THE BATTLE OF ATTRITION (North of the Somme).
In the main sector of attack the German line had not been completely broken. This attempt to break through was succeeded by a battle of attrition, in the course of which the Allies, working in close collaboration, dealt the enemy repeated blows.
North of the Somme.—After July 11, the Allied front between the Ancre and the Somme, held by the strong German positions of the Thiepval Plateau, passed in front of Contalmaison and Montauban. On the southern edges of Trônes Wood it turned southwards towards Hem.
This line formed a salient to the east of Trônes Wood—a narrow space bristling with guns. From the high ground of their second position in the north, and that of Longueval, Ginchy and Guillemont, the German firing line formed a semi-circle round this salient, which was threatened by incessant counter-attacks. While maintaining the pressure on the west, it became necessary for the Allies to widen the angle and enlarge the front, or, in other words, to obtain greater freedom of movement.
This was the aim of the various Franco-British thrusts during the second fortnight of July and in August.
1.—Widening the Front
(July 14—September 1.)
In order to support the forthcoming French thrust towards the east, a British attack to the north-east was deemed necessary.
The German second positions from Contalmaison to Trônes Wood, and the crests of the ridge of the plateau formed the objective.
On July 14, the 4th British Army, by a clever manœuvre, took up positions in the dark at attacking distance. Trônes Wood was carried on the first day. Longueval, stormed from east and west, was partly captured. In the centre, Bazentin-le-Grand with its wood and Bazentin-le-Petit were taken. To the left, the southern outskirts of Pozières were reached.
BRITISH GRAVES IN TRÔNES WOOD (p. [85]).
On July 15-16, the British progressed beyond the German second position—carried along a three-mile front—and established their advance-posts in the vicinity of the German third position.
By this time the Germans had recovered from their set-back of the 14th and offered an aggressive defence. Counter-attacking at the point of the salient in the Allied lines at Delville Wood, they succeeded in slipping through, but they were held in front of Longueval.
On the 20th and 23rd, the Allies delivered a general attack. The British 4th Army was now confronted by the enemy in force all along the line. However, the village of Pozières, one of the strong-points of Thiepval Plateau, to the west, was carried by the Australians on July 25. The French advanced their lines as far as the ravine, in which runs the light railway from Combles to Cléry.
Hidden in a hollow of the ground, Guillemont resisted the British assaults of July 30 and August 7.
On August 12, the French 1st Corps continued its thrust eastwards, turning Guillemont from the south. The Zouaves and 1st Cambrai Infantry Regiment entered Maurepas.
More to the south, the 170th Infantry captured the fortified crest lying 1 km. 500 m. west of Cléry.
The British hung on to the western outskirts of Guillemont.
DELVILLE WOOD NORTH OF LONGUEVAL (p. [60]).
2.—The Surrounding and Capture of the Main Centres of Resistance
On September 1, the British lines, still hanging on to the southern slopes of the Thiepval Plateau, followed the crest of the ridge north of the villages of Thiepval, Bazentin-le-Petit and Longueval, in front of the outskirts of Delville Wood, were then deflected south-east and joined with the French lines in the ravine of the Combles railway. The French lines surrounded Maurepas, then followed the road from Maurepas to Cléry. Thiepval and Combles seemed impregnable.
Instead of making a frontal attack against these positions, the Allies first turned and then surrounded them by a succession of thrusts.
In addition to their successive lines of defence-works, which included a number of villages, the Germans had transformed the little town of Combles, lying entirely hidden from view at the bottom of an immense depression—into a redoubtable fortress. A large garrison was safely sheltered in vast quarries connected by tunnels with the concrete defence-works.
The Surrounding and Capture of Combles
In September, four Allied thrusts were necessary to encircle and capture Combles (see p. [80]).
The Attack of September 3
Ginchy and Guillemont formed the British objective. On the 3rd, in spite of machine-gun fire from Ginchy, the Irish carried Guillemont, which had resisted for seven weeks. Progressing beyond the village they reached and captured Leuze Wood, 1 km. 500 m. west of Combles. On the 9th, they enlarged their gains by the conquest of Ginchy (see p. [4]).
