" Haigs idea was that the attack would demolish the enemy lines and allow for the British troops to push through and into the land beyond. While the British were planning and getting ready, the German army waited patiently along the ridge of the chalkhills in their trenches. Canadian troops did not arrive to Somme until August, but the Newfoundlander's were there at the start. This regiment was one of the four which belonged to the 29th British Division 88th Brigade. The Newfoundlander's came to Marseilles, France in March of 1916 after serving in Gallipoli and Egypt.
On the first of July 100,000 men, in broad daylight, arose from their trenches and crossed No Mans Land shoulder to shoulder carrying 30 kg of equipment each. They marched on slowly into the sights of the waiting German guns. The stating point for the British was in their support trench known as St. Johns Road. Two hundred and thirty meters of fire-strewn ground had to be crossed in order to reach their own front lines. As they puzzled themselves through the precut British wire. The casualties grew with every second. The men who made it to No Mans Land looked down upon the German barrier 500m away. Any man that stood unhit for over a minute was lucky, due to the chaos of bullets, bombs, and shrapnel. There was a spot half way down the slope that was marked by a tree. This place was called "The Danger Tree." This spot where a lot of the German's shrapnel hit. Its skeletal frame still stands, and marks the spot where many men lost their lives on that grim July day.
The battle was over within half and hour. The Commanding Officer who watched the devastation from the trenches reported back to Brigade Headquarters that they had failed. After the attack the Divisional Commander wrote about the Newfoundland effort: "It was a magnificent display of trained and disciplined valor, and its assault failed of success because dead men can advance no further.