The road crosses Aveluy Wood, the trees of which are cut to pieces. 2 km. 500 beyond Aveluy, before the fork with the road to Mesnil, there is a British cemetery on the right.
On leaving the wood, follow the railway to the ruins of Hamel village. Before entering, note the British cemetery on the left.
Opposite, on the crest of the hill, on the left bank of the Ancre, is Thiepval Wood, cut to pieces by the shells. The view of the Ancre Valley from here is most impressive (photo below).
The British Operations in the Ancre Sector
During the first months of the offensive of 1916, the Germans, installed on the top of the slopes which dominate both banks of the river, resisted successfully in the Ancre sector. On the east, they occupied the whole of the Thiepval Plateau (maximum altitude, 540 feet), which they transformed into a veritable fortress. To the west, after crossing the Ancre below the hamlet of St.-Pierre-Divion, their trenches ran in front of the high ground of Beaumont-Hamel (Hill 135) and Serre (Hills 143 and 141). From these elevated points they dominated the British positions, which is why the British, before attacking, were forced to take the Thiepval Ridge (end of September, 1916). This enabled them to take the German intrenchments in the rear.
On November 13, 1916, the attack was launched under very unfavourable weather conditions. The ground was sodden, and a thick fog hid everything from view. In spite, however, of the five successive lines of trenches which protected the enemy positions, the British first captured the hamlet of St.-Pierre-Divion, then, three hours afterwards, the fortress of Beaumont.
In 1918, the German thrust broke down, as in 1914, on the banks of the Ancre. Caught in the swampy ground, they were unable to establish themselves strongly on the heights of the western bank. Leaving advanced posts only in the valley, with strong patrols, they reoccupied their old entrenched positions; but with the ground in such a state of upheaval, a prolonged resistance there was impossible.
The Germans were unable to prevent the British, on August 22, 1918, from crossing the Ancre near Aveluy and carrying, within forty-eight hours, the Thiepval and Beaumont Heights, against which their efforts had so long been unsuccessful.