Colonization of the Moon the Soviet leadership made some of its first public pronouncements about landing a man on the Moon and establishing a lunar base. Crewed exploration of the lunar surface began in 1968 when the Apollo 8 spacecraft orbited the Moon with three astronauts on board. This was mankind's first direct view of the far side. The following year, the Apollo 11 Apollo Lunar Module landed two astronauts on the Moon, proving the ability of humans to travel to the Moon, perform scientific research work there, and bring back sample materials. Additional missions to the Moon continued this exploration phase. In 1969,
The First Day on the Somme often quoted as the definitive tally for 1 July. Throughout the book Middlebrook uses quotations from soldiers involved in the fighting on the day, following ten men's stories. These men presenting a cross-section of the British Army of 1916 — Regular Army, New Army and Territorial Force — with ranks from privates up to battalion commander (lieutenant colonel). The First Day on the Somme The First Day on the Somme () is a First World War military history book by Martin Middlebrook, first published in 1971 and still in print, which is regarded as a seminal work in the field