Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

The Somme Day by Day

Collapse
This is a sticky topic.
X
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • #16
    Thursday 13th July 1916. Day 13

    Today marks the last day of The Battle of Albert, the first stage of the Somme Campaign.

    Trones Wood

    18th Div relieved 30th Div before Dawn.

    18th Div began operations at 7pm. 7th Buffs made several unsuccessful bombing attacks along Maltz Horn Trench towards a German strongpoint.

    A two battalion attack was launched on the wood itself with 7th Bn, the West Kents on the right and 7th Queen’s on the right. The West Kents lost direction and came under fire from Central Trench. 150 of the battalion reached the east end of the wood south of the Guillemont track. The Queen’s failed to reach the wood at all and retired at 9pm.
    sigpic
    Say NO to violence against Women

    Originally posted by hedgehog
    My favourite moment was when the
    Originally posted by hedgehog
    red headed old dear got a smack on her ginger head

    Comment


    • #17
      Friday 14th July 1916. Day 14

      Pozieres

      Patrols from 34th Div reached the southern area of Pozieres in the belief that the village was unoccupied. They were driven back by the Germans.

      Bazentin Ridge




      The map shows the arae of Bazentin Ridge on July 14th. The Red line is the attackers Start Line. Blue is the German positions before the attack and the dotted red line indicates the ground gained during the attack.


      Four Divisions participated in the assault on BazentinRidge- from left to right 21st, 7th, 3rd and 9th (Scottish).

      The 21st and 7th and 3rd were to capture the twin villages of Bazentin le Petit and Bazentin le Grand (and the woods which were named for the villages) while the 9th was to assault Longueval. Bazentin le Grand is slightly misnamed as it consisted of just a few farm buildings while Bazentin le Petit is a real village.

      While some artillery preparation had been ongoing for three days it was kept to a minimum so as not to warn the Germans of a major attack. Instead a 5 minute hurricane bombardment fell on the German line at 3.20am. The four attacking divisions moved into No-Man’s Land under cover of darkness and occupied start lines a few hundred yards from the German trenches.

      21st Division

      110 Bde conducted 21st Div’s attack on Bazentin le Petit Wood. The assaulting battalions were 6th and 7th Bns of the Leicestershire Regt with a company of 8th Leicesters. The remainder of the 8th were in support with 9th Leicesters and 1st East Yorks in reserve. The brigade commenced the attack at 3.25am and was in possession of the wood by 4am despite a minor hold up of the left flank by MG fire. 110 Bde held Bazentin le Petit Wood until relieved by 1st Div in the evening.








      7th Division

      20 Bde was tasked with the assault on Bazentin le Grand Wood with 2nd Bn the Border Regt, 9th Devons (less two companies which had to occupy the covering trenches in front of Caterpillar Wood), 2nd Bn KOSB and 8th Devons in Flat Iron Copse. 22 Bde was in reserve in Mametz Wood.The strongpoints to overcome including Flatiron Trench, Marlboro Trench and The Snout. Luckily the barrage killed all the enemy in the Snout and destroyed the barbed wire. 20 Bde occupied the German First and Second Lines without difficulty. Waiting for the bombardment to lift from the wood, they occupied it and consolidated before 4.30am.

      2nd Bn, the Warwickshire Regt moved forward from Mametz Wood through 20 Bde followed by 2nd Royal Irish Regt. The Warwicks covered the Irish attack on Bazentin Le Petit village at 6.30am. The village was cleared in an hour with the assistance of 6th Leicesters from 21st Div. The Germans counterattacked at 8.30am and forced the Irish back from the north end of the village but the Germans were in turn forced back when the Irish were reinforced by 2nd Bn Gordon Highlanders. The position was consolidated and further German attacks fought off.

