in-Chief of France and Flanders, 2nd Dispatch”, 2). The Allies planned to launch this major offensive against the Germans along the Somme River in France for three reasons as explained by Sir Douglas Haig, “To relieve the pressure on Verdun, to assist our Allies in other theaters of war by stopping any further transfer of German troops from the Western Front, and to wear down the strength of the forces opposed to us” (“Sir Douglas Haig, British Commander-in-Chief of France and Flanders, 2nd Dispatch”, 2). The Germans had a strategic position because they were situated on the high ground of the Somme watershed and the Allies were situated in the depressions and lower regions looking up at the Germans. The Germans also had a heavily fortified system of defenses with two systems of trenches several lines deep, bomb-proof shelters, and deep cellars. The British strategy was to coordinate a surprise attack with the French consisting of three phases in order to exploit the salient in the German line and push them back to gain territory. The French would attack simultaneously from the South and the British would attack from the North end of the Somme valley. The attack opened with a large daily artillery barrage and gas attacks against the German forces. This tactic was successful because the Germans were caught off-guard and disorganized, so it forced them to take a defensive position during the course of the battle. Then, the infantry assault was launched with British soldiers sent up over the top of the trenches and marched shoulder-to-shoulder through No Man’s Land to the enemy’s trenches with machine guns, essentially enacting the frontal assault. This tactic, while allowing for the success of gaining territory, caused a significant loss to the British of over 50,000 men in one day of fighting. One may argue that this extreme, bloody loss of life was not effective enough to constitute the small gain. By the end of Phase One, the British had captured the second main system of German defense and gained possession of the southern crest of the main ridge in the Somme valley (“Sir Douglas Haig, British Commander-in-Chief of France and Flanders, 2nd Dispatch, 12). Phase One was so suc