What battle was on the first of July 1916?

Answer 1

Usually mentioning that date refers to the first day of the Battle of the Somme, which Battle lasted more than four months. The date is mentioned because of the horrendous losses suffered by the British Army on that day. There were more than 60,000 British casualties on that July 1, almost 20,000 of them killed outright. This was the first major battle after the British had finally been forced to go to a draft (conscription) to impose compulsory military service on their young men. At the same time as they began the draft, the British also allowed young men, who were going to get drafted anyway, to join up as a group and serve together, in what were called "Pals" battalions. Usually these were all from one town, or if from a big city like London, maybe all from the same peacetime job. This was the first big battle for the Pals battalions, and many. many of them were shot to pieces, making for a very bad day back home when news came that all the local boys were killed or mangled in a single day. For a week before the jump off on July 1 the German lines had been pounded around the clock by artillery. German soldiers rode this out hidden deep in their dugouts, the entrances to these being in the trench walls. Some went insane. When the guns finally stopped after that week, the Germans knew the infantry attack was on its way, and hurried out with their machine guns to slaughter the foot soldiers crossing No Man's Land, who had been confidently told that no one would survive the bombardment to resist their attack. It would be a walk over. Some went forward kicking a soccer ball, just for fun. The carnage lasted for those additional four months, with the end result being, in a few places, British possession of no more than six more miles of cratered, blood drenched mud. And all of this was actually merely a diversion, intended to relieve pressure on the French, who were engaged in the real bloodletting of 1916 with the Germans at Verdun.