A squadron of British Dragoon Guards—the first appearance of British cavalry in the trench warfare—charged the wood, spreading panic in the enemy ranks.
Foureaux Wood, literally covered with formidable defences, was only captured after two months of incessant fighting. Finally, the last defenders, surrounded on all sides, were forced to surrender on September 15.
In August, 1918, the British, after piercing the lines on the Ancre and Thiepval Plateau, attacked the German forces, not, as in 1916, parallelly to the Albert-Bapaume road, but at right-angles to it. In two days (August 25-26) they captured Contalmaison village, Mametz Wood, Bazentin, Foureaux Wood and Martinpuich, to the east of the road.
Pass through Bazentin-le-Grand. The road crosses Hill 144, then descends to a quarry on the left, in which several hundred British soldiers were buried. It next climbs up to Montauban—a village rising tier upon tier on the slope of an eminence, the top of which, slightly further to the west (Hill 136), is one of the highest spots in the whole region between Albert and Péronne.
MONTAUBAN. WAYSIDE CROSS AT ENTRANCE TO VILLAGE.
The road passes a cross (photo above) in the village, at the junction of two ways. Take the one on the right, which leads to the site of the late church. Of the latter, nothing remains but a few iron crosses in the surrounding cemetery (photo below).
Montauban was captured by the British on the first day of their offensive (July 1, 1916). The struggle was short, but fierce and sanguinary. Numerous machine-guns posted in the cellars of the houses directed a continuous and murderous fire upon the assailants through the vent-holes, and had to be destroyed one by one, by means of grenades. The enemy losses were very heavy. During the artillery preparation, and on the day of the attack, the Bavarian 6th Regiment lost 3,000 men out of 3,500; the casualties of another of their Infantry Regiments (the 190th) amounted to half its total strength.
Since the third month of the war, Montauban had remained quite close to the front line, and was reduced to ruins. The few houses spared by the Allies' artillery were destroyed later by the German guns.