Battle of Bazentin Ridge
Encyclopedia
The Battle of Bazentin Ridge, launched by the British Fourth Army
at dawn on 14 July 1916, marked the start of the second phase of the Battle of the Somme
. Dismissed beforehand by one French
commander as "an attack organized for amateur
s by amateurs", it turned out to be "hugely successful" for the British, in complete contrast to the disaster of the first day on the Somme
. However, like the first day, the British failed to exploit their advantage in the wake of the victory and as German
resistance stiffened, a period of bloody attrition commenced.
Douglas Haig
were in disarray. North of the Albert-Bapaume
road the attack had failed completely while south of the road, alongside the French XX Corps, the objectives of Montauban
and Mametz
had been captured. Therefore Haig decided to concentrate his future operations in the south. The Fourth Army
of Lieutenant-General Henry Rawlinson, which had been responsible for the entire British sector on 1 July, handed over the northern sector to the Reserve Army
of Lieutenant-General Hubert Gough
.
While the British had breached the first line of German defences north of the Somme River
, they were now faced with a complete second line of defences which extended along the ridge of high ground from near Thiepval
in the north to the villages of Guillemont
and Ginchy
in the south. Where the British had advanced at Mametz and Montauban, the second position ran along the Bazentin Ridge on which lay the villages of Bazentin le Petit, Bazentin le Grand and Longueval
. Adjacent to Longueval was Delville Wood
. These villages became the objectives for the renewed British offensive.
In the fortnight before the battle, the Fourth Army carried out a series of preliminary operations to prepare their start line for the assault on the ridge. This involved capturing a series of first-day objectives that remained untaken and demonstrated the appalling price that was to be paid for indecision and hesitation of the senior British commanders.
On 3 July the 9th (Scottish) Division, the reserve of XIII Corps
on 1 July, occupied Bernafay Wood east of Montauban while the 19th (Western) Division took La Boisselle on the second attempt. An attack by the 12th (Eastern) Division on Ovillers, north of the Albert-Bapaume road, was a failure. The following day the 9th Division occupied Caterpillar Wood to the west of Montauban. The progress of XV Corps
at Mametz Wood
was not so easy. The Germans had abandoned the wood on the first day but had reoccupied it on 4 July when the British made their first efforts to take it.
On 7 July a concerted set of attacks were made against Ovillers, Contalmaison
and Mametz Wood. The 12th and 25th
Divisions made minor progress at Ovillers but the attacks of the 17th (Northern) Division on Contalmaison and the 38th (Welsh) Division were failures. The Welsh tried again on 10 July and seized Mametz Wood on the second attempt while the 23rd Division took Contalmaison.
From 3 July to 13 July, the Fourth Army carried out 46 "actions" in preparation for the next push, resulting in 25,000 casualties. Rawlinson and Haig have been widely criticised for this piecemeal approach to the battle, often causing more severe attrition of the British ranks than the German. However, with the capture of Contalmaison and Mametz Wood, the Fourth Army was now in position to attack Bazentin Ridge.
The plan for 14 July, conceived by General Rawlinson and XIII Corps commander, Lieutenant General Walter Congreve, bore little resemblance to the failed plan of 1 July. The attack would be carried out by two corps
; XV Corps
would attack on the left against Bazentin le Petit and Bazentin le Grand while XIII Corps would attack on the right against Longueval
. Each corps would attack at dawn
, 3.25 a.m., with two divisions each. The assaulting battalion
s would make a night advance then move out into no man's land
, which was up to 1,200 yards (1100 m) wide, and lie close to the German barbed wire
, ready to rush the German trenches when the barrage lifted.
The attack would be preceded by a hurricane artillery
bombardment lasting only 5 minutes. Artillery preparation actually began three days earlier, on 11 July, but it was not as heavy as on 1 July and so did not signal so obviously the British intentions to attack. Emphasis was placed on counter-battery fire to eliminate the German guns. Critically, Rawlinson had 950 guns
and howitzer
s, two thirds the artillery strength available on 1 July, but was attacking on about one quarter of the 1 July frontage, only 6,000 yards (5.5 km) compared to 22,000 yards (20 km). Also the depth of the planned advance was less so the German second position was subjected to a saturation of shells; 660 lb
to every yard (330 kg/m) of German trench.
