The French and British had planned to launch an offensive together in 1916 but the Germans launched theirs first at Verdun. Realising the the French would not allow Verdun to fall, the Germans planned to draw the French army in to its destruction. In the end both sides suffered catastrophic losses in a gruelling conflict. The British and French assault on the Somme in July was partly to draw off pressure from Verdun and force the Germans to reduce their forces in that area. While there were limited successes, particularly on the part of the French, the first day of the Battle of the Somme is remembered as one of the worst days for the British Army.

By 1917 the German army, after surviving the Battles of Arras and Chemin des Dames, had withdrawn to the "Hindenburg Line" which seemed virtually impregnable. In November 1917 the British launched an attack with over 400 tanks at Cambrai and achieved the greatest advance of the War so far in one day, smashing through the Hindenburg Line defences. Unfortunately, the success was not exploited and over the next few days the Germans regained most of the lost ground.