British howitzers in action during the bombardment of the German lines preceding the beginning of the Battle of the Somme on July 1st 1916. Intended to be a decisive breakthrough, the Battle of the Somme instead became a futile and indiscriminate slaughter, with General Haig's tactics remaining controversial even today. The four and a half month campaign eventually gave way to a stalemate and by mid-November the offensive was over. The British forces were decimated with 420,000 casualties, among them many of the new voluntary battalions.