Battle of Ginchy
Encyclopedia
The Battle of Ginchy took place on 9 September 1916 during the Battle of the Somme
when the United Kingdom
16th (Irish) Division captured the German
-held village of Ginchy
. However the Irish
Royal Munster Fusiliers
suffered heavy casualties in the process. Indeed of the two attacking brigade
s, the 47th Brigade (8th Battalion) failed completely, encountering enemy defences unaffected by the British bombardment whose shelling kept falling short into no-mans land. The seven Irish battalions chiefly involved in the fighting lost eight officers and 220 men killed, six officers and sixty-one men in the 9th Battalion of the Royal Dublin Fusiliers.
In terms of the Somme fighting, the attack was highly successful with the village being taken on the first attempt. The Irish took the well fortified village in an hour. A London newspaper headlined How the Irish took Ginchy - Splendid daring of the Irish troops
For the Germans the loss of Ginchy deprived them of their strategic observation posts overlooking the entire battlefield.
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...
when the United Kingdom
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was the formal name of the United Kingdom during the period when what is now the Republic of Ireland formed a part of it....
16th (Irish) Division captured the German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
-held village of 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:*...
. However the Irish
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
Royal Munster Fusiliers
Royal Munster Fusiliers
The Royal Munster Fusiliers was a regular infantry regiment of the British Army. One of eight Irish regiments raised largely in Ireland, it had its home depot in Tralee. It was originally formed in 1881 by the amalgamation of two regiments of the former East India Company. It served in India and...
suffered heavy casualties in the process. Indeed of the two attacking brigade
Brigade
A brigade is a major tactical military formation that is typically composed of two to five battalions, plus supporting elements depending on the era and nationality of a given army and could be perceived as an enlarged/reinforced regiment...
s, the 47th Brigade (8th Battalion) failed completely, encountering enemy defences unaffected by the British bombardment whose shelling kept falling short into no-mans land. The seven Irish battalions chiefly involved in the fighting lost eight officers and 220 men killed, six officers and sixty-one men in the 9th Battalion of the Royal Dublin Fusiliers.
In terms of the Somme fighting, the attack was highly successful with the village being taken on the first attempt. The Irish took the well fortified village in an hour. A London newspaper headlined How the Irish took Ginchy - Splendid daring of the Irish troops
For the Germans the loss of Ginchy deprived them of their strategic observation posts overlooking the entire battlefield.