Z Day, 1st July 1916 - the Attack of the VIII Corps at Beaumont Hamel and Serre

The first day of the Battle of the Somme, Saturday, 1st July, 1916, was the worst day in the history of the British Army. More than 57.000 soldiers were killed or wounded in just a few hours. Nowhere was the cost higher and the return less than on the front of the VIII Corps which attacked the small French villages of Beaumont Hamel and Serre. The ratio of British to German casualties was a staggering 11 to 1.

'The Attack of the VIII Corps' provides a detailed account of the planning of the attack, explaining why it was doomed to failure from the very start and who was responsible. Drawing on British and German sources, the desperate fighting is described from both sides of No Man's Land. Over 200 photographs, maps and plans.