SOMME

two long battles that took place in the valley of the river Somme in northern France during World War I . In the first battle, which lasted from July to November 1916, more than a million British, French and German soldiers died. The second battle lasted two weeks in the spring of 1918, and almost half a million soldiers died. Very little ground or any other advantage was won by either side in these battles, which are considered among the most terrible in history.