In 1918, the British attacked the Combles positions, only after the
fall of Bapaume. Gen. Rawlinson's Army remained till August 29,
1918--when Bapaume was taken--on the line reached on the 26th, which
ran west of Ginchy, Guillemont and Hardecourt-aux-Bois. Resuming their
advance on the 29th and pressing hard upon the heels of the retreating
enemy, they carried these three villages the same day, then Maurepas,
and finally Combles itself, advancing beyond in the evening.
The ruin of the village was completed during these operations.
Very few houses retained their four walls and roofs. Of the Town Hall
a piece of broken wall only remains. The church was almost entirely
destroyed, only a few fragments of the façade remain standing amid a
heap of stones and rubbish.
_On reaching Combles turn to the left and cross the village as far as
the ruined church_, opposite which is the entrance to the underground
passages and chambers of =Lamotte Castle=.
The church stands at the junction of two roads. _Take the right-hand
one (G.C. 20) which rises towards Guillemont village_, built on
the top of a hill (altitude 462 feet). The road runs between two
small woods--=Bouleaux Wood= (on the right) and =Leuze Wood= (on the
left)--both cut to pieces by the shells.
[Illustration: COMBLES CHURCH.
_On the right: Guillemont road; on the left: impassable road to
Hardecourt._]
Bouleaux Wood was carried by the British on September 15, 1916. The
attack coinciding with a German counter-attack, gave rise to an
exceedingly violent encounter. After capturing an important redoubt,
east of the wood, the British gradually outflanked the enemy on the
wings, and pressing hard from all sides, forcing them to retreat one
kilometre northwards at the end of the day.
Leuze Wood was also carried by assault.
_The village of =Guillemont= (2 km. beyond Combles) is next reached._
Guillemont (razed to the ground) was entirely captured by the British
on September 3, 1916. No trace whatever remains of the houses, the
sites of which are now indistinguishable from the surrounding fields.
The whole area was devastated and is now overrun with rank vegetation.
After its capture it was strewn with wreckage of all kinds--stones,
bricks, beams, agricultural implements, and household furniture
from the shattered farms and houses. The fine modern church, Gothic
in style, which stood in the centre of the village, has entirely
disappeared.
_1 km. 500 beyond Guillemont is =Trônes Wood=, to reach which, take the
Montauban road (G.C. 64) on the left at the fork of the village._
[Illustration: GUILLEMONT. SITE OF THE DESTROYED VILLAGE.]
[Illustration: MONUMENT TO THE DEAD OF THE BRITISH 18TH DIVISION.]
=Trônes Wood= was the scene of much desperate fighting between the
British and the Germans during the first fortnight of July, 1916.
The struggle was almost incessant from July 8 to July 14, the wood
changing hands seven times (the Germans say they lost and retook
it eighteen times running). On both sides the greatest bravery was
displayed, despite terrible losses. British progress was long stayed
by a concrete blockhouse (still existent) in the middle of the wood,
from which, through slits in the walls, enemy machine-guns rained death
unceasingly on the assaulting columns.
A battalion of the Royal West Kents remained forty-eight hours cut off
in a corner of the wood to the north-east, and repulsed many furious
assaults without loss of ground.
The trees were hacked to pieces by the shells. Among the stumps may be
seen trenches, shelters, blockhouses and small forts. In the middle,
to the right of the road, is a =pyramid= erected to the memory of the
officers and men of the British 18th Division, killed in 1916-1918 in
the Battle of the Somme _(photo above)_.
_At the end of the wood, near a rail track on the right, and fifty
yards from the road, is a concrete blockhouse (photo below)._
[Illustration: TRÔNES WOOD. MACHINE-GUN BLOCKHOUSE.]
[Illustration]
_Return by the same road to the fork at Guillemont, and take the road
on the left (leaving that going to Combles on the right). 50 yards
farther on, take the road to =Ginchy= on the right_. This little
village _(1 km. from Guillemont)_ lies on the western slope of the high
"Ancien Télégraphe," plateau formerly chosen by Chappe as a telegraph
post.
Situated at the crossing of six roads, Ginchy defended Combles (4 km.
to the south-east) on the north-west. Partly conquered on September 3,
1916, Ginchy was only completely occupied by the British on September
9, after a terrible struggle lasting three days, in the ruins of the
village (entirely destroyed). The Irish troops (Connaught, Leinster and
Munster Regiments) particularly distinguished themselves.
_Follow the road through Ginchy, leaving on the left the roads to
Longueval (passable) and Flers, and, on the right, the road to Morval._
There is a British cemetery in Ginchy, on the left. _Keep straight on
to Lesbœufs._
[Illustration: GINCHY. WHERE THE CHURCH USED TO STAND.]
[Illustration: LOG ROAD OVER HILL 154.]
_Beyond Ginchy, the road is made of logs for several kilometres (photo
above). It crosses a shell-torn plateau_ (Hill 154), on which numerous
graves convey an idea of the violence of the struggle. In May, 1919,
a large German material and ammunition dump, also a rail-track, were
still to be seen there.
There is a German cemetery _on the left, this side of Lesbœufs_.
_=Lesbœufs= village, next reached_, was entirely destroyed; only a few
shell-torn trees and (on the right) a mound of stones and rubbish (the
church) remain.
_Cross the village and keep straight onto =Le Transloy=_, noticing the
numerous graves on the right and left.
Of this important village only a few broken walls remain.
_After crossing the village N. 37 is picked up; 100 yards farther on_,
the ruins of a large sugar factory are seen on the left.
_Take N. 37 on the right to Péronne_, passing through
_=Sailly-Saillisel=, 4 km. beyond Transloy_.
[Illustration: LE TRANSLOY. SITE AND RUINS OF CHURCH.]
[Illustration: SAILLY-SAILLISEL.
_As seen when looking towards Péronne._]