The Cause

For nearly two years, the two sides had been engaged in trench warfare along the Western front. The British and French were planning a major offensive attack at The Somme in hopes of breaking the stalemate and pushing the Germans out of France. Their plans changed when the Germans went and attacked the French at The Battle of Verdun. The French demanded that the British push back the attack to July in hopes that the German forces would be diverted from Verdun to The Somme.