This enemy attack on Delville Wood marked the commencement of the long, closely contested struggle which was not finally decided in our favor till the fall of Guillemont on September 3, 1916, a decision which was confirmed by the capture of Ginchy six days later. Considerable gains were indeed made during this period, but progress was slow, and bought only by hard fighting. A footing was established in High Wood on July 20, 1916, and our line linked up thence with Longueval. A subsequent advance by the Fourth Army on July 23, 1916, on a wide front from Guillemont to Pozières found the enemy in great strength all along the line, with machine guns and forward troops in shell holes and newly constructed trenches well in front of his main defenses. Although ground was won, the strength of the resistance experienced showed that the hostile troops had recovered from their previous confusion sufficiently to necessitate long and careful preparation before further successes on any great scale could be secured.
Two powerful counterattacks.
An assault delivered simultaneously on this date by General Gough's army against Pozières gained considerable results, and by the morning of July 25, 1916, the whole of that village was carried, including the cemetery, and important progress was made along the enemy's trenches to the northeast. That evening, after heavy artillery preparation, the enemy launched two more powerful counterattacks, the one directed against our new position in and around High Wood and the other delivered from the northwest of Delville Wood. Both attacks were completely broken up with very heavy losses to the enemy.
Delville Wood recovered.
On July 27, 1916, the remainder of Delville Wood was recovered, and two days later the northern portion of Longueval and the orchards were cleared of the enemy, after severe fighting, in which our own and the enemy's artillery were very active.
Fighting at Guillemont.
On July 30, 1916, the village of Guillemont and Falfemont Farm to the southeast were attacked, in conjunction with a French attack north of the Somme. A battalion entered Guillemont, and part of it passed through to the far side; but as the battalions on either flank did not reach their objectives, it was obliged to fall back, after holding out for some hours on the western edge of the village. In a subsequent local attack on August 7, 1916, our troops again entered Guillemont, but were again compelled to fall back owing to the failure of a simultaneous effort against the enemy's trenches on the flanks of the village.
Dominating enemy positions.
Series of French and British attacks.
The ground to the south of Guillemont was dominated by the enemy's positions in and about that village. It was therefore hoped that these positions might be captured first, before an advance to the south of them in the direction of Falfemont Farm was pushed further forward. It had now become evident, however, that Guillemont could not be captured as an isolated enterprise without very heavy loss, and, accordingly, arrangements were made with the French Army on our immediate right for a series of combined attacks, to be delivered in progressive stages, which should embrace Maurepas, Falfemont Farm, Guillemont, Leuze Wood, and Ginchy.