On this day in 1916, the battle of the Somme began. Here is a British Movietone report with captured moments from the battle. Note: The video contains no sound. All reconstruction. Explosion. Two soldiers in trench, one pushes detonator. Gv Explosion. 2 shots soldiers climbing out of trenches. GV Mass of soldiers running forward (x 2). MCU Passed camera. Gv head on troops emerge from trench & move towards camera. Troops advance, one falls. 2 shots German machine gunner. Gv Troops across no-mans land some fall. Sequence of British soldiers & German machine gunners. Title: 'All along the front the German machine guns took terrible toll. Title: From Thiepval to the north the British broke through in many places, but faled to hold their advantage. At Commecourt the Germans regained their trenches but only over the bodies of the heroic London and Midland Divisions. Ms of bodies in trench as Germans climb over them. TS & GV Troops march pasted. Night shots Troops march as flashes are seen in distance. At sea gun fired on what looks like a fishing oat. Sequence of tanks advancing across rough ground through explosions CU's tanks. German are captured. Disclaimer: British Movietone is an historical collection. Any views and expressions within either the video or metadata of the collection are reproduced for historical accuracy and do not represent the opinions or editorial policies of the Associated Press. You can license this footage for commercial use through AP Archive - the story number is BM5821A. #WWI #TheSomme #Battleofthesomme Find out more about AP Archive: Twitter: Facebook: Tumblr: Instagram:
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