... battle, and the preparation of these men for war had been ongoing since 1914. 'Kitchener's Army' went to the Somme having had little (if any) previous experience of battle. They were not highly regarded by their commanders and the bulk of the officers and equipment had been directed to the regular army which was at the front from the start of the war at the expense of the new volunteers. The result of this was that the bulk of the British army at the Somme were often inadequately trained and led. While there was a fair number of experienced units of regular soldiers and territorials involved in the battle, and especially in the French divisions, the lack of quality of the new army cannot have helped the British cause. `The formation and execution of the battle plan contained a number of flaws which went unrecognised by the leading generals until it ...

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