MIRAUMONT. BRITISH GRAVES IN FRONT OF CHURCH.
The British objective was Courcelette, Martinpuich and the neighbouring heights which protected the Bapaume Plateau (see p. [22]).
The offensive began on September 15, along a front of about six miles, from the neighbourhood of Combles to the trenches before Pozières.
In a few hours, the infantry, preceded in its advance by impassable artillery barrages, carried Martinpuich and the small hills which dominate it. Other detachments captured Courcelette on the left.
The fighting was particularly desperate before Courcelette. The first two assaulting waves broke against the double line of enemy trenches, flanked by redoubts and salients armed with mortars and machine-guns. Further artillery preparation was necessary, and it was only at nightfall that the Canadians were able to enter the village. A tank immediately set about clearing the streets.
It was in this offensive that tanks were used for the first time, to the great disturbance of the enemy's morale.
At Martinpuich they crushed down the walls which were still standing, and behind which machine-guns were hidden.
