Positions the French must capture.
In swinging up my own right it was very important that the French line north of the Somme should be advanced at the same time in close combination with the movement of the British troops. The line of demarkation agreed on between the French commander and myself ran from Maltz Horn Farm due eastward to the Combles Valley and then northeastward up that valley to a point midway between Sailly-Saillisel and Morval. These two villages had been fixed upon as objectives, respectively, of the French left and of my right. In order to advance in co-operation with my right, and eventually to reach Sailly-Saillisel, our allies had still to fight their way up that portion of the main ridge which lies between the Combles Valley on the west and the River Tortille on the east. To do so they had to capture, in the first place, the strongly fortified villages of Maurepas, Le Forest, Rancourt, and Frégicourt, besides many woods and strong systems of trenches. As the high ground on each side of the Combles Valley commands the slopes of the ridge on the opposite side, it was essential that the advance of the two armies should be simultaneous and made in the closest co-operation. This was fully recognized by both armies, and our plans were made accordingly.
A pause necessary.
To carry out the necessary preparations to deal with the difficult situation outlined above a short pause was necessary, to enable tired troops to be relieved and guns to be moved forward; while at the same time old communications had to be improved and new ones made. Intrenchments against probable counterattacks could not be neglected, and fresh dispositions of troops were required for the new attacks to be directed eastward.
Pressure on whole front.
It was also necessary to continue such pressure on the rest of our front, not only on the Ancre, but further south, as would make it impossible for the enemy to devote himself entirely to resisting the advance between Delville Wood and the Somme. In addition, it was desirable further to secure our hold on the main ridge west of Delville Wood by gaining more ground to our front in that direction. Orders were therefore issued in accordance with the general considerations explained above, and, without relaxing pressure along the enemy's front from Delville Wood to the west, preparations for an attack on Guillemont were pushed on.
Enemy counterattack on Delville Wood.
During the afternoon of July 18, 1916, the enemy developed his expected counterattack against Delville Wood, after heavy preliminary shelling. By sheer weight of numbers, and at very heavy cost, he forced his way through the northern and northeastern portion of the wood and into the northern half of Longueval, which our troops had cleared only that morning. In the southeast corner of the wood he was held up by a gallant defense, and further south three attacks on our positions in Waterlot Farm failed.
Progress bought by hard fighting.
Enemy in great strength.