"First Day of the Somme", by George Greene, Military Illustrated : Number 218, 2006.

The first day of the Battle of the Somme, 1 July, 1916, is often acknowledged as the bloodiest day in the history of the British Army. Nearly 60,000 casualties were suffered, 19,000 killed.
Author George Greene with his article helps to commemorate the 90th anniversary of the battle. In this article Greene explains the reasoning behind the Somme offensive, and the reason for the continuous assaults over the four month campaign. Greene also goes into some detail, mentioning the use of conscripts and members of the Pals Battalions, units which formed Kitchner's Army (volunteers who had answered the call to enlist by War Minister Field Marshall Horatio Kitchner), in the assualt upon the German lines.
Greene's work is not in depth, but rather a review of the major events which occurred on 1 July, 1916. His work is informative and easy to read, and it does not require any preknowledge of the First World War to enjoy. The article is also fairly interspersed with photographs and illustrations, both of which are helpful to novice and veteran historians.