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General Sir Douglas Haig assumed command of the British army in early 1916. He wanted to launch the offensive nearer the English Channel to be closer to the British supply lines. However, the French pressurised the British to have the offensive in the Somme region. When the Verdun offensive started the Somme area saw the withdrawal of many German units. The Germans had little reserves in the area and it seemed that the Somme was the perfect location<ref>Keegan, J.<i>The First World War </i>.(London: Random House, 1998), p. 12</ref>. The Anglo-French attack was to break the German lines and achieve a breakthrough that would allow the allies to drive a wedge between the Germans armies in France. The British after a five-day bombardment were to launch a massive infantry assault, once the Germans had fled from their trenches, the British cavalry would push forward and seize key objectives such as railroads and bridges in the Somme<ref>Keegan, p. 56</ref>. However, the British had failed to understand the nature of the German defences on the Somme. They had added a third line of defence, had established a telephone system and had dug even more trenches. The German defences did have some deficiencies but they proved to be formidable. The British underestimated the German defences and this was to prove costly during the coming battles<ref> Keegan, p 116</ref>.