Ninety nine years ago today, July 1, 1916 was the bloodiest day in the history of the British Army. On this day more than 57,000 casualties occurred in a capture of less than five miles of ground. Imagine that type of carnage. Even casualties in the battle of Gettysburg which occurred over three days are thought by most historians to number around 51,000.



WWI, the Great War, was thought by most combatants involved to be the LAST WAR. They thought it had to be so terrible as to prevent another one. Well history of course proved them wrong. 100 years ago in 1915 marked the introduction of gas attacks on the battlefield. It was a horrific way to die as many at first did not know what was happening but once they did it was too late. They died essentially from drowning from the fluid in their own collapsed lungs.

I have written a book on the last 100 days of the war called, How Canada Won The Great War. It is a provocative title but one that is based on meticulous research and absolutely accurate. You can pick up a copy at Amazon, Barnes and Noble and many other places.

Below is an audio except from the book which describes the Battle of the Somme read by the great Colin McLean. It is available on itunes and Audible.com