 19,240 British Soldiers Before Lunch
The British Fourth Army attacked German positions along an 18-mile front in northern France on the morning of 1 July 1916. Approximately 57,470 British soldiers became casualties on the first day — 19,240 killed, 35,493 wounded, 2,152 missing, 585 captured. It is the bloodiest single day in British military history. The Battle of the Somme continued for four and a half more months.
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