On the 6th and 8th, fighting was resumed in the vicinity of Hangard, where the French 29th Division held their ground. On the 9th, Hangard was lost and retaken, together with the cemetery situated about 200 yards east of the village. On the 11th, a fresh German attack was made against the Hangard-Hourges front. The enemy, held before Hourges, gained a footing in Hangard, where the fighting was desperate. On the morning of the 12th, the Germans surrounded the château and occupied the whole of the wood on Hill 104. A single French battalion in the village held out against four German battalions. In the direction of Hourges the enemy was held.
In Hangard Château, the French battalion, although surrounded since 10 a.m., was still holding out at 6.30 p.m., in spite of repeated attacks. At nightfall, a counter-attack by one French and one British battalions recaptured the village and castle, and drove back the enemy to the cemetery. 127 men, 3 officers and 15 machine-guns were captured, and 35 Allied prisoners released. On April 15, before it was relieved, the 29th Division, which had performed prodigies of valour in its efforts to save Hangard, made it a point of honour to clear the village entirely before leaving. One company carried the cemetery in brilliant style. On the 19th, a German effort against the village and wood failed. On the 24th, the fighting was again fiercest around Hangard, which was defended by only one battalion. A whole German division attacked and after carrying the wood boarded the village from the north. At the same time they attacked Hill 104 from the south, at the foot of which they had been held on the 4th. Enfiladed by machine-guns posted in front of Thennes, the Germans failed to reach that village, but persisted in their efforts against Hangard. After seven furious onslaughts, from 6.30 a.m. to 4.30 p.m., they occupied the cemetery, in which a single company, entirely cut off from all support, held out all that day. Units of the battalion, hard pressed from the north, east and south, shut themselves up with their Commandant in the Château, and made a vigorous defence. Between 3 and 5 p.m., the following message was signalled three times: "Surrounded in Hangard but still holding out". At 6 p.m. the Château was stormed, and the commandant taken prisoner with the remaining survivors. Taking advantage of the confusion caused by the French bombardment among his captors, he escaped with his men and re-entered the castle, where he continued to hold out until nightfall. He was finally captured in the course of another attack.
Maison Blanche.—British Tanks going into action.
In spite of their strenuous efforts, the Germans were unable to debouch from Hangard during the night. On the 25th, the French counter-attacked, and after crossing the Luce at various points, re-occupied Verger hamlet, Hangard village, and part of Hangard Wood, repulsing all German counter-attacks.
On the 26th, the 4th Regiment of the Moroccan Division completed the clearing of the wood. Although the British attack on their right was unsuccessful, a battalion of "Légionnaires" succeeded in outflanking the north-eastern corner of the wood, in which they gained a footing. They were followed soon afterwards by a second battalion supported by British tanks which undertook the destruction of the German machine-guns nests. Driven from the wood, the Germans bombarded it heavily with 6in. and 8in. shells, but could not drive out the French. Finally the Germans retreated 2 kms, two of their divisions being thrown into disorder. One of them, which had just relieved the other, suffered such heavy losses that it had to be sent to the rear two days after coming into line. On the 28th, the Germans launched unsuccessful counter-attacks against the wood, which was finally cleared by French Infantry and British tanks. Thereafter, the enemy were unable to make any advance in this region.
At Hill 104, take on the left the road to Roye (G.C. 203), and cross Maison Blanche. Take the first road on the left (G.C. 28), and skirt the Château of Beaucourt, in the park of which there is a French cemetery. Go through Beaucourt, and keep along the road to Caix (See map, p. 66). Saps, battery positions, and a German cemetery are to be seen along the road. Caix is an ancient market-town. Objects dating from the Bronze Age have been discovered there. The 15th-16th century Sainte-Croix Church (Hist. Mon.), standing halfway up the hill, is of archæological interest. The famous square belfry on the left is flanked to the top by buttresses surmounted by four low, massive corbel-turrets with bell-shaped roofs. A door in the western front forms a low overhanging arch with accolade-shaped archivolts, ornamented with inset pinnacles.
A large doorway in the façade, comprising two elliptical leaves, is surmounted by high, pointed arcading forming a tympanum. On the first story, a delicate, open-work balustrade recalls that of Tilloloy; above is a fine rose window. The roof was rebuilt on modified lines after the terrible fire of April 1768, which practically destroyed the whole village. The south front doorway dates from 1530. Its arch is ornamented with delicately carved vine-foliage.
The 16th century pillars, without capitals, in the nave, are decorated with finely carved canopies, several of which are mutilated. The present consoles and statues standing against the pillars are unfortunately not the original ones. In the aisles, the brackets on which the springing of the pointed arches rests, are ornamented with figures of persons, lizards and dæmons... The pillars of the choir with their foliate capitals, and the transept and chancel are 14th century. The high altar comprises a reredos. The carved pulpit and confessional are in the Renaissance style. The richly ornamented font has disappeared. A large holy-water basin of unusual shape (truncated cone) is adorned with several black circles.
All the zinc and lead-work was stripped off and taken away by the Germans during the occupation of 1918. The wooden leaves of the entrance door were removed. The building suffered severely from the bombardments. The upper part of the belfry fell down and the stained glass was destroyed. Part of the cornice and the frame-work of the chevet were ruined.