How many British troops died in the Battle of Morval?
Battle of Morval
On 28 August, Chief of the General Staff, General Erich von Falkenhayn, simplified the German command structure on the Western Front by establishing two army groups. Heeresgruppe Kronprinz Rupprecht controlled the 6th, 1st and 2nd armies, from Lille to the boundary of Heeresgruppe Deutscher Kronprinz, south of the Somme battlefield. armeegruppe Gallwitz–Somme was dissolved and General Max von Gallwitz reverted to the command of the 2nd Army.[18] The cessation of German attacks at Verdun, ordered by the new supreme command of Chief of the General Staff, Field Marshal Paul von Hindenburg and the Generalquartiermeister General Erich Ludendorff, when they superseded Falkenhayn and the reinforcement of the Somme front, reduced the German inferiority in guns and aircraft on the Somme during September. Field artillery reduced its barrage frontage from 400–200yd (370–180m) per battery and increased its accuracy by using one air artillery flight per division, with aircraft sent from the Verdun front. Colonel Fritz von Loßberg, Chief of Staff of the 2nd Army, was also able to establish Ablösungsdivisionen (relief divisions) 10–15mi (16–24km) behind the battlefield, ready to replace front divisions. German counter-attacks became bigger and more frequent, making the Anglo-French advance slower and more costly.[19] After the Anglo-French attacks in mid-September a "wholesale relief" of the front-line divisions had been possible.[20]