General Haig expressed doubts about the plan, believing it to be overly complex and that a night march by inexperienced New Army troops would result in confusion and disarray before the attack even began. Haig proposed an alternate plan, involving attacking from Mametz Wood, where the lines were closest, and then "rolling up" the German flank towards Longueval. However, Rawlinson's plan prevailed though Haig required that XIII Corps' reserve division, the 18th (Eastern) Division, would clear Trônes Wood
on the extreme right flank.
parties, was to push straight on to the reserve trenches, leaving the following waves to mop up the front-line. Surprise was not complete and in places the German defenders met the advancing infantry with rifle and machine gun
fire but elsewhere the garrisons were caught in their dugouts. As on 1 July, the quality of the wire-cutting was variable; sometimes it posed no obstacle, elsewhere the attacking waves got held up and cut to pieces.
At the left, the 21st Division
attacked from Mametz Wood, crossing no man's land into Bazentin le Petit Wood. On their right was the 7th Division which, having been faced with over 1,000 yards (900 m) of no man's land to cross, had crept its assaulting battalions within 100 yards (90 m) of the German wire when the bombardment lifted. The 7th Division were faced with a complex of German trenches — Flatiron Trench, Marlboro Trench and The Snout — beyond which lay Bazentin le Grand Wood, but they reached all their objectives. By mid-morning these two XV Corps divisions had captured the village of Bazentin le Petit.
On the right, attacking between Bazentin le Grand and Longueval were the two XIII Corps divisions, left to right, the 3rd Division and the 9th (Scottish) Division
. The 9th Division, which also contained the South African Infantry Brigade (in reserve near Carnoy
), took Longueval and reached the fringe of Delville Wood
which flanked the village but were unable to take the German redoubt at Waterlot Farm.
In the centre, things did not go well for the 3rd Division attacking from Montauban
towards Bazentin le Grand. The German wire was uncut and the defenders alert. The German defensive barrage laid down in no man's land missed the assaulting battalions but caught the supporting waves. Typical of the division's fortunes was the 7th Battalion, King's Shropshire Light Infantry (8th Brigade) which lost eight officers and 200 other ranks
killed.
Meanwhile the 18th (Eastern) Division, attacking from Bernafay Wood east of Montauban, had successfully captured Trônes Wood.
General Sixt von Armin had taken over the front Longueval—Ancre that morning; he ordered all troops to hang on. 7th Division (IV Corps) was moving up between Bazentin-le-Petit Wood and Pozieres to relieve 183rd Division so was spread out to reinforce the front attacked. Parts of 185th, 17th Reserve, 26th Reserve, 3rd Guards divisions and part of 55th Landwehr Regiment were sent to join in. West of Longueval the Germans rallied on the new 'Switch Line'. When news arrived that cavalry were near High Wood (9.40 p.m. German time/8.40 p.m. British time) Armin sent all his reserves (8th, 5th, 24th Reserve, 8th Bavarian Reserve divisions) with orders to hold the British and then counter-attack. When the true situation became known he removed 5th and 8th Bavarian Reserve divisions and stopped the big counter-stroke.
, beyond which lay the incomplete German third position. There was no sign of the enemy and thick stands of grain
indicated terrain only lightly damaged by shellfire, promising good going for cavalry
.
Before advancing, the generals decided to reconnoitre; Brigadier-General Potter of the 9th Brigade (3rd Division) and Major-General Watts, commander of the 7th Division, eventually walked almost to the edge of High Wood without a shot being fired. The wood, so it appeared, was empty. However, a request to XV Corps to allow the 7th Division's reserve brigade to take possession of High Wood was rejected because 4th Army wanted it retained to deal with counter-attacks. Instead, 2nd Indian Cavalry Division would be used as planned.
The 2nd Indian Cavalry Division
had been held in readiness to exploit the breakthrough but it had encamped at Morlancourt
, four miles (6 km) south of Albert and would have to negotiate the churned battlefield over which the British had been advancing for the past fortnight. The division was ordered forward at 7.40 a.m. but by midday had only reached Carnoy
, close behind the old British front-line. At 12.15 p.m., Fourth Army
HQ ordered the 7th Division to advance but the order was immediately countermanded because Longueval had not been cleared and German guns could enfilade the approaches across the valley to High Wood.
Finally, a 7 p.m. in the evening, the cavalry arrived. Two regiments, the 7th Dragoon Guards
and the 20th Deccan Horse, passed between Bazentin le Grand and Longueval and charged with their lance
s against High Wood. Unfortunately, the opportunity for an easy victory at High Wood had passed and the Germans, having regrouped after the shock of the morning, had begun filtering back into the wood. The cavalry were met with artillery and machine gun fire. In the words of 2nd Lieutenant F.W. Beadle, a forward observation officer for the artillery who witnessed the charge:
Nevertheless, the cavalry regiments reached High Wood, killed a number of Germans and took 32 prisoners. They held on through the night of July 14–15 but no reinforcements were forthcoming — the rest of the 2nd Indian Cavalry Division had been ordered to retire to their bivouacs
. The following morning the Dragoon Guards and Deccan Horse withdrew.
