Originally published on genealogyatheart.blogspot.com on 12 July 2016.
I’m at NARA waiting for my military record pulls so I’m taking a break to blog. Read an interesting article about a way that World War I soldiers participating in the Battle of the Sonne that began on 1 July 1916 were recently memorialized throughout Great Britain recently as reported in The Guardian. Regarded as the largest battle of WWI, between 1 July and 18 November 1916, it was actually a number of battles in three phases. Best said by Friedrich Steinbrecher, a German officer, “Somme. The whole history of the world cannot contain a more ghastly word” casualties were high on all sides; estimates of 485,000 British and French and 630,000 German soldiers was made at the Chantilly Conference on 15 November 1916. But the war continued….
Please read the moving way that these lost lives were memorialized.
Hoping to make it home tonight. Can’t wait too share my latest research finds.