[DFG]

Battle of the Somme started July 1, 1916. 20,000 British soldiers died the first day. Lasted 4 months. Allies gained 125 square miles. About 600,000 British and French troops were killed, wounded, or missing in action. German casualties were more than 650,000. First use of the tank by the British in Sept 1916.

https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/battle-of-the-somme-begins

[TallahasseeConservative]

Never forgotten..

The 36th Ulster Division.

[HighSierra5]

I remember well when my Grampa would talk about fighting in the trenches during WWI. He was gassed with mustard gas and the food trucks were blown up faster than they could arrive. Also the bodies in the field were moving because of the maggots and gasses. It was truly hell on earth. He had a giant crater in his calf from a German Mauser but didn’t seem to affect his gate. I miss him terribly.

[PIF]

Looks like the trenches in Ukraine ...

[SkyDancer]

As my grandad said: lions led by donkeys; the generals stayed way back behind the lines and hadn’t a clue as to what was happening.

[dainbramaged]

Battle of the Somme - the day Great Britain lost a generation.
We used to visit a WWI veteran friend of the family when I was just a lad, late 1950's. He survived a dose of gas but wheezed for the rest of his life which earned him the nickname of "Weary". He used to let us play with his U.S. Army helmet and web gear.

[crz]

All wars since, are a direct result of that war and the peace deal that came out of it.

[Captain Walker]

The brutal horror of the Battle of the Somme is unveiled in colourised photos released ahead of the 106th anniversary of World War One, with July 1st marking the start of the battle.

Just in case the black and white photos weren't grim enough...

[D_Idaho]

A human meatgrinder.

[OttawaFreeper]

My history professor in university referred to the Somme as “the great f%$k up” during a lecture one day.

[NWFree]

British disaster 🤪

[NWFree]

The war to end all wars and still we fight

[Hebrews 11:6]

In my late teens I played golf often with four veterans of those trenches, two of whom had been gassed. But they'd all reached their mid-70s, and a couple could shoot their age.

Wonderfully friendly to me. Gee, how I miss them.

[mware]

Anyone wishing to see at truly amazing documentary on WW I, watch They Shall Not Grow Old, produced by Peter Jackson. Colorized film, and also determined what the soldiers were saying, and had actor voice their words. The narration was from actual soldiers who served during WWI. They were interviewed as a vast project to save the personal history of the troopers who fought in the war.

[DuncanWaring]

It’s said the Battle of the Somme was Tolkien’s inspiration for Mordor.

[DuncanWaring]

Last year’s installment:

https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/3972161/posts

[libertylover]

What I see in the photos is not really horror, but misery.

“Forward, he cried, from the rear,
and the front ranks died.
The general sat, and the lines on the map,
moved from side to side.”