July 1 The Battle of the Somme began on the Western Front. The opening day of the battle was the worst single day's fighting in British military history with casualties of nearly 60,000 British troops. July 2 The Battle of Erzincan began between Russian and Turkish troops. July 3 The Russian and Japanese Governments concluded a treaty regarding future policy in the Far East. July 4 Heavy thunderstorms impeded progress at the Somme as British troops continued their advance in La Boiselle. July 5 British and Indian troops entered Tanga on the Indian Ocean in German East Africa. July 7 David Lloyd George succeeded the late Lord Kitchener as British Secretary of State for War. July 9 The British liberal politician Edwin Samuel Montagu was appointed Minister of Munitions in Great Britain. July 10 The Italian destroyer Impetuoso was torpedoed and sunk by a German U-boat in the Adriatic Sea. July 11 A German submarine shelled Seaham harbor in County Durham. July 12 British forces succeeded in clearing Mametz Wood, four and a half kilometers past the German lines on the Somme. July 13 British troops temporarily pierced the German line at Bezantin Ridge on the Somme. July 14 The Battle of Bazentin Ridge began, launching the second phase of the Somme Offensive. British troops occupied the German port of Mwanza in German East Africa. July 15 A subsidiary attack of the Somme Offensive, the Battle of Delville Wood began when South African troops attempted to clear the woods of German forces. July 17 The Battle of Bazentin Ridge ended in a tactical British victory. July 18 The British Government ratified a treaty with Ibn Saud, the Emir of Nejd. July 19 The Battle of Fromelles was a combined operation by British and Australian troops to divert attention from the Battle of the Somme. July 20 The Battle of Fromelles ended with a decisive German victory. July 22 Sergei Sazonov resigned as Russian Foreign Minister and was succeeded by Boris Sturmer. July 23 The two week struggle for the French village of Pozieres and the surrounding ridge, the Battle of Pozieres Ridge began. July 25 Russian forces captured Erzingian in Armenia which was then evacuated without further fighting. July 27 British naval Captain Charles Fryatt was executed by the Germans after he was court-martialled following his unsuccessful attempt to ram and sink a German U-Boat. July 28 British troops captured Delville Wood and Longueval village and progressed towards Pozieres. July 29 The German Government rejected Britain's offer to permit sea passage of humanitarian foodstuffs going to Poland from the United States. July 30 The first combined Franco-British aerial operations took place on the Western Front. The Black Tom Island munitions plant in New Jersey was destroyed by an explosion. It was suspected to be the work of German saboteurs. July 31 The British Prime Minister denounced the execution of Captain Fryatt in the House of Commons.
(From The Great War - Unseen Archives by Robert Hamilton)
"Take the cylinder out of my kidneys, The connecting rod out of my brain, my brain, From out of my arse take the camshaft, And assemble the engine again."
