The British planned to advance on a front, from St Yves to Mt Sorrel, eastwards to the Oosttaverne line, a maximum depth of . Three intermediate objectives, originally to be reached a day at a time, became halts, where fresh infantry would leap-frog through to gain the ridge in one day. In the afternoon a further advance down the ridge was to be made. The attack was to be conducted by three corps of the Second Army (General Sir Herbert Plumer). II Anzac Corps in the south-east was to advance , IX Corps in the centre was to attack on a front, which would taper to at the summit and X Corps in the north had an attack front wide. The corps planned their attacks under the supervision of the army commander, using analyses of the Somme operations of 1916 and successful features of the attack at Arras on 9 April as guides. Great care was taken in the planning of counter-battery fire, the artillery barrage time-table and machine-gun barrages.