The Battle of the Somme lasted from July 1, 1916 to November 1, 1916, and is known as the bloodiest battle in the history of the world. More than 57,000 British soldiers were killed on the first day alone, and more than 1.5 million soldiers were killed by the end of the battle for both the Allies and the Central Powers (alias Triple Alliance).
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The battle was not necessarily a flop, but it caused many people to lose their lives. The plan was for the Allied heavy guns to focus on the German trench line. The French attacked in rushes, and, by focusing their big guns on the trenches, captured much more ground than the British. The British, on the other hand, did not focus their guns on the trench line as much, and left the British infantry men unprotected. This made them vulnerable to German machine gunners. The battle finally ended with the Germans retreating to new and stronger, but shorter, trench lines.
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