had been turned into veritable fortresses. The deep cellars, usually to
be found in the villages, and the numerous pits and quarries common to a
chalk country were used to provide cover for machine guns and trench
mortars. The existing cellars were supplemented by elaborate dugouts,
sometimes in two stories, and these were connected up by passages as
much as thirty feet below the surface of the ground. The salients in the
enemy's lines, from which he could bring enfilade fire across his front,
were made into self-contained forts, and often protected by mine fields,
while strong redoubts and concrete machine-gun emplacements had been
constructed in positions from which he could sweep his own trenches
should these be taken. The ground lent itself to good artillery
observation on the enemy's part, and he had skillfully arranged for
cross-fire by his guns.
[Sidenote: A composite system of great strength.]
These various systems of defense, with the fortified localities and
other supporting points between them, were cunningly sited to afford
each other mutual assistance and to admit of the utmost possible
development of enfilade and flanking fire by machine guns and artillery.
They formed, in short, not merely a series of successive lines, but one
composite system of enormous depth and strength.
[Sidenote: Many lines prepared in the rear.]
Behind this second system of trenches, in addition to woods, villages,
and other strong points prepared for defense, the enemy had several
other lines already completed; and we had learned from aeroplane
reconnoisance that he was hard at work improving and strengthening these
and digging fresh ones between them and still further back.
In the area above described, between the Somme and the Ancre, our
front-line trenches ran parallel and close to those of the enemy, but
below them. We had good direct observation on his front system of
trenches and on the various defenses sited on the slopes above us
between his first and second systems; but the second system itself, in
many places, could not be observed from the ground in our possession,
while, except from the air, nothing could be seen of his more distant
defenses.
[Sidenote: The lines of the Allies.]
North of the Ancre, where the opposing trenches ran transversely across
the main ridge, the enemy's defenses were equally elaborate and
formidable. So far as command of ground was concerned we were here
practically on level terms, but, partly as a result of this, our direct
observation over the ground held by the enemy was not so good as it was
further south. On portions of this front the opposing first-line
trenches were more widely separated from each other, while in the
valleys to the north were many hidden gun positions from which the enemy
could develop flanking fire on our troops as they advanced across the
open.
[Sidenote: Period of active operations.]
The period of active operations dealt with in this dispatch divides
itself roughly into three phases. The first phase opened with the attack
of July 1, 1916, the success of which evidently came as a surprise to
the enemy and caused considerable confusion and disorganization in his
ranks.
The advantages gained on that date and developed during the first half
of July may be regarded as having been rounded off by the operations of
July 14, 1916, and three following days, which gave us possession of the
southern crest of the main plateau between Delville Wood and
Bazentin-le-Petit.
[Sidenote: The enemy's efforts to hold the ridge.]
We then entered upon a contest lasting for many weeks, during which the
enemy, having found his strongest defenses unavailing, and now fully
alive to his danger, put forth his utmost efforts to keep his hold of
the main ridge. This stage of the battle constituted a prolonged and
severe struggle for mastery between the contending armies, in which,
although progress was slow and difficult, the confidence of our troops
in their ability to win was never shaken. Their tenacity and
determination proved more than equal to their task, and by the first
week in September they had established a fighting superiority that has
left its mark on the enemy, of which possession of the ridge was merely
the visible proof.
[Sidenote: The plateau gained.]
[Sidenote: Successes of the French south of the Somme]
The way was then opened for the third phase, in which our advance was
pushed down the forward slopes of the ridge and further extended on
both flanks until, from Morval to Thiepval, the whole plateau and a good
deal of ground beyond were in our possession. Meanwhile our gallant
allies, in addition to great successes south of the Somme, had pushed
their advance, against equally determined opposition and under most
difficult tactical conditions, up the long slopes on our immediate
right, and were now preparing to drive the enemy from the summit of the
narrow and difficult portion of the main ridge which lies between the
Combles Valley and the River Tortille, a stream flowing from the north
into the Somme just below Peronne.
[Sidenote: Careful artillery preparation.]