Meanwhile, the 33rd Division
— XV Corps' reserve — had begun moving forward via Fricourt
at 2 p.m. and would reach the Bazentin ridge as the cavalry went in. The division had orders to pass through the 21st Division on the next day and continue the advance. The situation that night was confused with senior commanders believing High Wood had been captured. The 100th Brigade of the 33rd Division was ordered to 'consolidate' but while attempting to dig trenches in the southern tip of the wood, it became all too apparent to the brigade's commander that High Wood had not been captured.
Yet, on 15 July, the 100th Brigade was told to form up across the valley, facing north with High Wood on their right flank, and advance towards Martinpuich
. Protests to division were ignored and the attack went ahead at 9 a.m. after half an hour of preliminary bombardment. Enfiladed by German machine guns in the wood, the attack got nowhere. One company of the 16th Battalion, King's Royal Rifle Corps
(the Church Lads Brigade Pals battalion
), had been given the task of 'clearing' the wood in support of the advance but of the 200 who went in, only 67 came out.
with their third position under construction on the next ridge. The Switch Line ran through the northern tip of High Wood and one could not be captured without the other and so it was not until the next major offensive, the Battle of Flers-Courcelette
on 15 September, that High Wood and the Switch Line fell.
A similar situation developed at Delville Wood
which would change hands a number of times over the following month. Having breached the German second position, attention now turned to the flanks. On the right, after Delville Wood was taken, the villages of Guillemont
and Ginchy
had to be captured in order to bring the French
forces into line. On the left, the German strongpoint of Pozières protected the second position north of the Albert-Bapaume road.
The dawn attack of 14 July suggested that the British had discovered the formula for successful battles in trench warfare
however subsequent fighting demonstrated that the lessons had not been learnt. The next large Fourth Army attack came on the night of 22 July – 23 July, involving six divisions, but ended in complete failure. Attacks were uncoordinated, artillery preparation was inadequate and the Germans, who had learnt lessons, had adopted a more flexible system of defense, moving away from concentrating defenders in a front-line trench.
British Fourth Army
The Fourth Army was a field army that formed part of the British Expeditionary Force during the First World War. The Fourth Army was formed on 5 February 1916 under the command of General Sir Henry Rawlinson to carry out the main British contribution to the Battle of the Somme.-History:The Fourth...
at dawn on 14 July 1916, marked the start of the second phase of the Battle of the Somme
Battle of the Somme (1916)
The Battle of the Somme , also known as the Somme Offensive, took place during the First World War between 1 July and 14 November 1916 in the Somme department of France, on both banks of the river of the same name...
. Dismissed beforehand by one French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
commander as "an attack organized for amateur
Amateur
An amateur is generally considered a person attached to a particular pursuit, study, or science, without pay and often without formal training....
s by amateurs", it turned out to be "hugely successful" for the British, in complete contrast to the disaster of the first day on the Somme
First day on the Somme
The first day on the Somme, 1 July 1916, was the opening day of the Battle of Albert, which was the first phase of the British and French offensive that became known as the Battle of the Somme...
. However, like the first day, the British failed to exploit their advantage in the wake of the victory and as German
German Empire
The German Empire refers to Germany during the "Second Reich" period from the unification of Germany and proclamation of Wilhelm I as German Emperor on 18 January 1871, to 1918, when it became a federal republic after defeat in World War I and the abdication of the Emperor, Wilhelm II.The German...
resistance stiffened, a period of bloody attrition commenced.
Prelude
In the aftermath of 1 July, the first day of the battle of the Somme, the plans of GeneralGeneral
A general officer is an officer of high military rank, usually in the army, and in some nations, the air force. The term is widely used by many nations of the world, and when a country uses a different term, there is an equivalent title given....
Douglas Haig
Douglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig
Field Marshal Douglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig, KT, GCB, OM, GCVO, KCIE, ADC, was a British senior officer during World War I. He commanded the British Expeditionary Force from 1915 to the end of the War...
were in disarray. North of the Albert-Bapaume
Bapaume
Bapaume is a commune and the seat of a canton in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region of France.-Geography:A farming and light industrial town located 10 miles south of Arras at the junction of the A1 autoroute and the N17 and N30 national roads its location is...
road the attack had failed completely while south of the road, alongside the French XX Corps, the objectives of Montauban
Montauban-de-Picardie
Montauban-de-Picardie is a commune in the Somme department in Picardie in northern France.-Geography:The commune is situated on the D64 road, some northeast of Amiens.-First World War:...
