The Battle of the Somme was one of the bloodiest battles in british history where the offensive saw over 57,000 British casualties on the first day alone, with the average age of soldiers being just 19—many had enlisted at 16 or younger by lying about their age. The same boys who answered recruitment posters promising glory and adventure walked into machine gun fire in neat lines, their officers insisting on "brave" traditional tactics against modern weapons. Over 130,000 young men died in five months for a few miles of mud. Sassoon's "They" captures the bitter irony: bishops who blessed these boys to slaughter sat safely in England preaching about glory while teenagers drowned in shell holes. National Army Museum. “Battle of the Somme.” National Army Museum, 2019, www.nam.ac.uk/explore/battle-somme. Accessed 8 Dec. 2025.
National Army Museum. “Battle of the Somme.” National Army Museum, 2019, www.nam.ac.uk/explore/battle-somme. Accessed 8 Dec. 2025.
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