Defenses of the nature described could only be attacked with any
prospect of success after careful artillery preparation. It was
accordingly decided that our bombardment should begin on June 24, 1916
and a large force of artillery was brought into action for the purpose.
[Sidenote: Gas discharges.]
Artillery bombardments were also carried out daily at different points
on the rest of our front, and during the period from June 24 to July 1,
1916, gas was discharged with good effect at more than forty places
along our line upon a frontage which in total amounted to over fifteen
miles. Some seventy raids, too, were undertaken by our infantry between
Gommecourt and our extreme left north of Ypres during the week preceding
the attack, and these kept me well informed as to the enemy's
dispositions, besides serving other useful purposes.
[Sidenote: Attack by the Royal Flying Corps.]
On June 25, 1916, the Royal Flying Corps carried out a general attack on
the enemy's observation balloons, destroying nine of them, and depriving
the enemy for the time being of this form of observation.
[Sidenote: British and French co-operate in attack.]
On July 1, 1916, at 7.30 a. m., after a final hour of exceptionally
violent bombardment, our infantry assault was launched. Simultaneously
the French attacked on both sides of the Somme, co-operating closely
with us.
The British main front of attack extended from Maricourt on our right,
round the salient at Fricourt, to the Ancre in front of St. Pierre
Divion. To assist this main attack by holding the enemy's reserves and
occupying his artillery, the enemy's trenches north of the Ancre, as far
as Serre, inclusive, were to be assaulted simultaneously, while further
north a subsidiary attack was to be made on both sides of the salient at
Gommecourt.
[Sidenote: Rawlinson and Allenby.]
I had intrusted the attack on the front from Maricourt to Serre to the
Fourth Army, under the command of General Sir Henry S. Rawlinson, Bart.,
K. C. B., K. C. V. O., with five army corps at his disposal. The
subsidiary attack at Gommecourt was carried out by troops from the army
commanded by General Sir E. H. H. Allenby, K. C. B.
[Sidenote: Mines exploded under enemy lines.]
[Sidenote: Advance over open ground.]
[Sidenote: Trenches taken near Fricourt.]
Just prior to the attack the mines which had been prepared under the
enemy's lines were exploded, and smoke was discharged at many places
along our front. Through this smoke our infantry advanced to the attack
with the utmost steadiness in spite of the very heavy barrage of the
enemy's guns. On our right our troops met with immediate success, and
rapid progress was made. Before midday Montauban had been carried, and
shortly afterward the Briqueterie, to the east, and the whole of the
ridge to the west of the village were in our hands. Opposite Mametz part
of our assembly trenches had been practically leveled by the enemy
artillery, making it necessary for our infantry to advance to the attack
across 400 yards of open ground. None the less they forced their way
into Mametz, and reached their objective in the valley beyond, first
throwing out a defensive flank toward Fricourt on their left. At the
same time the enemy's trenches were entered north of Fricourt, so that
the enemy's garrison in that village was pressed on three sides. Further
north, though the village of La Boisselle and Ovillers for the time
being resisted our attack, our troops drove deeply into the German lines
on the flanks of these strongholds, and so paved the way for their
capture later.
[Sidenote: Fight for the Leipsic Salient.]
On the spur running south from Thiepval the work known as the Leipsic
Salient was stormed, and severe fighting took place for the possession
of the village and its defenses. Here and north of the valley of the
Ancre, as far as Serre, on the left flank of our attack, our initial
successes were not sustained. Striking progress was made at many points,
and parties of troops penetrated the enemy's positions to the outer
defenses of Grandcourt, and also to Pendant Copse and Serre; but the
enemy's continued resistance at Thiepval and Beaumont Hamel made it
impossible to forward reinforcements and ammunition, and in spite of
their gallant efforts our troops were forced to withdraw during the
night to their own lines.
[Sidenote: The attack at Gommecourt.]
The subsidiary attack at Gommecourt also forced its way into the enemy's
positions, but there met with such vigorous opposition that as soon as
it was considered that the attack had fulfilled its object our troops
were withdrawn.
[Sidenote: Instructions to General Gough.]