and Mametz
Mametz
Mametz is the name of two communes in France:* Mametz, Pas-de-Calais* Mametz, Somme...
had been captured. Therefore Haig decided to concentrate his future operations in the south. The Fourth Army
British Fourth Army
The Fourth Army was a field army that formed part of the British Expeditionary Force during the First World War. The Fourth Army was formed on 5 February 1916 under the command of General Sir Henry Rawlinson to carry out the main British contribution to the Battle of the Somme.-History:The Fourth...
of Lieutenant-General Henry Rawlinson, which had been responsible for the entire British sector on 1 July, handed over the northern sector to the Reserve Army
British Reserve Army
The Reserve Army was a field army of the British Army during World War I and part of the British Expeditionary Force during the First World War...
of Lieutenant-General Hubert Gough
Hubert Gough
General Sir Hubert de la Poer Gough GCB, GCMG, KCVO was a senior officer in the British Army, who commanded the British Fifth Army from 1916 to 1918 during the First World War.-Family background:...
.
While the British had breached the first line of German defences north of the Somme River
Somme River
The Somme is a river in Picardy, northern France. The name Somme comes from a Celtic word meaning tranquility. The department Somme was named after this river....
, they were now faced with a complete second line of defences which extended along the ridge of high ground from near Thiepval
Thiepval
The Thiepval Memorial to the Missing of the Somme is a major war memorial to 72,191 missing British and South African men who died in the Battles of the Somme of the First World War between 1915 and 1918 who have no known grave...
in the north to the villages of Guillemont
Guillemont
Guillemont is a commune roughly 8 miles east of Albert in the Somme department in Picardie in northern France.It, like much of the surrounding area, is primarily an agricultural community, but is known for its large cemetery, which has become a tourist attraction...
and Ginchy
Ginchy
Ginchy is a commune in the Somme department in Picardie in northern France.-Geography:Ginchy is situated on the D20 road, some northeast of Amiens.-Population:-External links:*...
in the south. Where the British had advanced at Mametz and Montauban, the second position ran along the Bazentin Ridge on which lay the villages of Bazentin le Petit, Bazentin le Grand and Longueval
Longueval
Longueval is a commune in the Somme department in Picardie in northern France.-Geography:Longueval is located 24 miles northwest of Amiens on the D919 road, at the junction with the D8....
. Adjacent to Longueval was Delville Wood
Delville Wood
The Battle of Delville Wood was one of the early engagements in the 1916 Battle of the Somme in the First World War. It took place between 14 July and 3 September, between the armies of the German Empire and allied British and South African forces...
. These villages became the objectives for the renewed British offensive.
Preliminary operations
In the fortnight before the battle, the Fourth Army carried out a series of preliminary operations to prepare their start line for the assault on the ridge. This involved capturing a series of first-day objectives that remained untaken and demonstrated the appalling price that was to be paid for indecision and hesitation of the senior British commanders.
On 3 July the 9th (Scottish) Division, the reserve of XIII Corps
XIII Corps (United Kingdom)
XIII Corps was a British infantry corps during World War I and World War II.-World War I:XIII Corps was formed in France on 15 November 1915 under Lieutenant-General Walter Congreve to be part of Fourth Army. It was first seriously engaged during the Battle of the Somme in 1916. On the First day on...
on 1 July, occupied Bernafay Wood east of Montauban while the 19th (Western) Division took La Boisselle on the second attempt. An attack by the 12th (Eastern) Division on Ovillers, north of the Albert-Bapaume road, was a failure. The following day the 9th Division occupied Caterpillar Wood to the west of Montauban. The progress of XV Corps
XV Corps (United Kingdom)
XV Corps was a British infantry corps during World War I.-World War I:XV Corps was formed in Egypt on 9 December 1915 and then reformed in France on 22 April 1916 under Lieutenant-General Sir Henry Horne...
at Mametz Wood
Mametz wood
Mametz Wood was the objective of the 38th Division during the First Battle of the Somme. The attack occurred in a Northerly direction over a ridge, focussed on the German positions in the wood between 7 July and 12 July 1916. The attack of the 7 July failed to reach the wood before the men were...
was not so easy. The Germans had abandoned the wood on the first day but had reoccupied it on 4 July when the British made their first efforts to take it.
On 7 July a concerted set of attacks were made against Ovillers, Contalmaison
Contalmaison
Contalmaison is a commune in the Somme department in Picardie in northern France.-Geography:Contalmaison is situated on the D147 and D20 crossroads, some northeast of Amiens.-History:...
and Mametz Wood. The 12th and 25th
25th Division (United Kingdom)
The 25th Division of the British Army was raised for the Third New Army during September 1914. It served on the Western Front for most of the First World War. The component units were assembled around Salisbury and moved to Aldershot in May 1915 to complete their training...
