In July 1916 in France, the 36th Ulster Division was one of the first units to attack German positions during a charge at dawn after a six-day British artillery barrage. The bombardment, however, did not have the desired effect as much of the German barbwire and machine gun nests were left intact. Despite this, the Ulster Division advanced with remarkable speed, crashing in force into the German 4th line. The Ulstermen were under intense fire from the German machine guns and some were accidentally shelled by their own side. On what would be the first day of the Battle of the Somme, Britain suffered over 54,000 casualties; the Ulster Division alone had 5,700 killed or wounded (over 10% of the total loss). The battle continued through the summer and into September when the 36th Ulster Division found themselves fighting alongside the 16th Division composed of mostly southern, nationalist Irishmen. In that same year, the Ulster Unionist Council agreed that their goal would be the exclusion of the six northeastern counties from the Dublin Parliament. Because many Irish Nationalists would refuse to take an oath of allegiance to the King, thus disqualifying themselves from government positions, Unionists were able to fill the void they left and gain more and more political influence in Ireland.