In view of the general situation at the end of the first day's
operations I decided that the best course was to press forward on a
front extending from our junction with the French to a point half way
between La Boisselle and Contalmaison, and to limit the offensive on our
left for the present to a slow and methodical advance. North of the
Ancre such preparations were to be made as would hold the enemy to his
positions and enable the attack to be resumed there later if desirable.
In order that General Sir Henry Rawlinson might be left free to
concentrate his attention on the portion of the front where the attack
was to be pushed home, I also decided to place the operations against
the front, La Boisselle to Serre, under the command of General Sir
Hubert de la P. Gough, K. C. B., to whom I accordingly allotted the two
northern corps of Sir Henry Rawlinson's army. My instructions to Sir
Hubert Gough were that his army was to maintain a steady pressure on the
front from La Boisselle to the Serre road and to act as a pivot on which
our line could swing as our attacks on his right made progress toward
the north.
[Sidenote: Fricourt to Contalmaison.]
During the succeeding days the attack was continued on these lines. In
spite of strong counter-attacks on the Briqueterie and Montauban, by
midday on July 2 our troops had captured Fricourt, and in the afternoon
and evening stormed Fricourt Wood and the farm to the north. During July
3 and 4 Bernajay and Caterpillar woods were also captured, and our
troops pushed forward to the railway north of Mametz. On these days the
reduction of La Boisselle was completed after hard fighting, while the
outskirts of Contalmaison were reached on July 5. North of La Boisselle
also the enemy's forces opposite us were kept constantly engaged, and
our holding in the Leipsic Salient was gradually increased.
[Sidenote: Result of five days' fighting.]
[Sidenote: Prisoners taken.]
To sum up the results of the fighting of these five days, on a front of
over six miles, from the Briqueterie to La Boisselle, our troops had
swept over the whole of the enemy's first and strongest system of
defense, which he had done his utmost to render impregnable. They had
driven him back over a distance of more than a mile, and had carried
four elaborately fortified villages. The number of prisoners passed back
at the close of July 5, 1916, had already reached the total of
ninety-four officers and 5,724 other ranks.
[Sidenote: Readjustments and reliefs.]
[Sidenote: Contalmaison and Mametz Wood.]
After the five days' heavy and continuous fighting just described it was
essential to carry out certain readjustments and reliefs of the forces
engaged. In normal conditions of enemy resistance the amount of progress
that can be made at any time without a pause in the general advance is
necessarily limited. Apart from the physical exhaustion of the attacking
troops and the considerable distance separating the enemy's successive
main systems of defense, special artillery preparation was required
before a successful assault could be delivered. Meanwhile, however,
local operations were continued in spite of much unfavorable weather.
The attack on Contalmaison and Mametz Wood was undertaken on July 7,
1916, and after three days' obstinate fighting, in the course of which
the enemy delivered several powerful counterattacks, the village and the
whole of the wood, except its northern border, were finally secured. On
July 7 also a footing was gained in the other defenses of Ovillers,
while on July 9, 1916, on our extreme right, Maltz Horn Farm--an
important point on the spur north of Hardecourt--was secured.
[Sidenote: British troops in Trones Wood.]
A thousand yards north of this farm our troops had succeeded at the
second attempt in establishing themselves on July 8, 1916, in the
southern end of Trones Wood. The enemy's positions in the northern and
eastern parts of this wood were very strong, and no less than eight
powerful German counterattacks were made here during the next five days.
In the course of this struggle portions of the wood changed hands
several times; but we were left eventually, on July 13, 1916, in
possession of the southern part of it.
[Sidenote: Assault on the German second system of defense.]
Meanwhile Mametz Wood had been entirely cleared of the enemy, and with
Trones Wood also practically in our possession we were in a position to
undertake an assault upon the enemy's second system of defense.
Arrangements were accordingly made for an attack to be delivered at
daybreak on the morning of July 14, 1916, against a front extending from
Longueval to Bazentin-le-Petit Wood, both inclusive. Contalmaison Villa,
on a spur 1,000 yards west of Bazentin-le-Petit Wood, had already been
captured to secure the left flank of the attack, and advantage had been
taken of the progress made by our infantry to move our artillery forward
into new positions. The preliminary bombardment had opened on July 11,
1916. The opportunities offered by the ground for enfilading the enemy's
lines were fully utilized, and did much to secure the success of our
attack.