Divisions made minor progress at Ovillers but the attacks of the 17th (Northern) Division on Contalmaison and the 38th (Welsh) Division were failures. The Welsh tried again on 10 July and seized Mametz Wood on the second attempt while the 23rd Division took Contalmaison.
From 3 July to 13 July, the Fourth Army carried out 46 "actions" in preparation for the next push, resulting in 25,000 casualties. Rawlinson and Haig have been widely criticised for this piecemeal approach to the battle, often causing more severe attrition of the British ranks than the German. However, with the capture of Contalmaison and Mametz Wood, the Fourth Army was now in position to attack Bazentin Ridge.
Planning
Corps
A corps is either a large formation, or an administrative grouping of troops within an armed force with a common function such as Artillery or Signals representing an arm of service...
; XV Corps
XV Corps (United Kingdom)
XV Corps was a British infantry corps during World War I.-World War I:XV Corps was formed in Egypt on 9 December 1915 and then reformed in France on 22 April 1916 under Lieutenant-General Sir Henry Horne...
would attack on the left against Bazentin le Petit and Bazentin le Grand while XIII Corps would attack on the right against Longueval
Longueval
Longueval is a commune in the Somme department in Picardie in northern France.-Geography:Longueval is located 24 miles northwest of Amiens on the D919 road, at the junction with the D8....
. Each corps would attack at dawn
Dawn
Dawn is the time that marks the beginning of the twilight before sunrise. It is recognized by the presence of weak sunlight, while the sun itself is still below the horizon...
, 3.25 a.m., with two divisions each. The assaulting battalion
Battalion
A battalion is a military unit of around 300–1,200 soldiers usually consisting of between two and seven companies and typically commanded by either a Lieutenant Colonel or a Colonel...
s would make a night advance then move out into no man's land
No man's land
No man's land is a term for land that is unoccupied or is under dispute between parties that leave it unoccupied due to fear or uncertainty. The term was originally used to define a contested territory or a dumping ground for refuse between fiefdoms...
, which was up to 1,200 yards (1100 m) wide, and lie close to the German barbed wire
Barbed wire
Barbed wire, also known as barb wire , is a type of fencing wire constructed with sharp edges or points arranged at intervals along the strand. It is used to construct inexpensive fences and is used atop walls surrounding secured property...
, ready to rush the German trenches when the barrage lifted.
The attack would be preceded by a hurricane artillery
Artillery
Originally applied to any group of infantry primarily armed with projectile weapons, artillery has over time become limited in meaning to refer only to those engines of war that operate by projection of munitions far beyond the range of effect of personal weapons...
bombardment lasting only 5 minutes. Artillery preparation actually began three days earlier, on 11 July, but it was not as heavy as on 1 July and so did not signal so obviously the British intentions to attack. Emphasis was placed on counter-battery fire to eliminate the German guns. Critically, Rawlinson had 950 guns
Field gun
A field gun is an artillery piece. Originally the term referred to smaller guns that could accompany a field army on the march and when in combat could be moved about the battlefield in response to changing circumstances, as to opposed guns installed in a fort, or to siege cannon or mortars which...
and howitzer
Howitzer
A howitzer is a type of artillery piece characterized by a relatively short barrel and the use of comparatively small propellant charges to propel projectiles at relatively high trajectories, with a steep angle of descent...
s, two thirds the artillery strength available on 1 July, but was attacking on about one quarter of the 1 July frontage, only 6,000 yards (5.5 km) compared to 22,000 yards (20 km). Also the depth of the planned advance was less so the German second position was subjected to a saturation of shells; 660 lb
Pound (mass)
The pound or pound-mass is a unit of mass used in the Imperial, United States customary and other systems of measurement...
to every yard (330 kg/m) of German trench.
General Haig expressed doubts about the plan, believing it to be overly complex and that a night march by inexperienced New Army troops would result in confusion and disarray before the attack even began. Haig proposed an alternate plan, involving attacking from Mametz Wood, where the lines were closest, and then "rolling up" the German flank towards Longueval. However, Rawlinson's plan prevailed though Haig required that XIII Corps' reserve division, the 18th (Eastern) Division, would clear Trônes Wood
Capture of Trônes Wood
Trônes Wood is located to the south east of the town of Longueval in the département of the Somme in northern France. The Capture of Trônes Wood was an action in the First World War between British and German forces as part of the larger Battle of the Somme...
on the extreme right flank.
