Battle of the Somme

The battle of the Somme, beginning on July 1 of 1916 and running for a long five months, was designed to relieve the pressure being placed on the French army at Verdun while continuing in the plan of winning the war through German attrition.

This particular battle, which saw over one million casualties, was marked by the appearance of a new tool of war that would shape the tactics and strategies of warfare for all later military engagements: the tank.