[Sidenote: A night operation of magnitude.]
In the early hours of July 4, 1916, the attacking troops moved out over
the open for a distance of from about 1,000 to 1,400 yards, and lined up
in the darkness just below the crest and some 300 to 500 yards from the
enemy's trenches. Their advance was covered by strong patrols, and their
correct deployment had been insured by careful previous preparations.
The whole movement was carried out unobserved and without touch being
lost in any case. The decision to attempt a night operation of this
magnitude with an army, the bulk of which had been raised since the
beginning of the war, was perhaps the highest tribute that could be paid
to the quality of our troops. It would not have been possible but for
the most careful preparation and forethought, as well as thorough
reconnoissance of the ground, which was, in many cases, made personally
by divisional, brigade, and battalion commanders and their staffs before
framing their detailed orders for the advance.
[Sidenote: The assault on July 14.]
The actual assault was delivered at 3.25 a.m. on July 14, 1916, when
there was just sufficient light to be able to distinguish friend from
foe at short ranges, and along the whole front attacked our troops,
preceded by a very effective artillery barrage, swept over the enemy's
first trenches and on into the defenses beyond.
[Sidenote: Trones Wood cleared of the enemy.]
[Sidenote: Longueval occupied.]
On our right the enemy was driven from his last foothold in Trones Wood,
and by 8 a.m. we had cleared the whole of it, relieving a body of 170
men who had maintained themselves all night in the northern corner of
the wood, although completely surrounded by the enemy. Our position in
the wood was finally consolidated, and strong patrols were sent out from
it in the direction of Guillemont and Longueval. The southern half of
this latter village was already in the hands of the troops who had
advanced west of Trones Wood. The northern half, with the exception of
two strong points, was captured by 4 p.m. after a severe struggle.
[Sidenote: The enemy counterattacks.]
In the centre of our attack Bazentin-le-Grand village and wood were also
gained, and our troops pushing northward captured Bazentin-le-Petit
village and the cemetery to the east. Here the enemy counterattacked
twice about midday without success, and again in the afternoon, on the
latter occasion momentarily reoccupying the northern half of the village
as far as the church. Our troops immediately returned to the attack and
drove him out again with heavy losses. To the left of the village
Bazentin-le-Petit Wood was cleared, in spite of the considerable
resistance of the enemy along its western edge, where we successfully
repulsed a counterattack. In the afternoon further ground was gained to
the west of the wood, and posts were established immediately south of
Pozieres.
[Sidenote: General Rawlinson employs cavalry.]
The enemy's troops, who had been severely handled in these attacks and
counterattacks, began to show signs of disorganization, and it was
reported early in the afternoon that it was possible to advance to High
Wood. General Rawlinson, who had held a force of cavalry in readiness
for such an eventuality, decided to employ a part of it. As the fight
progressed small bodies of this force had pushed forward gradually,
keeping in close touch with the development of the action, and prepared
to seize quickly any opportunity that might occur. A squadron now came
up on the flanks of our infantry, who entered High Wood at about 8 p.m.,
and, after some hand-to-hand fighting, cleared the whole of the wood
with the exception of the northern apex. Acting mounted in co-operation
with the infantry, the cavalry came into action with good effect,
killing several of the enemy and capturing some prisoners.
[Sidenote: British withdrawn from High Wood.]
On July 15, 1916, the battle still continued, though on a reduced scale.
Arrow Head Copse, between the southern edge of Trones Wood and
Guillemont, and Waterlot Farm on the Longueval-Guillemont road, were
seized, and Delville Wood was captured and held against several hostile
counterattacks. In Longueval fierce fighting continued until dusk for
the possession of the two strong points and the orchards to the north of
the village. The situation in this area made the position of our troops
in High Wood somewhat precarious, and they now began to suffer numerous
casualties from the enemy's heavy shelling. Accordingly orders were
given for their withdrawal, and this was effected during the night of
July 15-16, 1916, without interference by the enemy. All the wounded
were brought in.
[Sidenote: Progress toward Pozieres.]
