Faulty British Implementation of Creeping Barrages
The divisional artillery of most British attacking infantry Corps failed to correctly follow the new tactics for coordinating infantry assaults and creeping barrages (creeping barrages were intended to lay down fire in front of attacking troops to force the enemy to remain under cover). VIII Corps (opposite Serre in the north end of the attack) guns lifted the barrage 100 yards every 2 minutes instead of 50-yard increments per minute as had been intended and hence because No Man's Land was so narrow the barrage began on rather than in front of the German trenches and then lifted beyond leaving the advancing troops to face unsuppressed defenders; XIII Corps (opposite Montauban in the south end of the attack) with the exception of 18th Division abandoned the creeping barrage altogether, and 18th Division alone attacked with any success; III Corps (opposite La Boisselle in the centre) artillery employed old discredited tactics of "raking" back and forth rather than providing a consistently forward-movement of fire behind which the infantry could advance and the attack failed. X Corps (opposite Thiepval) gunfire jumped from trench to trench and some "walked" up communications trenches, again instead of consistently moving forward at a pace the infantry could follow. 9th Brigade adjusted its tactics by advancing close behind the barrage and was able to take the first German trench but was forced to withdraw when the barrage then jumped away to the second line of trenches leaving it uncovered. XV Corps (opposite Fricourt) had mixed success : 21st Division artillery "searched" backwards and forwards making it very difficult for infantry to advance behind it and was unsuccessful; artillery of 50th Brigade of 17th Division lifted 500 yards and hence its infantry advanced with no protection and failed; 7th Division's artillery lifted 50 yards as planned and its infantry were successful.
Read more about this topic: Battle Of Albert (1916)
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