Why was the Battle of the Somme 1916 such a disaster for the British Army?

... Why was the Battle of the Somme 1916 such a disaster for the British Army? Why was the Battle of the Somme 1916 such a disaster for the British Army? ` `Until 1916, Great Britain had played relatively little part in the serious fighting of the war. As Russia's Brusilov Offensive had ground to a halt, Italy had suffered in the Alps, Serbia had been overrun and more importantly France was close to breaking point at Verdun, the allies turned to Britain to make a more decisive contribution to their combined effort. There needed to be a great offensive to relieve the pressure elsewhere in Europe and perhaps to end the war altogether. With this in mind, the British high command devised a plan for a joint attack with the French at the River Somme. However, far from delivering a telling blow to the German army, the resulting battle became the most

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