The German positions connecting Combles with Le Forest and Cléry formed the French objective.
This position—defended by four German divisions—was carried with magnificent dash on the 3rd, from near Combles to the Somme.
On the 5th, the French progressed beyond the position and reached the following line: Anderlu Wood, north-east of Le Forest, Marrières Wood, and the crest north-east of Cléry; 2,500 prisoners were taken.
The French Attack of the 12th
Attacking again, the French were now confronted by two parallel lines of defences. The first position (known as the Berlingots' trenches) ran through Frégicourt, Le Priez Farm and Marrières Woods. The second position, along the National road, 2 km. behind the first, rested on Rancourt, Feuillancourt and the Canal du Nord, taking in Bouchavesnes.
Following close behind the creeping barrage, the attacking troops carried the Berlingots' trenches in half an hour. From there, the left wing attacked and captured Hill 145, and advanced as far as the National road, between Rancourt and Bouchavesnes. The right wing reached the Valley of the Tortille, opposite Feuillancourt.
Bouchavesnes, although not included in the objectives assigned to the storming troops, was next attacked, and at 8 p.m. Bengal lights, announcing its capture, were burning in the ruins of the village.
On the 13th, the French crossed the National road. The enemy showed great nervousness, and brought up three new divisions.
THE CANAL DU NORD.
The British Attack of September 15
The German positions of Foureaux Wood, Hill 154 and Morval were the objectives of the attack.
For the first time tanks accompanied the storming waves, giving the enemy an unpleasant surprise, which contributed largely to the victory.
In the centre, the tanks entered Flers before noon; the troops advanced beyond the village and established themselves. On the left, Foureaux Wood, bristling with strong-points and redoubts, and on the right, Hill 154 were carried, and the Morval—Lesbœufs—Gueudecourt line reached.
In consequence of this brilliant success of the British right, the attack was extended on the left; the tanks entered Martinpuich and Courcelette. In a single day the British advanced 2 km. along a 10 km. front, and captured 4,000 prisoners.
The enemy threw two more divisions into the battle, and fiercely counter-attacked the salient formed by the French lines at the Bapaume-Péronne road. After getting a footing in Bouchavesnes on September 20, they were driven out at the point of the bayonet.
The General Attack of September 25, and Capture of Combles
The Allied front line moved forward again, to complete the investment of Combles.
Rancourt and Frégicourt fell on the 25th, in the French attack; Morval was captured by the British.
The encirclement of Combles was complete, and the enemy had already partially evacuated the place. On the 26th, the British entered the fortress from the north, the French from the south, and captured a company of laggards.
The Turning and Capture of Thiepval Plateau
West of the lines of the 4th British Array, and dominating the valley of the Ancre, the powerfully fortified Thiepval Plateau still remained un-captured. This very strong system of defences comprised the village, Mouquet Farm, and the Zollern, Schwaben and Stuff Redoubts.
In July, the British had gained a footing in the Leipzig Redoubt, which formed the first enemy positions south of the Plateau. In August, Pozières had been carried by the Australians. On September 15, the British captured Martinpuich and Courcelette, and progressed beyond the plateau to the east.
The Attack of September 26
On September 26, the day Combles was taken, an attack was made against this formidable plateau. Mouquet Farm and Zollern Redoubt fell, and on the 27th, Thiepval was captured (see p. [48]).
The British carried the trenches connecting the Schwaben and Stuff Redoubts, but the enemy still clung to the northern slopes of the plateau which descends towards the Ancre.
The Attack of November 13
The German lines now formed a sharp salient on the Ancre.
To reduce this salient and complete the capture of Thiepval Plateau, the British attacked on both sides of the river.