Dawn attack
The section of the German second position from Bazentin le Petit to Longueval was held by the German 3rd Guard Division. At 3.20 a.m. the British artillery opened their intense bombardment on the German front-line trenches. At 3.25 a.m., when the bombardment lifted to the second-line reserve trenches, the infantry rushed in. The bombardment fell on the reserve trenches for a further two minutes before lifting again. The first wave of British infantry, made up of bombingGrenade
A grenade is a small explosive device that is projected a safe distance away by its user. Soldiers called grenadiers specialize in the use of grenades. The term hand grenade refers any grenade designed to be hand thrown. Grenade Launchers are firearms designed to fire explosive projectile grenades...
parties, was to push straight on to the reserve trenches, leaving the following waves to mop up the front-line. Surprise was not complete and in places the German defenders met the advancing infantry with rifle and machine gun
Machine gun
A machine gun is a fully automatic mounted or portable firearm, usually designed to fire rounds in quick succession from an ammunition belt or large-capacity magazine, typically at a rate of several hundred rounds per minute....
fire but elsewhere the garrisons were caught in their dugouts. As on 1 July, the quality of the wire-cutting was variable; sometimes it posed no obstacle, elsewhere the attacking waves got held up and cut to pieces.
British 21st Division
The British 21st Division was a New Army division raised in September 1914. The division moved to France in September 1915 and served on the Western Front for the duration of the First World War.The division's insignia was the "triple-seven".- Formation :...
attacked from Mametz Wood, crossing no man's land into Bazentin le Petit Wood. On their right was the 7th Division which, having been faced with over 1,000 yards (900 m) of no man's land to cross, had crept its assaulting battalions within 100 yards (90 m) of the German wire when the bombardment lifted. The 7th Division were faced with a complex of German trenches — Flatiron Trench, Marlboro Trench and The Snout — beyond which lay Bazentin le Grand Wood, but they reached all their objectives. By mid-morning these two XV Corps divisions had captured the village of Bazentin le Petit.
On the right, attacking between Bazentin le Grand and Longueval were the two XIII Corps divisions, left to right, the 3rd Division and the 9th (Scottish) Division
British 9th (Scottish) Division
The 9th Division, was one of the Kitchener's Army divisions raised from volunteers by Lord Kitchener to serve on the Western Front during the First World War....
. The 9th Division, which also contained the South African Infantry Brigade (in reserve near Carnoy
Carnoy
Carnoy is a commune in the Somme department in Picardie in northern France.-Geography:Carnoy is situated on the D254 road, some northeast of Amiens.-Population:-External links:*...
), took Longueval and reached the fringe of Delville Wood
Delville Wood
The Battle of Delville Wood was one of the early engagements in the 1916 Battle of the Somme in the First World War. It took place between 14 July and 3 September, between the armies of the German Empire and allied British and South African forces...
which flanked the village but were unable to take the German redoubt at Waterlot Farm.
In the centre, things did not go well for the 3rd Division attacking from Montauban
Montauban-de-Picardie
Montauban-de-Picardie is a commune in the Somme department in Picardie in northern France.-Geography:The commune is situated on the D64 road, some northeast of Amiens.-First World War:...
towards Bazentin le Grand. The German wire was uncut and the defenders alert. The German defensive barrage laid down in no man's land missed the assaulting battalions but caught the supporting waves. Typical of the division's fortunes was the 7th Battalion, King's Shropshire Light Infantry (8th Brigade) which lost eight officers and 200 other ranks
Other Ranks
Other Ranks in the British Army, Royal Marines and Royal Air Force are those personnel who are not commissioned officers. In the Royal Navy, these personnel are called ratings...
killed.
Meanwhile the 18th (Eastern) Division, attacking from Bernafay Wood east of Montauban, had successfully captured Trônes Wood.
General Sixt von Armin had taken over the front Longueval—Ancre that morning; he ordered all troops to hang on. 7th Division (IV Corps) was moving up between Bazentin-le-Petit Wood and Pozieres to relieve 183rd Division so was spread out to reinforce the front attacked. Parts of 185th, 17th Reserve, 26th Reserve, 3rd Guards divisions and part of 55th Landwehr Regiment were sent to join in. West of Longueval the Germans rallied on the new 'Switch Line'. When news arrived that cavalry were near High Wood (9.40 p.m. German time/8.40 p.m. British time) Armin sent all his reserves (8th, 5th, 24th Reserve, 8th Bavarian Reserve divisions) with orders to hold the British and then counter-attack. When the true situation became known he removed 5th and 8th Bavarian Reserve divisions and stopped the big counter-stroke.
