Co-ordinated attack during Battle of the Somme

This is I believe a well known Frank Hurley (the Australian photographer) picture. Hurley did go to the front line and his pictures including one of dead and wounded Australian soldiers at Paschendaele is famous. This one I think he cobbled together from two or three photos.

this looks like a fancifull photo, clearly a picture of men training, photographers never or rarely ventured near the frontlines especially during an infantry assault from the trenches. artillery and infantry coordination was down to timing and the use of flares to coordinate attacks, in the later part of the war after the Battle of the Somme creeping artilery fire in front of attacking infantry was effective in giving cover while men were moving forward, as opposed to the sudden end of an artillery barrage as the men went over the top into an assault, as happened on the first day on the Somme Battlefield when men were cut down by German machinegunfire after the artillery fire was stopped before their assault.the air war was a seperate war the most effective being arial reconnaissance, the dueling and dog fights were just a side show, the germans being more colourful with the Red Barron and his flying circus,and the odd hand held bomb and machine gun fire onto troops in the trenches had no impact on the fight below them.