Battle+of+Somme

__**Battle of Somme**__ **/"Since the Somme, this seemed to have become the nation's most popular hymn. Rivers lost count of the number of times he'd heard it sung" (Barker 149). /** [|The Battle of Somme] was one of the biggest battles of World War I. Not only was it the biggest battle, but it also known to be one of the bloodiest battles in history. The battle was fought from the summer to the fall of 1916. It first began on July 1, 1916. On the first day, the British endured 57,470 casualties. 19,240 resulted in death on the first day. Also, 60% of officers involved in the first day of battle were killed. The conditions during the later time of the battle were rough because in October, torrential rain started, which caused the battlefields to be thick mud. On November 13, 1916, the battle ended. The casualty toll was more than [|420,000]. The significance of this battle to the novel is that some of the patients in the hospital were probably greatly affected by it. For instance, if Prior had a couple men die who he was in charge of, Craiglockhart probably received someone who f elt responsible for hundreds of men dying. Family members, friends, and fellow soldiers of the patients, doctors and the civilians we've met, could have been injured. The fact that River s can't even remember the number of times the hymn was heard since the battle shows that everyone was probably singing the hymn, meaning everyone was affected. **ELZ**

//Above is a picture of the destruction in a city during the Battle of Somme.//

[|FAQ's about the Battle of Somme]