High Wood
While progress was slow on the right and the struggle for Longueval continued, XV Corps had control of the Bazentin villages by 9 a.m. and the prospect of a breakthrough loomed. From the Bazentin ridge, the British could look north-east across a shallow valley towards High WoodHigh Wood
High Wood is a small forest near Bazentin le Petit in the Somme département of northern France which was the scene of intense fighting for two months from 14 July to 15 September 1916 during the Battle of the Somme.-Background:...
, beyond which lay the incomplete German third position. There was no sign of the enemy and thick stands of grain
Cereal
Cereals are grasses cultivated for the edible components of their grain , composed of the endosperm, germ, and bran...
indicated terrain only lightly damaged by shellfire, promising good going for cavalry
Cavalry
Cavalry or horsemen were soldiers or warriors who fought mounted on horseback. Cavalry were historically the third oldest and the most mobile of the combat arms...
.
Before advancing, the generals decided to reconnoitre; Brigadier-General Potter of the 9th Brigade (3rd Division) and Major-General Watts, commander of the 7th Division, eventually walked almost to the edge of High Wood without a shot being fired. The wood, so it appeared, was empty. However, a request to XV Corps to allow the 7th Division's reserve brigade to take possession of High Wood was rejected because 4th Army wanted it retained to deal with counter-attacks. Instead, 2nd Indian Cavalry Division would be used as planned.
The 2nd Indian Cavalry Division
2nd Indian Cavalry Division
The 2nd Indian Cavalry Division was a regular division of the British Indian Army during World War I.-History:The division sailed for France from Bombay on October 16, 1914, under the command of Major General G A Cookson. During the war the division would serve in the trenches as infantry...
had been held in readiness to exploit the breakthrough but it had encamped at Morlancourt
Morlancourt
Morlancourt is a commune in the Somme department in Picardie in northern France.-Geography:Morlancourt is situated on the D42 road, some northeast of Amiens.-Population:-Personalities:* Louis Friant , French General, was born here....
, four miles (6 km) south of Albert and would have to negotiate the churned battlefield over which the British had been advancing for the past fortnight. The division was ordered forward at 7.40 a.m. but by midday had only reached Carnoy
Carnoy
Carnoy is a commune in the Somme department in Picardie in northern France.-Geography:Carnoy is situated on the D254 road, some northeast of Amiens.-Population:-External links:*...
, close behind the old British front-line. At 12.15 p.m., Fourth Army
British Fourth Army
The Fourth Army was a field army that formed part of the British Expeditionary Force during the First World War. The Fourth Army was formed on 5 February 1916 under the command of General Sir Henry Rawlinson to carry out the main British contribution to the Battle of the Somme.-History:The Fourth...
HQ ordered the 7th Division to advance but the order was immediately countermanded because Longueval had not been cleared and German guns could enfilade the approaches across the valley to High Wood.
Finally, a 7 p.m. in the evening, the cavalry arrived. Two regiments, the 7th Dragoon Guards
7th Dragoon Guards
The 7th Dragoon Guards was a cavalry regiment in the British Army, first raised in 1688. It saw service for three centuries, before being amalgamated into the 4th/7th Dragoon Guards in 1922....
and the 20th Deccan Horse, passed between Bazentin le Grand and Longueval and charged with their lance
Lance
A Lance is a pole weapon or spear designed to be used by a mounted warrior. The lance is longer, stout and heavier than an infantry spear, and unsuited for throwing, or for rapid thrusting. Lances did not have tips designed to intentionally break off or bend, unlike many throwing weapons of the...
s against High Wood. Unfortunately, the opportunity for an easy victory at High Wood had passed and the Germans, having regrouped after the shock of the morning, had begun filtering back into the wood. The cavalry were met with artillery and machine gun fire. In the words of 2nd Lieutenant F.W. Beadle, a forward observation officer for the artillery who witnessed the charge:
- It was an incredible sight, an unbelievable sight, they galloped up with their lances and with pennants flying, up the slope to High Wood and straight into it. ... They simply galloped on through all that and horses and men were dropping on the ground, with no hope against the machine guns, because the Germans up on the ridge were firing down into the valley where the soldiers were. It was an absolute rout. A magnificent sight. Tragic.
Nevertheless, the cavalry regiments reached High Wood, killed a number of Germans and took 32 prisoners. They held on through the night of July 14–15 but no reinforcements were forthcoming — the rest of the 2nd Indian Cavalry Division had been ordered to retire to their bivouacs
Bivouac shelter
A bivouac traditionally refers to a military encampment made with tents or improvised shelters, usually without shelter or protection from enemy fire or such a site where a camp may be built. It is also commonly used to describe a variety of improvised camp sites such as those used in scouting and...
. The following morning the Dragoon Guards and Deccan Horse withdrew.