      3rd Division

      8 Bde was tasked with assaulting the German front line in front of Bazentin le Grand. 8th Bn, East Yorkshire Regt and 7th Bn, Shropshire Light Infantry were deployed in a sunken road. 1st Bn Royal Scots Fusiliers were in support and 2nd Bn, the Royal Scots were in reserve. Here the barrage had failed to cut the wire and the attack was held up until a company of the Royal Scots broke through and bombed along the front line.

      1st Northumberland Fusiliers (9 Bde) then passed through and captured the village in the face of heavy MG fire.

      9th (Scottish) Division


      26 and 27 Bdes attacked from Montauban Alley north east to Longueval and Delville Wood. 26 Bde was on the right flank with 8th Black Watch and 10th Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders in the assault, 7th Bn Seaforth Highlanders in support and 5th Bn Cameron Highlanders in reserve south of Montauban.

      27 Bde on the left led with 11th Royal Scots and 9th Scottish Rifles. 12th Royal Scots were in support.

      The leading wave of the attack reached the edge of Delville Wood without a shot fired. By 10 am the Scots had captured all immediate objectives except a strongpoint near Longueval, the northern part of the village and Waterlot Farm (actually a sugar refinery).
      Last edited by Groundhog; 14 July 2006, 03:17.
      sigpic
      Say NO to violence against Women

      Originally posted by hedgehog
      My favourite moment was when the
      Originally posted by hedgehog
      red headed old dear got a smack on her ginger head

      Comment


      • #18
        Friday 14th July 1916. Continued

        High Wood

        The next wood east of Bazentin, this area saw the only cavalry charge of the Somme Campaign when a squadron of 7th Dragoon Guards and another of 20th Deccan Horse, from the high ground between Delville Wood and High Wood charged infantry and machine gun positions in the area. At 9.30 pm they took up a line from Longueval to the southern tip of High Wood.

        Trones Wood

        After a week of fighting in Trones Wood the honour of capturing it fell to the 18th Div. The capture of the wood was vital since it flanked the assault on Bazentin Ridge. 54 Bde was tasked with the job and the initial plan had 12th Middlesex leading the attack with 6th Northamptons following to mop up and defend the right flank. 11th Royal Fusiliers and 2nd Bedfords were in support. However by 2.30 the Middlesex were not yet in position at the start line (which was the usual sunken road at La Briqueterie) while the Northamptons were. So the 6th Northamptons attacked at3.25am, entering the wood at 4.30 at the south western edge. A redoubt in Central Trench held out for some time but fell at 6am. Things now got confused, with the advancing troops getting lost in the tangle of fallen trees, barbed wire and shell holes. When they broke free of the wood they assumed they were at the northern end while in fact they had wandered into a projection of the east side. At 8am the Middlesex entered the wood and their CO, Col Maxwell gathered his men, lost Northamptons and men of the 7th Royal West Kents who had been in the wood overnight. A company of the Middlesex took a strongpoint on the Guillemont road, while 7th Buffs cleared Maltz Horn trench. Trones Wood was cleared and consolidated at 9.30am.
        sigpic
        Say NO to violence against Women

        Originally posted by hedgehog
        My favourite moment was when the
        Originally posted by hedgehog
        red headed old dear got a smack on her ginger head

        Comment


        • #19
          Saturday 15th July 1916. Day 15

          Thiepval

          At Leipzig Salient troops of 49th Div fought off a German grenade and flamethrower attack.

          Ovillers

          A three pronged attack by troops of the 25th and 32nd Divs yielded no results.

          Pozieres

          At 9.20am 8th Bn, East Lancashire Regt (112 Bde, 34th Div) started a 1200 yard advance from Contalmaison to Pozieres. They were halted 300 yards from the village by MG fire. At 6pm the advance was resumed for a short period then 112 Bde and one battalion of 111 Bde consolidated.

          Bazentin Le Petit

          1st Bn, Loyal North Lancashire Regt began 1st Div’s operations in this area at 9am by attacking along the line of the German front and support trenches. They gained 400 yards of trench before being halted by MG fire. At 5pm 2nd Bn, the Welsh Regt resumed the attack but were again halted. After dark they managed to link up with 34th Div to the tate>north westtate>.


