The Battle of the Somme is the most memorable battle of the First World War. From the massacres of the first day to the muddy quagmire of the end of the offensive, the event loudly heralded the mechanised slaughter of modern warfare, and became a byword for the futility of war.
Timeline
Flash animation of key events of the Battle of the Somme.
Slaughter
by timetable
Why British battle tactics lead to massacre at the Somme.
Significance
of the Somme
The reality of trench war and the legacy of the
lost generation.
Brothers
in arms
The Pals battalions and their devastating impact on local communities.
17
then and now
Comparing the lives of wartime 17-year-olds and modern teenagers.
Gen Y on Lost Gen
Sixth-formers discuss the Channel 4 docu-drama, The
Somme.
Blogs
Experience the Somme through four fictional blogs from 1916.
Competition
Send a text message from the battlefield.
World
of mud
A 3D Flash tour of a typical First World War trench.
Making
the film
An interview with Carl Hindmarsh, co-writer and producer of
the Channel 4 docu-drama, The Somme.