Final answer:
In 1916, the Germans attempted to break through at Verdun, and the British at the Somme. Both offensives incurred heavy casualties with little territorial gain, exemplifying the deadly stalemate of World War I.
Step-by-step explanation:
In 1916, both the Germans and the British undertook significant offensives to try to break the deadlock of trench warfare on the Western Front during World War I. The German army staged a massive assault on the French fortress city of Verdun in an offensive that began in February of that year. This attack aimed to crush the French army by bleeding it to exhaustion. Unfortunately for Germany, even after succeeding in taking Verdun, the French built new defenses, and a counterattack eventually led to the Germans being pushed back, resulting in a staggering number of casualties without a decisive victory.
The second attempt to break the stalemate in 1916 happened during the Battle of the Somme, which was initiated by the British from July to November. The British utilized massive artillery bombardments followed by infantry attacks, with the aim to break through German defenses. However, the offensive resulted in only a small territorial gain of about six miles, while both sides suffered a combined total of over one million casualties, rendering the campaign another example of the attritional nature of World War I.
These battles, among the largest of World War I, exemplify the high costs and limited successes of the strategies employed by both sides in an effort to end the deadlock that characterized much of the conflict along the Western Front.