At the beginning the strategy was to aid the Belgians in expelling the German invaders; this involved mostly infantry with a little artillery support in a comparatively small theatre. However, as the war progressed the strategy developed into a series of massive artillery battles intended to soften up the enemy before the infantry moved in to dislodge them from their positions, but it was not until the end of December 1915 that Kitchener reluctantly looked at the artillery requirements to implement these tactics.