In spite of repeated enemy counterattacks further progress was made on
the night of July 16, 1916, along the enemy's main second-line trenches
northwest of Bazentin-le-Petit Wood to within 500 yards of the northeast
corner of the village of Pozieres, which our troops were already
approaching from the south.
[Sidenote: Ovillers captured.]
Meanwhile the operations further north had also made progress. Since the
attack of July 7, 1916, the enemy in and about Ovillers had been pressed
relentlessly and gradually driven back by incessant bombing attacks and
local assaults, in accordance with the general instructions I had given
to General Sir Hubert Gough. On July 16, 1916, a large body of the
garrison of Ovillers surrendered, and that night and during the
following day, by a direct advance from the west across No Man's Land,
our troops carried the remainder of the village and pushed out along the
spur to the north and eastward toward Pozieres.
[Sidenote: A new line definitely established.]
The results of the operations of July 4, 1916, and subsequent days were
of considerable importance. The enemy's second main system of defense
had been captured on a front of over three miles. We had again forced
him back more than a mile, and had gained possession of the southern
crest of the main ridge on a front of 6,000 yards. Four more of his
fortified villages and three woods had been wrested from him by
determined fighting, and our advanced troops had penetrated as far as
his third line of defense. In spite of a resolute resistance and many
counterattacks, in which the enemy had suffered severely, our line was
definitely established from Maltz Horn Farm, where we met the French
left, northward along the eastern edge of Trones Wood to Longueval,
then westward past Bazentin-le-Grand to the northern corner of
Bazentin-le-Petit and Bazentin-le-Petit Wood, and then westward again
past the southern face of Pozieres to the north of Ovillers. Posts were
established at Arrow Head Copse and Waterlot Farm, while we had troops
thrown forward in Delville Wood and toward High Wood, though their
position was not yet secure.
[Sidenote: Sir Henry Rawlinson commended.]
I cannot speak too highly of the skill, daring endurance, and
determination by which these results had been achieved. Great credit is
due to Sir Henry Rawlinson for the thoroughness and care with which this
difficult undertaking was planned; while the advance and deployment made
by night without confusion, and the complete success of the subsequent
attack, constitute a striking tribute to the discipline and spirit of
the troops engaged, as well as to the powers of leadership and
organization of their commanders and staffs.
[Sidenote: Guns and prisoners taken.]
During these operations and their development on the 15th a number of
enemy guns were taken, making a total capture since July 1, 1916, of
eight heavy howitzers, four heavy guns, forty-two field and light guns
and field howitzers, thirty trench mortars, and fifty-two machine guns.
Very considerable losses had been inflicted on the enemy, and the
prisoners captured amounted to over 2,000, bringing the total since July
1, 1916, to over 10,000.
[Sidenote: Enemy able to bring up fresh troops.]
There was strong evidence that the enemy forces engaged on the battle
front had been severely shaken by the repeated successes gained by
ourselves and our allies; but the great strength and depth of his
defenses had secured for him sufficient time to bring up fresh troops,
and he had still many powerful fortifications, both trenches, villages,
and woods, to which he could cling in our front and on our flanks.
We had, indeed, secured a footing on the main ridge, but only on a front
of 6,000 yards, and desirous though I was to follow up quickly the
successes we had won, it was necessary first to widen this front.
[Sidenote: Pozieres and Thiepval still to be carried.]
West of Bazentin-le-Petit the villages of Pozieres and Thiepval,
together with the whole elaborate system of trenches around, between and
on the main ridge behind them, had still to be carried. An advance
further east would, however, eventually turn these defenses, and all
that was for the present required on the left flank of our attack was a
steady, methodical, step by step advance as already ordered.
[Sidenote: Salient at Delville, Wood and Longueval.]
On our right flank the situation called for stronger measures. At
Delville Wood and Longueval our lines formed a sharp salient, from which
our front ran on the one side westward to Pozieres, and on the other
southward to Maltz Horn Farm. At Maltz Horn Farm our lines joined the
French, and the allied front continued still southward to the village of
Hem, on the Somme.
[Sidenote: Enemy's advantages.]