          High Wood

          High Wood was the soldiers name for the Bois de Forceaux (Raven’s Wood).

          The Cavalry withdrew at 3.40am.


          At 9am 7th Div began an assault on High Wood with 91 Bde, 2nd Bn Queen’s Regt, 1st Bn South Staffords and 21st Bn, the Manchester Regt. They were stopped by MG fire from a trench known as the Switch Line which ran through the wood. The Germans attacked at 2.30pm but were beaten back.Another attempt on the wood was made at 4.45pm with no gain and a complete withdrawal was ordered at 11.25pm.

          To 7th Div’s left and at the same time 3 battalions of the 33rd Div- 1/9th Highland Light Infantry, 1st Bn, the Queen’s Regt and 1st Middlesex attacked the Switch Line and the western edge of High Wood. The entire attack foundered in the face of heavy MG and artillery fire and throwing 16th King’s Royal Rifle Corps and 2nd Worcesters into the attack proved useless. The assault was abandoned and both brigades withdrawn.
          sigpic
          Say NO to violence against Women

          Originally posted by hedgehog
          My favourite moment was when the
          Originally posted by hedgehog
          red headed old dear got a smack on her ginger head

          Comment


          • #20
            Saturday 15th July 1916 Continued.

            Delville Wood



            Today sees the start of the Battle of Delville Wood. We’ll be reading a lot of this place as the fighting for it lasted until 3rd September.

            Some placenames that the soldiers used in this area can be picked out on this photo.

            North St- the road running north from the Y-Junction in Longueval.
            South St- the treet>Ginchy Roadtreet> which runs south of Delville Wood where Delville Wood cemetery is today.
            Picadilly- the road running parallel to and west of treet>North Sttreet>.
            Clarges St- the by-road running west to east into the Y-junction
            Duke St-north of Clarges St and parallel to it in the area of the trees

            The rides in Delville Wood were also named after streets.
            Prince’s St- The ride running west to east through the wood.
            Running north from Prince’s St east to west were The Strand, treet>Regent Sttreet> and treet>Bond Sttreet>.
            Running south from Prince’s St east to west were treet>Buchanan Sttreet> (today it leads to the South African Memorial, the building in the centre of the wood), treet>Campbell Sttreet> and treet>King Sttreet>. The ride running east from treet>Buchanan Sttreet> was called Rotten Row.



            9th (Scottish) Division

            A company of 5th Bn, Cameron Highlanders and 2 companies of 4th Bn, South Africa Regt captured Waterlot Farm after repeated attacks. They were later driven back by heavy shelling.

            In Longueval at 8am, 12th Bn, Royal Scots began bombing up treet>North Streettreet> and advancing north through some orchards. They were driven back and another attack at 7.30 pm was equally unsuccessful.

            The South African Bde advanced into Delville Wood from the south western edge at 6.15am. The southern half was cleared at 8am and a fresh advance secured the rest of the wood.

            An attempt was made at consolidation in the face of heavy MG fire and German attacks. The South Africans were reinforced and another German attack fought off but the wood was bombarded through the night.
            sigpic
            Say NO to violence against Women

            Originally posted by hedgehog
            My favourite moment was when the
            Originally posted by hedgehog
            red headed old dear got a smack on her ginger head

            Comment


            • #21
              Sunday 16th July 1916. Day 16

              Ovillers

              Fighting was renewed in Ovillers at 1am. 74 Bde of the 25th Div attacked from the east, while 1/5th Warwickshire Regt which was attached to the division attacked from the north east. At the same time 144 Bde of 48th Div attacked from the south. By evening Ovillers was reported to have been captured. 145 Bde of 48th Div relieved 25th Div and consolidated the position at night.

