 The Liverpool Pals'first battle came during "The Big Push" on 1 July 1916, on the first day of the Battle of the Somme, the worst single day for casualties in British military history. The 89th Brigade, under the Earl of Derby's brother Brigadier F.C. Stanley, still comprised the 17th, 19th, and 20th Pals, but had the 18th reassigned to the 21st Brigade in December. The 30th Division formed part of XIII Corps, which attacked towards Montauban, south of where Britain suffered the majority of its nearly 60,000 casualties on the 1st. At 07: 30, the 30th Division began its advance on the left of the French Corps de Fer. Meeting limited opposition, the Pals completed their objectives with comparatively minimal casualties. Grievous losses were, however, incurred by the 18th from heavy machine-gun fire during its advance towards the Glatz Redoubt. The battalion's commanding officer, Lieutenant-Colonel E.H. Trotter, killed by a shell on 8 July, intentionally underestimated the battalion's casualties of about 500 to avoid the deployment of brigade reserves.
