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British troops waiting in a support trench shortly before zero hour, Beaumont Hamel, Battle of the Somme, 1 July 1916. Image courtesy Imperial War Museum ©IWM (Q 64).

British troops waiting in a support trench shortly before zero hour, Beaumont Hamel, Battle of the Somme, 1 July 1916. Image courtesy Imperial War Museum ©IWM (Q 64).

  • Day 690 of the war
  • The Battle of the Somme commences on the Western Front in France
  • Vigorous Italian attacks continue north of upper Isonzo in north-eastern Italy
  • Turkish troops defeat Russian forces in Persia; the Russians retreat to Kermanshah