From August 9 to 12.
On August 9-10, the British thrust and the French manœuvre developed.
The British Advance.
Between Albert and the Amiens-Roye road, the Canadians and Australians harassed the enemy without respite, and advanced several kilometres, capturing Bouchoir, Méharicourt, Rosières, Lihons and Proyart.
North of the Somme, in co-operation with American troops, they captured Morlancourt village and plateau to the south-east, where the enemy resisted desperately.
On the 11th, in spite of stubborn resistance, the British reached the Dernancourt crossroads, about a mile west of Bray, Chilly, Fouquescourt and the western suburbs of Villers-les-Roye.
On the 12th, they drove the enemy for good out of Proyart. On the 13th, they reached the suburbs of Bray-sur-Somme and the crossroads of Chuignolles. The front now ran along the old German lines of the Somme Battlefield of 1916, where the enemy, thanks to a number of strong points of support, succeeded in staying the advance. In five days, the British had scored a fine victory, their forces (13 infantry divisions, one regiment of the American 33rd Division, 3 divisions of cavalry, and 400 tanks) defeating 20 German divisions, advancing 12 miles, and capturing 22,000 prisoners and 400 guns.
The Allies Advance from the morning of August 8
(dash line) to the evening of the same day (dot-and-dash
line). The thick full line shows the front
on August 12.