I need help with history coursework can u please define stalemate for me? not as in chess but in history terms

Question

im doing coursework on the battle of the somme and need a defenition for stalemae of some info explaioning what it is

Answer 1

When opponents cannot achieve strategic victory, merely temporary local tactical ascendancy that accomplishes nothing of value.
The nightmare of mud, machine guns and struggling masses of reeling men that was The Somme (both battles) are history's quintessential stalemates. Negligible gains at horrendous cost in lives. The hierarchical insensitivity of the British general staff against the relentless wasting of lives by the German generals created the stalemate just as much as mutual stupidity, weather and other physical conditions. You have a stalemate when you cannot achieve your battle aims despite massive loss of men and materiel. You can neither retreat or you "lose face" nor advance because of the above stalemate.

Answer 2

As you know, in chess a stalemate is when neither player wins or loses. Similarly, in the Battle of Somme:

"It is difficult to declare the Battle of the Somme a victory for either side. The British and French did succeed in capturing ground but little more than 5 miles (8 km) at the deepest point of penetration, well short of their original objectives."

Answer 3

It is the same meaning as in chess. The two opponents cannot make a move without endangering their own security, position, or reputation. In the case of the Somme, the two sides had so embedded themselves in their trenches that neither one could move without being completely decimated while attempting to break the other's lines.

Answer 4

It is an impasse, or a tie.