General Sir Douglas Haig spent the first six months of 1916 planning a major onslaught on the German lines. He proposed to use about 700,000 men which would give him a seven to one superiority over the Germans in the chosen sector north of the River Somme. 

He believed that his offensive – known to his staff as ‘The Big Push’ – would surely end the war.  It was destined to be the largest and longest continuous engagement fought since the beginning of recorded history.