The attack was delivered in a thick fog, on the 13th, when St. Pierre-Divion and Beaumont-Hamel fell; the same evening Beaucourt village was encircled, to be captured on the morrow. On the following days, the assailants successfully resisted numerous counter-attacks. From the 13th to the 19th, 7,000 prisoners were taken, and the whole of Thiepval Plateau was captured.
The Advance towards the Main Objectives (Bapaume—Péronne)
Towards Bapaume.—The British advance on the two wings—Thiepval to the west and Gueudecourt to the east—forced the German centre back on the Le Sars-Eaucourt line. Continuing to press the enemy, the British carried Destremont Farm, in front of Le Sars, on September 29, while on October 3, the village of Eaucourt-l'Abbaye was taken. On the 7th, a further advance was made along the spur which forms a salient in front of Le Transloy village, and Le Sars village was carried the same day.
A single line of heights only now separated the British Army from Bapaume, 6 km. distant from Le Sars. This line consisted chiefly of Warlencourt Ridge, which dominates the country all round, and which had been turned by the Germans into an apparently impregnable fortress.
Although the bad weather and the mud now forced the Allies to suspend their offensive, sharp fighting continued. From December to the end of January the British raided the enemy's trenches unceasingly.
After that, operations were resumed to reduce the Ancre salient completely. The improvement, realised since the previous summer, in their offensive strength, at once became apparent. Their artillery, reinforced, thoroughly "pounded" the whole terrain, making it possible for the infantry to force a way through all obstacles, and to advance continuously.
Advancing over the tops of the hills, which border the Upper Ancre, the British directed their efforts alternately against both banks of the river, and soon rendered untenable those positions still held by the Germans at the bottom of the valleys. On February 7, 1917, Grandcourt was captured, while the week following, Miraumont, Pys, Warlencourt with its famous Ridge, and Ligny-Thilloy (within 3 km. of Bapaume) were surrounded.
The Germans now fell back on a new line of defences close to the town, and by strong counter-attacks sought to stay the British advance. Their efforts were in vain, however, and the British hemmed them in more closely each day. Irles was occupied on March 10; Louppart Wood and Grévillers on the 13th. On the 14th, the British were at the gates of Bapaume, which they entered three days later (the 17th), only to find that the town had been burnt and methodically destroyed by the Germans.
Towards Péronne.—On October 1, the French lines, in liaison with those of the British south of Morval, took in Rancourt, Bouchavesnes and Labbé Farm, passed in front of Feuillancourt and reached the Somme at Omiécourt.
After a halt, devoted to the consolidation of the ground, the French resumed their advance, in spite of the bad weather. The objective was now to widen the positions beyond the Bapaume-Péronne road, in order to turn the town from the north, as the marshes of the Somme and the defences of Mont-Saint-Quentin did not permit a frontal attack.
On October 7, the road was occupied from Rancourt to within about 200 yards of the first houses of Sailly-Saillisel, and the western and south-western outskirts of Saint-Pierre-Vaast Wood were reached. During the following weeks the fighting, which was furious, concentrated around Sailly-Saillisel. On October 18, Sailly was carried, but Saillisel held out until the beginning of November. Meanwhile, the French made several unsuccessful attempts to carry the defence-works of Saint-Pierre-Vaast Wood, and finally remained hanging on to the western outskirts, in close contact with the enemy.
At the end of 1916, the front line in this sector extended from the northern outskirts of Sailly-Saillisel, along the western edges of Saint-Pierre-Vaast Wood, then took in Bouchavesnes and crossed the Somme near Omiécourt.
The winter passed quietly, except in the region of Sailly-Saillisel and Saint-Pierre-Vaast Wood, where skirmishing and grenade fighting were incessant. The British took possession of the sector and fortified it strongly, raiding from time to time the enemy trenches.
In March, 1917, the artillery duel increased in intensity, and the Germans prepared to evacuate their positions.
Their retreat began on March 15, after the country had been methodically devastated. The British occupied the whole wood of Saint-Pierre-Vaast on the 15th and 16th, almost without striking a blow. On the 17th, they held the Mont-Saint-Quentin—powerful advance fortress of Péronne. On the 18th, they finally entered the town from the north, while other detachments reached it from the south-east, across the marshes of the Somme.
