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However, the British High Command was to fail to use these new weapons effectively. The planners at the Somme also expected the infantry to make spectacular gains. The common soldier or ‘Tommy’ was expected to take trenches using only his gun, bayonet, and grenades. The British High Command was expecting too much of their soldiers, especially given the heavy and sophisticated German defenses. The British's inability to properly employ and coordinate their forces and their unrealistic expectations cost many soldiers their lives and limited the advances made during the offensive.<ref> Wilson, p. 116</ref>

[[File: Somme three.jpg|thumbnail|300px|left|British troops at the Somme]]

The first day of the Somme offensive started after the five-day barrage had ended. For five days, the British had blasted the German lines. Hundreds of thousands of shells landed on the German trenches. The British believed that they had obliterated the German defenses.<ref> Keegan, p. 134</ref> On the first of July, the British and the French ‘went over the top’, that is, they left their trenches and entered into no man's land. The British were ordered to advance at a walking pace. However, some officers on the ground ordered their men to rush across no man's land.

The Germans mainly adopted a defensive posture. They mostly stayed in the trenches and waited for the British to attack.<ref> Keegan, p 178</ref> The tactics of the first day of the Sommeweres repeatedly repeated with only limited results. The Germans did not have the reserves to stage any counter-attacks during the offensive as they needed all their men for Verdun's siege. The British introduced tanks to help them break the deadlock, but they proved unable to coordinate their advance with the infantry.

====Outcome of the Somme====