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How a Terrible Battle Helped to Change
Europe Ninety years ago on a sunny morning in Northern France，something happened that changed Britain and Europe for ever．At half past seven on the morning of July 1，1916，whistles blew and thousands of British soldiers{{U}} (51) {{/U}}their positions to attack their German enemies．{{U}} (52) {{/U}}the end of the day，20，000 of them were dead，and another 30，000 wounded or missing．The Battle of the Somme，{{U}} (53) {{/U}}it is called，lasted for six months．When it ended，125，000British soldiers were dead．They had gained five kilometers of ground． This was one of a series of great battles during the WWI. The{{U}} (54) {{/U}}on the Somme was staged to relieve pressure on the French，who were{{U}} (55) {{/U}}in a great battle of their own at a place called Verdun．By the time the battle ended，over a million French and German troops had been killed． About 17 million people were killed in WWI．There have been wars with greater numbers of dead．But there has never been one{{U}} (56) {{/U}}most of the dead were concentrated in such a small area．On the Somme battlefield，two men died for every metre of space． Local farmers working in the land still{{U}} (57) {{/U}}the bodies of those who died in that battle．The dead of all nations were buried in a series of giant graveyards{{U}} (58) {{/U}}the line of the border between France and Belgium．Relatives and descendants(后代) of those who died still{{U}} (59) {{/U}}these graveyards today． It took a second great conflict before Europe was to{{U}} (60) {{/U}}against war itself．Twenty-eight years after the Somme battle，a liberating army of British，American and Canadian troops took{{U}} (61) {{/U}}France from another German invasion．More than 500，000 people were killed．New graveyards were built． Two great conflicts across two generations helped to change the European{{U}} (62) {{/U}}about war．Germany，once the most warlike country in Europe，is now probably more in favor of peace than any other．One major{{U}} (63) {{/U}}of war in Europe was rivalry(竞争) between France and Germany．The European Union was specifically formed to{{U}} (64) {{/U}}that rivalry． The last British veteran(老兵) of the Somme battle died in 2005，aged 108．And the WWI is passing out of{{U}} (65) {{/U}}and into history．But for anyone who wants to understand how Europeans think，it is still important to know a little about the terrible events of July 1,1916． |