Changes

====Background====

Since 1914, the war on both the eastern and the western front had become a war of attrition. Both sides had established a series of defensive lines, involving thousands of miles of trenches and they regularly attacked and counter-attacked each other for little or no strategic or tactical advantage.<ref> Gilbert, M. <i>[https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0805081275/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0805081275&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=215891b2156d756f1e4b5799a19bf45c The Somme: Heroism and Horror in the First World War]. </i> (Henry Holt and Company, 2006), p. 56</ref> The western military and the governments were eager to end the war or at least to be seen as delivering a victory. There were concerns that the public would not tolerate a war indefinitely.

Then there were the almost simultaneous massive battles taking place in Verdun.<ref> Gilbert, p. 113</ref> The Germans and the French have engaged in a bloody battle forVerdun'se fortress. The French army had found itself hard-pressed, and many feared that they would break and this could result in the Germans driving a wedge between the British in the north and the French armies in the south. The Somme was seen as necessary to alleviate the French's pressure and assist the Russian offensive.