(October-November, 1916.)
Having taken Combles, the French hastened to consolidate their gains by
carrying the height of Sailly-Saillisel (in October, 1916)--the last of
the hills from which the Germans dominated the hollow of Combles. On
this hill (altitude, 455-488 ft.) stood an extensive village formed by
two agglomerations--=Sailly=, grouped around the Bapaume-Péronne road
(N. 37) and =Saillisel=, built to the south-east and along G.C. 184.
* * * * *
Daily progress by means of grenade fighting having enabled the
French gradually to encircle Sailly-Saillisel from the north-west
to south-west during the first half of October, an attack was then
launched against the defences proper of the village. This attack
developed into one of the hardest and bloodiest battles in the whole of
the Somme offensive, which, begun on October 15, lasted till November
11, 1916.
* * * * *
Sailly was captured first (October 15), the French attacking the
defences of the castle, park and old church which flanked Sailly on the
west. After desperate fighting, the Germans were forced to retreat.
Following up their success, the French pursued the retreating enemy
into their second lines and entered the village, reducing the fortified
houses one by one, and occupying the whole of the village west of the
Bapaume-Péronne road. By nightfall, the central cross-roads of Sailly
was reached. On the 16th, a new block of houses was carried. On the
17th, the Germans counter-attacked furiously several times in force,
and succeeded in regaining a footing in the defences lost the day
before, to which they clung desperately. The capture of the village was
only completed on the 18th, when the French consolidated their gains by
carrying the ridges which dominate Sailly from the west and north.
The honour of taking Sailly fell to the 152nd Infantry Regiment of the
Vosges, already famous by the capture, in Alsace, of the village of
Steinbach and the Hartmannsweillerkopf. For eight days, this gallant
unit _"fully maintained its gains, in spite of the most intense
bombardment, and as many as three violent counter-attacks daily"_
(Order of the Day of December 4, 1916, being the third Citation "à
l'ordre de l'Armée" of this regiment).
[Illustration: GRAVES IN THE PARK OF SAILLY-SAILLISEL CHÂTEAU]
The battle was soon resumed with the same violence for the possession
of Saillisel. At the end of October, the French reached the
church--about 200 yards from the first houses of the hamlet--and
continued to advance on the following days, occupying Saillisel almost
entirely on November 5.
They were, however, unable to maintain themselves there, and the
Germans, after extremely violent fighting, reoccupied the ruins of the
hamlet. Saillisel was finally and totally conquered on November 11-12.
A party of German machine-gunners in a block of houses refused to
surrender, and had to be overpowered with bombs.
Sailly-Saillisel must be added to the long list of the villages which
have totally vanished. The old castle is now a shapeless mass of
ruins. The park was so badly cut up by the shells that there remain
practically no vestiges of the trenches and fortifications which
the Germans had accumulated there. All the trees were more or less
shattered, and rank vegetation now overruns the whole place. Groups of
graves scattered here and there, recall the terrible battles which were
fought there.
Of the church, only the bases of a few pillars remain. The graves in
the churchyard were torn open by the bombardments, and the village was
almost entirely levelled.
_To visit Saillisel, take, opposite a large pool, a road--at right
angles to N. 37--which runs past the ruins of the church: follow it as
far as the cross-roads._ The sight is impressive, on account of the
large number of French graves and shell-holes; some of the latter are
of enormous size.
_Return to and follow N. 37 to =Rancourt= (3 km.). The road crosses
Hill 148_, whence there is an extensive view, which explains why the
Germans clung so stubbornly to this ground.
_On the left of the road, at this point, lies Saint-Pierre-Vaast Wood_,
a visit to which is both impressive and interesting. _Access to it is
gained by a road which branches off N. 37 at the entrance to Rancourt
(see sketch-map, p. 90)._