Meanwhile, the 33rd Division
British 33rd Division
The British 33rd Division was a New Army division formed in 1914 as the 40th Division in the K5 Army group then renumbered in April 1915 as part of the new K4 Army Group....
— XV Corps' reserve — had begun moving forward via Fricourt
Fricourt
Fricourt is a commune in the Somme department in Picardie in northern France.-Geography:Fricourt is situated on the D147 and D64 junction, some northeast of Amiens.-History:...
at 2 p.m. and would reach the Bazentin ridge as the cavalry went in. The division had orders to pass through the 21st Division on the next day and continue the advance. The situation that night was confused with senior commanders believing High Wood had been captured. The 100th Brigade of the 33rd Division was ordered to 'consolidate' but while attempting to dig trenches in the southern tip of the wood, it became all too apparent to the brigade's commander that High Wood had not been captured.
Yet, on 15 July, the 100th Brigade was told to form up across the valley, facing north with High Wood on their right flank, and advance towards Martinpuich
Martinpuich
Martinpuich is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region of France.-Geography:Martinpuich is situated south of Arras, near the junction of the D929 and the D6 roads.-Population:-Places of interest:...
. Protests to division were ignored and the attack went ahead at 9 a.m. after half an hour of preliminary bombardment. Enfiladed by German machine guns in the wood, the attack got nowhere. One company of the 16th Battalion, King's Royal Rifle Corps
King's Royal Rifle Corps
The King's Royal Rifle Corps was a British Army infantry regiment, originally raised in colonial North America as the Royal Americans, and recruited from American colonists. Later ranked as the 60th Regiment of Foot, the regiment served for more than 200 years throughout the British Empire...
(the Church Lads Brigade Pals battalion
Pals battalion
The Pals battalions of World War I were specially constituted units of the British Army comprising men who had enlisted together in local recruiting drives, with the promise that they would be able to serve alongside their friends, neighbours and work colleagues , rather than being arbitrarily...
), had been given the task of 'clearing' the wood in support of the advance but of the 200 who went in, only 67 came out.
Aftermath
The failure to seize the opportunities of the morning of 14 July proved costly for the Fourth Army. It would take two months of bloody attrition before High Wood was finally captured. Following the loss of the Bazentin ridge, the Germans built a "switch trench", known as the Switch Line, to connect their second position near PozièresPozières
Pozières is a commune in the Somme department in Picardie in northern France.-Geography:The commune is situated on the D929 road, some northeast of Amiens between Albert and Bapaume, on the Pozières ridge.-Population:-History:...
with their third position under construction on the next ridge. The Switch Line ran through the northern tip of High Wood and one could not be captured without the other and so it was not until the next major offensive, the Battle of Flers-Courcelette
Battle of Flers-Courcelette
The Battle of Flers-Courcelette, was a battle within the Franco-British Somme Offensive which took place in the summer and autumn of 1916. Launched on the 15th of September 1916 the battle went on for one week. Flers-Courcelette began with the overall objective of cutting a hole in the German...
on 15 September, that High Wood and the Switch Line fell.
A similar situation developed at Delville Wood
Delville Wood
The Battle of Delville Wood was one of the early engagements in the 1916 Battle of the Somme in the First World War. It took place between 14 July and 3 September, between the armies of the German Empire and allied British and South African forces...
which would change hands a number of times over the following month. Having breached the German second position, attention now turned to the flanks. On the right, after Delville Wood was taken, the villages of Guillemont
Guillemont
Guillemont is a commune roughly 8 miles east of Albert in the Somme department in Picardie in northern France.It, like much of the surrounding area, is primarily an agricultural community, but is known for its large cemetery, which has become a tourist attraction...
and Ginchy
Ginchy
Ginchy is a commune in the Somme department in Picardie in northern France.-Geography:Ginchy is situated on the D20 road, some northeast of Amiens.-Population:-External links:*...
had to be captured in order to bring the French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
forces into line. On the left, the German strongpoint of Pozières protected the second position north of the Albert-Bapaume road.
The dawn attack of 14 July suggested that the British had discovered the formula for successful battles in trench warfare
Trench warfare
Trench warfare is a form of occupied fighting lines, consisting largely of trenches, in which troops are largely immune to the enemy's small arms fire and are substantially sheltered from artillery...
however subsequent fighting demonstrated that the lessons had not been learnt. The next large Fourth Army attack came on the night of 22 July – 23 July, involving six divisions, but ended in complete failure. Attacks were uncoordinated, artillery preparation was inadequate and the Germans, who had learnt lessons, had adopted a more flexible system of defense, moving away from concentrating defenders in a front-line trench.
See also
- Battle of the Somme: order of battle