_(July 14--September 1.)_
In order to support the forthcoming French thrust towards the east, a
British attack to the north-east was deemed necessary.
The German second positions from Contalmaison to Trônes Wood, and the
crests of the ridge of the plateau formed the objective.
On July 14, the 4th British Army, by a clever manœuvre, took up
positions in the dark at attacking distance. Trônes Wood was carried
on the first day. Longueval, stormed from east and west, was partly
captured. In the centre, Bazentin-le-Grand with its wood and
Bazentin-le-Petit were taken. To the left, the southern outskirts of
Pozières were reached.
[Illustration]
[Illustration: BRITISH GRAVES IN TRÔNES WOOD _(p. 85)_.]
On July 15-16, the British progressed beyond the German second
position--carried along a three-mile front--and established their
advance-posts in the vicinity of the German third position.
By this time the Germans had recovered from their set-back of the 14th
and offered an aggressive defence. Counter-attacking at the point of
the salient in the Allied lines at Delville Wood, they succeeded in
slipping through, but they were held in front of Longueval.
On the 20th and 23rd, the Allies delivered a general attack. The
British 4th Army was now confronted by the enemy in force all along the
line. However, the village of Pozières, one of the strong-points of
Thiepval Plateau, to the west, was carried by the Australians on July
25. The French advanced their lines as far as the ravine, in which runs
the light railway from Combles to Cléry.
Hidden in a hollow of the ground, Guillemont resisted the British
assaults of July 30 and August 7.
On August 12, the French 1st Corps continued its thrust eastwards,
turning Guillemont from the south. The Zouaves and 1st Cambrai Infantry
Regiment entered Maurepas.
More to the south, the 170th Infantry captured the fortified crest
lying 1 km. 500 m. west of Cléry.
The British hung on to the western outskirts of Guillemont.
[Illustration: DELVILLE WOOD NORTH OF LONGUEVAL _(p. 60)_.]