2. The Battle of the Somme helped turn the tables at Verdun.
On July 1, 1916, about four months after the battle of Verdun started, the French forces at Verdun were on the verge of falling. French General Joseph Joffre pleaded to the Allies saying that his army would soon “cease to exist.” Desperate to help the French and turn the tide of the war, the Allied forces decided to do whatever it took to relieve the pressure on Verdun. So the Allies launched a dangerous attack at the Somme River. Together with the Brusilov Offensive on the Eastern Front by Russia, the Allies hoped that the Germans would be forced to redirect troops at Verdun in order to defend the Somme River. The plan worked somewhat and the German generals did redirect divisions and heavy artillery to the Somme Riverfront. But sustained German attacks continued at Verdun.
The plans for the Battle of the Somme had been planned long before the Battle of Verdun but the French forces were supposed to take the initiative at the Battle with the British only acting as a supporting force. However, with the Battle of Verdun underway when the Battle of the Somme was supposed to take place, the French could no longer supply enough forces. The British, knowing that the French at Verdun needed help, decided to increase the size of their forces and make the attack on the Somme River anyway.
The Battle of the Somme ended up being one that was as devastating as the Battle of Verdun. The first day of the battle was the worse in British history with more than 57,000 casualties. The battle ended on November 18th due to poor weather, despite British advances. The Battle of the Somme exceeded the Battle of Verdun number of causalities, with more than 1 million between the Allied and German forces. However, the battle may have been successful because that same month the Germans did pull their forces from Verdun and allowed the French to recapture all of the forts at Verdun by December.