The first day of the Battle of the Somme was called 'the worst day in the history of the British Army', when nearly 20,000 British soldiers were killed and almost 40,000 wounded, captured or missing. What was the precise date of this day?

In 1916 the war of attrition continued on the Western Front with several battles taking place. The Germans tried to dislodge the French from the fortress complex of Verdun, while the British tried to assist the embattled French by launching a massive frontal attack further west along the River Somme.