The Battle of the Somme was planned by General Sir Douglas Haig. It was fought in an attempt to end the stalemate, and to relieve pressure on the French Army who were fighting at Verdun. The Germans had said they had intended to 'bleed France white' at Verdun. The battle was also fought to make a big push past the German trenches and into Germany. The battle began on 1 July 1916 and ended in November of the same year. The first day on the Somme was a bitter failure: there were 60,000 British casualties, and 20,000 British were dead. By the end of the battle, there were 1.2 million casualties. There were some successes however. On the first day, the 36th Ulster division achieved a remarkable achievement. They achieved their objectives, as did the 30th division in the diversionary attack in the north of the country. …
