After Union forces did not achieve their objective of capturing Petersburg in a direct attack, Grant ordered the army to destroy the critical supply routes into the city. For nearly ten months, soldiers moved in a westward direction outside of Petersburg, capturing the major plank roads, the Weldon Railroad, and eventually the South Side Railroad. The Western Front expands a distance greater than twenty miles, where Union fighting was characterized by the extension of trench lines, the elimination of Confederate supply sources, and the wearing down of Lee's army.