The detonation of a mine on the Somme, 1916

Photograph, World War One, Western Front (1914-1918), 1916.

The mine was dug under the German lines at Hawthorn Redoubt. It was fired 10 minutes before the assault at Beaumont Hamel on the first day of the Battle of the Somme, 1 July 1916. Around 45,000 pounds of Ammonal exploded. The mine created a crater 130 feet across by 58 feet deep.

From a collection of 98 official war photographs.