PRESIDENT POINCARÉ HANDING THE "COMMANDEUR DE LA LÉGION D'HONNEUR" INSIGNIA TO GENERAL MICHELER.
The Battle of Attrition, South of the Somme
In the early days of July, in the diversion section south of the Somme, the French 1st Colonial Corps, having carried the three German positions, faced south-east.
The French lines, resting on the western outskirts of Omiécourt, followed the Somme Canal, encircled Biaches and La Maisonnette, turned south-west, and passed in front of Barleux village, which, hidden in a depression of the ground, had till then successfully resisted all assaults. The lines ran towards Soyécourt (still held by the enemy), then southwards via Lihons and Maucourt.
From La Maisonnette to Maucourt, they formed the sides of an enormous obtuse angle, the apex of which was Soyécourt.
The objective of the French 10th Army (General Micheler), disposed along the sides of this angle, was to widen the latter by means of continued thrusts in the direction of the southern end of the bend in the Somme. Its advance being then stayed by the important stronghold of Chaulnes, the latter was to be half-encircled, thereby seriously threatening the rear of the German positions south of the town.
The French offensive was launched on September 4. The outskirts of Deniécourt and Berny were reached in the first rush; in the centre, Soyécourt was carried; on the left, Vermandovillers was partly captured and Chilly passed by about half a mile.
On the 5th, the Germans counter-attacked unsuccessfully, and failed to stay the French advance. On the 6th, half the village of Berny was taken. In three days, 6,650 prisoners and 36 guns, including 28 heavies, were captured.
A fresh offensive was combined, with the attack of the 12th by the Franco-British troops north of the Somme, and that of the 15th by the British troops operating beyond Combles.
On the 17th, the conquest of Vermandovillers and Berny was completed, and on the 18th, the village of Deniécourt was encircled and captured.
On October 10th, the offensive was resumed after a heavy bombardment between Berny and Chaulnes. The hamlet of Bovent, north of Ablaincourt, was conquered, together with the western edge of Chaulnes Wood. Parts of these woods were captured in October, and at the beginning of November. The villages of Ablaincourt and Pressoire were also occupied.
Thanks to this slow but continuous advance, and to the capture of these various villages, the fortress of Chaulnes was outflanked and half-encircled.
However, the Germans managed to maintain themselves there, and the French progress was held in this sector, as it had been further north, by the stronghold of Barleux and the marshes of the Somme.
At the end of 1916, the front line of the sector south of the Somme started from Omiécourt, left Barleux in German hands, and crossed the Maisonnette Plateau. From there, it described a large circle via Berny (French) and Chaulnes (German), skirting Roye and Lassigny (see sketch map, p. [29]).
The German Retreat of March, 1917
Although the Somme offensive did not give immediate strategical results, it nevertheless procured the Allies tactical advantages which were one of the causes of the German retreat of March, 1917.
The capture of important points of support made the position of the Germans a very precarious one, at all the points where they had so far succeeded in maintaining themselves. They feared that if in 1917 the Allies resumed their offensive—which the experience acquired in 1916 would render still more formidable—further retreat, resulting in the piercing of their front line, might become necessary. They consequently decided voluntarily to shorten their lines by falling back on new positions in the rear, known as the "Hindenburg Line" (see the Michelin Guide: "The Hindenburg Line").
THE BAND OF THE AUSTRALIAN 5TH BRIGADE PASSING THROUGH THE SMOKING RUINS OF BAPAUME ON MARCH 19, 1917, WHILE THE BATTLE STILL RAGED NEAR BY, ON THE LINE BECQUINCOURT—NOVAINS.
The formation of a new defensive front was only possible by evacuating a large area, and the German retreat extended to the whole of the region comprised between Arras and Soissons. It was very skilfully carried out, unhampered by the Allies, who contented themselves with following close behind the retreating enemy.
