After the operations at Guillemont the 20th Division went back for a short period of rest, during which time our hold on the main ridge was completed by the capture of Ginchy. We now enter upon the third phase of the battle, in which the British troops pushed down the far side of the ridge and also gained ground on the flanks of the attack. On the 15th of September and the following days an advance on the whole front of the Fourth Army brought the line on the right to within assaulting distance of Morval, Lesbœufs and Gueudecourt—the last of the enemy’s original defensive systems—and on the left as far as High Wood, Martinpuich and Courcelette. The attack was made by the XIVth Corps on the right, the XVth in the centre and the IIIrd on the left, and was the first occasion on which tanks came into action. In the XIVth Corps the 56th Division was on the right, the 6th in the centre, the Guards on the left, and the 20th in reserve.
The only unit of the 20th Division which fought on the first day of the battle was the 91st Field Artillery Brigade. On the 13th, as soon as the Divisional Artillery had come into the XIVth Corps area, Brig.-General Hotham was ordered to send one brigade to reinforce the 56th Divisional Artillery on the extreme right of the British line. Next day, accordingly, while the 92nd and 93rd Brigades went into camp in the Bois des Tailles, two miles south of Meaulte, the 91st Brigade, having marched already 35 miles, moved up ten miles further to positions between Bois Favière and Trônes Wood, where by 3 A.M. on the 15th all batteries were dug in and ready to open fire. By the time the teams had withdrawn to their wagon lines they had covered well over 50 miles. This was a very fine performance, reflecting the highest credit on the spirit of the men and the fitness of the horses. During the battle that day the brigade put down a defensive flank barrage on Combles to assist the attack of the 56th Division west of the village.
The headquarters of the 20th Division was at Forked Tree Camp, two miles south of Fricourt, and the 92nd and 93rd Field Artillery Brigades remained in the Bois des Tailles.
The infantry of the 20th Division came into the fighting in the early hours of the 16th, when the 60th and 61st Brigades, having been placed under the orders of the G.O.C. Guards Division, moved forward, the 61st to the right of the Guards’ line opposite Lesbœufs, the 60th into reserve at Waterlot Farm.
The three infantry brigades of the 20th Division had not yet received reinforcements to replace the great losses of the Guillemont fight and were in consequence very weak; the 59th Brigade could put only 900 rifles in the line, and the other two brigades only 1100 and 1200, but they were still full of fight and confidence.
The first objective on this day was a “Blue Line” facing Morval and Lesbœufs and about 1200 yards west of these places. The second objective skirted Morval on the west and Lesbœufs on the east, ending at the cross-roads half way between Lesbœufs and Gueudecourt.
The 61st Brigade, under Brig.-General Banbury, was to attack on the right, the 3rd Guards Brigade on the left. On the left of the Guards was the XVth Corps.
The 61st Brigade was not in touch with any attacking troops on its right, as the 6th Division was still held up by the Quadrilateral—a well-sited and stubbornly defended fortification three-quarters of a mile east of Ginchy.
The 7th D.C.L.I. (Lieut.-Colonel J. G. T. Simcox, D.S.O.) were detailed to attack on the right of the line and the 7th Somerset L.I. (Major E. L. Lyon) on the left.
In support were the 7th K.O.Y.L.I. (Lieut.-Colonel B. B. Robinson), who had orders to watch particularly the exposed right flank. The 12th King’s (Lieut.-Colonel Vince) formed the reserve.