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I think the day began and the day opened are very similar in meaning. I don't think open is any more standard than begin here. With the day opened, there might be some slight connotation that we are referring to a certain time of day when these sorts of actions usually occur, e.g., shelling at dawn. Opened seems to imply a formality which began does not. For this reason, in my opinion, opened works a little better than began in the quote above; I believe there probably is a little ceremoniousness to artillery usage in old wars.