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Since 1914, the war on both the eastern and the western front had become a war of attrition. Both sides had established a series of defensive lines, involving thousands of miles of trenches and they regularly attacked and counter-attacked each other for little or no strategic or tactical advantage.<ref> Gilbert, M. <i>[https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0805081275/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0805081275&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=215891b2156d756f1e4b5799a19bf45c The Somme: Heroism and Horror in the First World War]. </i> (Henry Holt and Company, 2006), p. 56</ref> The western military and the governments were eager to end the war or at least to be seen as delivering a victory. There were concerns that the public would not tolerate a war indefinitely.
The resources of France and Britain had become stretched , and they needed a victory to demonstrate that they were winning the war to their public. There was a genuine desire to end the stalemate which was costing thousands of lives per week.<ref> Gilbert, p. 112</ref> Then there was the strategic situation on both the eastern and the western front. The Russians had been planning their own assault on the Austro-Hungarians in the east, an attack from the west would mean that the Germans could not come to the aid of their allies in Vienna. Then there were the almost simultaneous massive battles taking place in Verdun.<ref> Gilbert, p. 113</ref> The Germans and the French were engaged in a bloody battle for the fortress of Verdun. The French army had found itself hard pressed and many feared that they would break and this could result in the Germans driving a wedge between the British in the north and the French armies in the south. The Somme was seen as necessary to alleviate the pressure on the French and to assist the Russian offensive.
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