How more than four in ten Britons don’t know in which war we fought the Battle of the Somme
First World War battle saw 20,000 Brits killed on the first day alone and was later called the 'worst day in the history of the British army'
ALMOST half of Brits do not know when the bloodiest battle in the nation’s history was fought.
When asked to name the conflict in which the Battle of the Somme took place, only 46 per cent correctly answered the First World War.
More than 300,000 Brits were casualties during the course of the 1916 battle against Germany, with 20,000 killed on the first day alone.
Less than half questioned could recall where the battle took place either.
Tristan Langlois, of the National Army Museum, said: "This year marks the centenary of the Battle of the Somme, arguably one of the most significant battles of the First World War, and it's important that the sacrifices that were made both in battle and at home aren't forgotten."
Remarkably, the ‘baby boom’ generation born in the aftermath of the Second World War showed the most ignorance towards the infamous conflict.
The Battle of the Somme: Lions led by donkeys
The Battle of the Somme is the most notorious conflict in the history the British military.
Britain hoped to make the decisive blow against Germany on the banks of the Somme river in northern France after two years of stalemate in the trenches.
British generals hoped they could break through German lines and relieve pressure on the embattled French who were involved in a life and death struggle with Germany at Verdun.
A terrifying two-week artillery barrage aimed to soften up the Germans and clear the barbed wire that ran across No Man's Land - the area of muddied earth between the opposing trenches.
On 1 July 1916 the order came to go over the top, and hundreds of thousands of British and Commonwealth troops strolled across No Man's Land.
They were met with a hail of lead as German defenders emerged from deep shelters to man their machine guns. By the end of the day 60,000 Allied troops were casualties with 20,000 of those dead.
It was the worst day in the history of the British army.
Britain achieved some of its objectives, but a stalemate ensued for the next four months as the soldiers became bogged down in a muddied quagmire as the winter set in.
By the end of the offensive in November 1916, almost 500,000 Brits were casualties. More than 70,000 lie in unmarked graves.
A further 250,000 French and nearly 550,000 Germans meant more than a million casualties were recorded in just four months.
The carnage of trench warfare summed up the terror of war for many at home in Britain and led to the accusations that brave Tommies resembled lions being led to their needless deaths by the donkey-like generals.
Of the 55 to 64-year-olds questioned, 88 per cent said they knew little of nothing about the battle.
Some 2,000 people answered the survey conducted by the museum almost a century to the day since British Tommies emerged from their trenches to begin the offensive on 1 July.
The first day of battle was later described as the “bloodiest day in the history of the British army”.
Thousands of British and Commonwealth troops walked across No Man’s Land believing the German defenders had been wiped out by a devastating artillery barrage.
But as soon as the shells stopped raining down the Germans returned to their machine gun posts and scythed down advancing Brits.
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The battle descended into a bloody stalemate as torrential rains turned the battlefield into a muddy quagmire.
More than 72,000 who died at the Somme have no known grave.
Speaking last year about the First World War – in which both Winston Churchill and Adolf Hitler fought between 191 4 and 1918 – Prime Minister David Cameron said: “The First World War, with that mixture of horror and courage, suffering and hope, has become a fundamental part of our national consciousness.
“Perhaps nothing brings home the sheer scale of the sacrifice and loss more starkly than the Somme, a battle where 20,000 were killed in a single day.
“Next summer thousands will gather to mark the centenary of the battle at the memorial at the village of Thiepval in France.
“I hope many people will take the opportunity to travel to the Somme itself to remember those who fought, but for those who wish to pay their respects here in Britain, there will also be events up and down the country commemorating this historic anniversary.”
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