The British launched the Battle of the Somme to achieve two objectives. The first and most important objective was to relieve the pressure on the French army at Verdun, and the second was to inflict the heaviest possible loss on the German armies. The Battle of the Somme was to be fought to save the French army from the crucifixion of Verdun. The leader of the French army, General Fock, and some leading British commanders did not believe that this battle would be useful, but the political masters in London and Paris supported the campaign. For many years, the Battle of the Somme has received a lot of criticism for the way the battle was fought based on the number of casualties. Joseph Joffre, French commander-in-chief, wrote a letter to Douglas Haig on December 15, 1915, describing a great battle. should take place to save the French army from the massive massacres that took place during the Battle of Verdun. Initially, Haig opposed a battle on the Somme front, but eventually accepted that the Somme would lead to final victory through the great trenches. On 19 December 1915, Douglas Haig became the new commander of the BEF's British Expedition Force. “First Army. He was a difficult person to get to know and did not seem to care about the human suffering caused by the war. His colleagues found him strange because of his spiritual practices and religious beliefs. Despite his strangeness, Haig was a very effective soldier and an excellent military technician. It was under his leadership that the rear of the Somme, from Albert to Amiens, was transformed into a huge military camp, which included new roads leading to the front, gun positions and camps for the army that would launch the attack. The army, being built up on the Somme,...... middle of paper ......ution to indicate clearly in advance that the nature of the success of the Somme campaign could be stopped . The need to relieve pressure on the French army at Verdun has remained the same and is more crucial than ever. Therefore, the first objective, interpreting the British and French offensive to relieve British pressure, and the second objective, inflicting as many heavy losses as possible on the German armies, were successful. Works Cited Atwood, Marshall. First World War. New York: Marshall SLA 2001 “Battle of the Somme”. History.com. A&E Television Networks, and Web. April 14, 2014. “The Battle of the Somme”. The Battle of the Somme. np, nd Web. April 15, 2014. BBC News. BBC and Web. April 13, 2014. “Firstworldwar.com.” World War I.com. Np, and Web. April 13, 2014. Keegan, John. The First World War. Great Britain: Keegan John, 1998