The Battle of the Somme (1 July - 18 November 1916) was a joint operation between British and French forces intended to achieve a decisive victory over the Germans on the Western Front after 18 months of trench deadlock. In December 1915, Allied commanders had met to discuss strategies for the following year and agreed to launch a joint French and British attack in the region of the River Somme in the summer of 1916.
Tanks were first used in battle on September 15, 1916, in the latter stages of the Somme offensive, at the battle of Flers-Courcelette. There were a small number of machines and after a few had broken down or become lost, perhaps 27 reached the German front lines. A few of these tanks were successful enough in attacking the German trenches to show that such inventions could break the deadlock of trench warfare.
