Prior and Wilson wrote that the 1st Division attacked fourteen times, yet six divisions attacked only once; single attacks were made by , three were made by and one battalion attacked six times. Some of the difference is explained by divisions having been engaged from but the rest is called "whim", with no pattern in the direction or frequency of attacks or the time divisions spent in the line. The large number of small uncoordinated attacks, when it was not possible to protect infantry with creeping barrages, demonstrated a failure of duty by the British commanders, inexperience in the command of large forces and the impossibility of predicting the warfare of the Western Front, partly explain British failures.