 II Corps asked for a delay until 19 November to move artillery forward; five British divisions were transferred to Italy and four British divisions on the coast were sent to take over French positions south of the Somme.On 20 November, Haig ended the offensive, except for local attacks in December for better defensive positions.In July 1917, Field Marshal Douglas Haig began the Third Battle of Ypres, to break down the resistance of the German 4th Army (General Sixt von Armin) and advance out of the Ypres Salient.