The aims of the British army at the Battle of the Somme in 1916.

... GCSE History Coursework - Assignment One 1) The aims of the British army at the Battle of the Somme in 1916 were to break through the German front line of trenches and capture enemy territory. To do this successfully they needed to break the stalemate of trench warfare by making a 'big push' or in other words bombard the Germans with shells before going 'over the top' to take over the opposition's trenches. They also wanted to shatter the Germans' morale so that they would not want to fight anymore and hopefully surrender. The British wanted to have a 'big push' so that they could distract the rest of the German army who were fighting the French at Verdun. The French weren't doing so well; they were under heavy bombardment and the Germans were getting closer, even though their motto was 'they shall not pass'. The French were doing so badly

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