Slaughter on the Somme, 1 July 1916 : the complete war diaries of the British Army's worst day

Title Page; Copyright Page; Table of Contents; Foreword; Acknowledgements; Introduction; List of Battalions; List of Maps; Abbreviations; Individual Corps Sections; VII Corps -- 1 July 1916; Assault of the 56th Division; Assault of the 46th Division; Loss of the lodgement of the 56th Division; The German account of Gommecourt; Index of Battalions; 1/5th (Earl of Chester's) Battalion (Territorial Force) Cheshire Regiment; 1/5th Battalion (Territorial Force) Leicestershire Regiment; 1/4th Battalion (Territorial Force) Lincolnshire Regiment.;At 07.30 hours on 1 July 1916, the devastating cacophony of the Allied artillery fell silent along the front on the Somme. The ear-splitting explosions were replaced by the shrill sound of hundreds of whistles being blown. At that moment, tens of thousands of British soldiers climbed out from the trenches on their part of the Western Front, and began to make their way steadily towards the German lines opposite. It was the first day of the Battle of the Somme. By the end of the day, a number of the regiments involved had met with some degree of success; others had suffered heavy losses for no gain, whilst a few quite literally ceased to exist. That day, the old infantry tactics of the British Army clashed head-on with the reality of modern warfare. On what is generally accepted as the worst day in the British Army's history, there were more than 60,000 casualties - a third of them fatal. In this publication, the authors have drawn together, for the first time ever, all the War Diary entries for 171 British Regiments that went "over the top" that day - a day that even now still touches so many families both in the United Kingdom and around the world. The result will be a vital work of reference to the events of 1 July 1916, a valuable information source for not only for those interested in military history, but genealogists and historians alike. Title Page Copyright Page Table of Contents Foreword Acknowledgements Introduction List of Battalions List of Maps Abbreviations Individual Corps Sections VII Corps -- 1 July 1916 Assault of the 56th Division Assault of the 46th Division Loss of the lodgement of the 56th Division The German account of Gommecourt Index of Battalions 1/5th (Earl of Chester's) Battalion (Territorial Force) Cheshire Regiment 1/5th Battalion (Territorial Force) Leicestershire Regiment 1/4th Battalion (Territorial Force) Lincolnshire Regiment. 1/5th Battalion (Territorial Force) Lincolnshire Regiment1/2nd Battalion (Royal Fusiliers) London Regiment (Territorial Force) 1/3th Battalion (Royal Fusiliers) London Regiment (Territorial Force) 1/4th Battalion (Royal Fusiliers) London Regiment (Territorial Force) 1/5th Battalion (London Rifle Brigade) London Regiment (Territorial Force) 1/9th Battalion (Queen Victoria's Rifles) London Regiment (Territorial Force) 1/12th Battalion (The Rangers) London Regiment (Territorial Force) 1/13th Battalion (Kensington) London Regiment (Territorial Force). 1/14th Battalion (London Scottish) London Regiment (Territorial Force)1/16th Battalion (Queen's Westminster Rifles) London Regiment (Territorial Force) 1/5th Battalion (Territorial Force) Prince of Wales's (North Staffordshire Regiment) 1/6th Battalion (Territorial Force) Prince of Wales's (North Staffordshire Regiment) 11th (Service) Battalion Royal Warwickshire Regiment 1/5th Battalion (Territorial Force) Sherwood Foresters (Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire Regiment) 1/6th Battalion (Territorial Force) Sherwood Foresters (Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire Regiment). 1/7th (Robin Hood) Battalion (Territorial Force) Sherwood Foresters (Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire Regiment)1/8th Battalion (Territorial Force) Sherwood Foresters (Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire Regiment) 1/6th Battalion (Territorial Force) South Staffordshire Regiment VIII Corps -- 1 July 1916 Assault of the 29th and 4th Divisions Assault of the 31st Division towards Serre Endeavours to renew the assault of VIII Corps The Germans opposite VIII Corps Index of Battalions 1st Battalion Border Regiment 18th (Service) Battalion (1st County) Durham Light Infantry. 16th (Service) Battalion (Public Schools) Duke of Cambridge's Own (Middlesex Regiment)2nd Battalion Duke of Wellington's (West Riding Regiment) 1st Battalion East Lancashire Regiment 11th (Service) Battalion (Accrington) East Lancashire Regiment 1st Battalion Essex Regiment 2nd Battalion Essex Regiment 1st Battalion Hampshire Regiment 1st Battalion King's Own (Royal Lancaster Regiment) 1st Battalion King's Own Scottish Borderers 12th (Service) Battalion (Miners) (Pioneers) King's Own (Yorkshire Light Infantry) 1st Battalion Lancashire Fusiliers 2nd Battalion Lancashire Fusiliers.