which had a shorter line to hold, with divisions, plenty of heavy artillery and with three divisions of the OHL reserve close by. Maintaining the strength of the 6th Army at the expense of the 2nd Army on the Somme was to conserve the means for a counter-offensive north of the Somme front, once the British offensive had been shattered by the 2nd Army. A German attack on Fleury at Verdun from 22 to 23 June succeeded and on 24 June, the Verdun offensive was limited, to conserve manpower and ammunition for the coming Entente offensive, except for preparations to attack on Fort Souville in July, to gain control of the heights overlooking Verdun. The fort was the last significant French position on the east bank of the Meuse, the final objective of the offensive that had begun in February 1916, which had been intended to last only a few weeks. The power of the Anglo-French offensive on the Somme surprised the Germans, despite the costly failure of the British attack on 1 July, north of the Albert–Bapaume road. The extent of Entente artillery-fire caused many casualties and much of the 2nd Army artillery, vital to the defensive system, had been lost. The policy of meeting any Anglo-French success with an immediate counter-attack was also costly and in the first ten days, the Germans suffered against in the first ten days at Verdun. After a lull on the Eastern Front, the Russians had resumed the Brusilov Offensive in June and forced Falkenhayn to reorganise the Eastern front, send German divisions to bolster the Austro-Hungarians and make limited counter-attacks which had little effect. In late June and early July the Russians inflicted more defeats and on 2 July attacked the German sector of the Eastern Front at Baranovitchi on 2 July. On 2 July, seven divisions had been sent from OHL reserve and the 6th Army to the 2nd Army; another seven were en route by 9 July. On 7 July, Falkenhayn abandoned the plan for a counter-offensive by the 6th Army for lack of manpower. After the failure of the attack on Fort Souville at Verdun on 12 July, Falkenhayn ordered a "strict defensive" and the transfer of more troops and artillery to the Somme, the first visible strategic effect of the Anglo-French offensive. Falkenhayn adopted a strategy of defeating the offensive on the Somme to show the French that