One hundred years ago Friday, as the last shells of a week-long bombardment crept off into the fields of northern France, British Army Capt. Shrapnel bursts over a reserve trench in Canadian lines during the Battle of the Somme, France, in 1916. July 1, 2016 marks the 100th anniversary of the first Battle of the Somme — one of the bloodiest battles in history which claimed 1,250,000 casualties. Soldiers are dwarfed by a shell crater on one of the roads to Bapaume during the Battle of the Somme, France, in October 1916. A small corner of history, it is a painful reminder of the Great War’s cost and the generation it nearly eradicated.

Source: Washington Post July 01, 2016 09:56 UTC