The Battle of Somme with Mark Wheatcroft - Episode One: The Somme Begins
New For July
•
1h 10m
Daz is joined by The Battlefields of Britain host and historian Mark Weecroft to explore the events leading up to the battle and the devastating opening day, 1 July 1916, which became the bloodiest day in British military history.
The Battle of the Somme was launched on 1 July 1916 as a joint British and French offensive designed to break the deadlock on the Western Front and relieve pressure on the French Army at Verdun. After a week-long artillery bombardment, British troops advanced across No Man's Land, expecting the German defenses to have been destroyed. Instead, many German positions survived, and the attacking infantry suffered devastating losses. The first day of the Somme became the bloodiest in British military history, with nearly 60,000 casualties, including over 19,000 killed.
Up Next in New For July
-
“Let’s Go and See” John Buford at Get...
John Buford, one of the most respected Union generals, displayed grit and determination on the first day of the Battle of Gettysburg. After the war, one of Buford's staffers, 1st Lt. and Signal Corps officer Aaron B. Jerome, worried that history would forget Buford. So he wrote a letter to promot...
-
The Navigator’s Letter: In The Clubmo...
If you know us, you know that we will never turn down the opportunity to read a good book; bonus points if the book checks all our wartime boxes. Jan Cress Dondi's book, The Navigator's Letter, does just that! It turns out, a small town where everyone knows each other is not so small when wartime...
-
The Declaration of Independence with ...
Daz is once again joined by historian of the American Revolutionary War, Mark Maloy, to discuss the Declaration of Independence. As the United States marks the 250th anniversary of this historic document, they explore the events leading to its adoption, its significance in 1776, and its lasting i...