On March 15 and 16, 1917, the French, informed by their Air Service of the enemy's imminent retirement, made numerous raids into the German trenches between the Oise and the Avre, advancing in places as much as 4 km. On the 17th, the cavalry, followed by the infantry, entered Lassigny and Roye. Noyon was occupied early on the 18th.
On the same day (March 17) the British, having relieved the French as far as south of Chaulnes during the winter, captured La Maisonnette, Barleux, Villers-Carbonnel and all the villages still occupied by the enemy within the loop of the Somme. On the 18th, they entered Péronne and Chaulnes.
The whole region between the Somme and the Oise was liberated at that time, after thirty months of German occupation, but only after it had been systematically and totally devastated, according to elaborate plans drawn up beforehand. These destructions were absolutely unjustifiable from a military point of view. Towns and villages were wiped out, houses plundered, industries ruined, factories destroyed, land devastated, agricultural implements broken, farms burnt, trees cut down—in a word, everything done to turn the place into "a desert incapable for a long time of producing the things necessary to life" (Berliner Tagblatt).
It was from these new lines that in the spring of the following year the Germans launched their great offensive, designed to separate the Allied armies and resume their march "nach Paris."
THE SHADED PORTION REPRESENTS THE GROUND CONQUERED DURING THE 1916-1917 OFFENSIVE.
The German offensive and the Allied counter-offensive of 1918 are dealt with in the Michelin Guide: "The Second Battle of the Somme (1918)."
In addition to the pushing back of the enemy front, the Allies' three immediate objectives had been attained.
Verdun was soon relieved of the German pressure, as the enemy "were exhausted and compelled to use their reserves for the Russian front, and especially in the Somme. Their activities on the Verdun front were limited to making good their losses. However, they were finally obliged to weaken this front to a point that they were unable to reply to the French attacks." (See the Michelin Guide: "Verdun, and the Battles for its Possession.")
The Allies' further aim to keep the maximum of the German forces on the western front was likewise attained. According to Field-Marshal Haig's report, the transfer of enemy troops from west to east, begun after the Russian offensive of June, lasted a very little time after the beginning of the Somme offensive. Afterwards, with one exception, the enemy only sent exhausted battle-worn divisions to the eastern front, which were always replaced by fresh divisions. In November, the number of enemy divisions present on the western front was greater than in July, in spite of the abandonment of the offensive against Verdun.
As regards the wearing down of the enemy's fighting strength, their losses in men and material were much heavier than those of the Allies.
Half the German forces in France came out of the battle physically and morally worn.
From July 1 to December 1, the enemy had more than 700,000 men put out of action (killed, wounded or prisoners). More than 300 guns were captured and many others destroyed.
The German nation, badly shaken by the violence and duration of the battle, alarmed at the events on the eastern front, and cruelty disappointed by their failure before Verdun, were on the point of suing for peace at the end of the Battles of the Somme.
On the other hand, the British had gained full consciousness of their strength, and had fought in closer union with their French comrades.
The Allies of all ranks had learned to know and appreciate one another better, and future operations were destined to become more closely co-ordinated. "To fight under such conditions unity of command is generally essential, but in this case, the cordial good feeling of the Allied Armies, and their sincere desire to help one another, served the same purpose and removed all difficulties" (Field-Marshal Haig).
Among the French, the veterans and young classes vied with one another in heroism. Many "bleuets" (twenty-year old youths) were under fire for the first time. In contact with their seasoned Verdun comrades, they fought with splendid dash. After scaling the craggy slopes east of Curlu village, many of them waved their handkerchiefs to cries of "Vive la France!"
Up to the middle in the foul Somme mud, which at times forced the men out of the trenches into the open, in spite of the shells and bullets, the Allied troops acquired the morale of Victory, while the High Command gained and kept the initiative.
GERMAN TANK CAPTURED BY THE NEW ZEALANDERS DURING THE ALLIED OFFENSIVE OF 1918.
Extracted from the Michelin Guide "The Second Battle of the Somme (1918)"