              Bazentin Le Petit

              2nd Bn, the Welsh Regt resumed operations at 2am with another unsuccessful bombing attempt on the German support trench.Meanwhile 3Bde had attacked at midnight with 2nd Bn, Royal Munster Fusiliers and 1st Bn, Gloucestershire Regt attacking north east. Objectives were consolidated by dawn.

              Bazentin Le Grand

              91 Bde, having extricated itself from High Wood re-organised in Bazentin Le Grand.

              Delville Wood

              A trench Mortar barrage on Longueval was followed by the Royal Scots attacking in the village west of North St while 1st South African Regt attacked the west end of Prince’s St. Both attacks were driven back by MG fire and at 11pm the South Africans had to fight off a German attack.
              sigpic
              Say NO to violence against Women

              Originally posted by hedgehog
              My favourite moment was when the
              Originally posted by hedgehog
              red headed old dear got a smack on her ginger head

              Comment


              • #22
                Monday 17th July 1916. Day 17

                Ovillers

                144 Bde captured 300 yards of the German front line trench north of Ovillers.

                Pozieres

                12th Bn Durham Light Infantry attacked a trench south of the village with no success.

                Bazentin

                33rd Div relieved 21st Div in the line at Bazentin Le Petit while 7th and 3rd Divs moved east.

                Delville Wood

                At 2am, 27 Bde attacked north astride treet>North Sttreet>. The SA Bde attacked north from Prince’s St and west from the Strand. The attacks failed with heavy losses. The Germans bombarded Longueval and Delville Wood through the night with HE and gas.
                sigpic
                Say NO to violence against Women

                Originally posted by hedgehog
                My favourite moment was when the
                Originally posted by hedgehog
                red headed old dear got a smack on her ginger head

                Comment


                • #23
                  Tuesday 18th July 1916. Day 18

                  Pozieres

                  2nd Bn Royal Munster Fusiliers captured the junction of Munster Alley and the old German support trench south of Pozieres but were soon driven back. The division to which the tate>Munsterstate> belonged (the 1st) established a line of strongpoints along Pozieres Ridge from Bazentin le Petit Wood.

                  Delville Wood

                  At 3.45am 1st Gordon Highlanders plus 2 companies of 8th King’s Own (76 Bde, 3rd Div) assaulted Longueval from the west. They made contact with the South Africans in the wood but were driven back by a German bombardment.

                  At 3.30pm the Germans launched attacks on Delville Wood and Longueval from the east and north. The eastern attack, from the area north of the Ginchy road, was driven back by artillery and the machine guns of the South Africans in the south east corner of the wood. The northern attack drove the South African Bde back to the southern edge of the wood where it was halted by fire from Longueval. In the village itself the Germans drove 27 Bde back to the southern end of the village. A counterattack by 5th Cameron Highlanders regained the line of Clarges St.
                  sigpic
                  Say NO to violence against Women

                  Originally posted by hedgehog
                  My favourite moment was when the
                  Originally posted by hedgehog
                  red headed old dear got a smack on her ginger head

                  Comment


                  • #24
                    Wednesday 19th July 1916. Day 19

                    Delville Wood

                    Fighting continued in Delville Wood all day. 53 Bde (18th Div) had been sent to reinforce 9th Div. 8th Norfolks attacked from south west of Longueval at 7am and occupied the southern part of Delville Wood. The 10th Essex, 6th Royal Berkshire Regt and 8th Suffolks were sent to the attack with little success.
                    sigpic
                    Say NO to violence against Women

                    Originally posted by hedgehog
                    My favourite moment was when the
                    Originally posted by hedgehog
                    red headed old dear got a smack on her ginger head

                    Comment


                    • #25
                      Thursday 20th July 1916. Day 20

                      Pozieres

                      1st Div made two more attempts to capture Munster Alley south of Pozieres.

                      High Wood

                      Elements of 5th, 7th and 33rd Divs renewed attacks on High Wood.

                      At 3.05am 7th Div sent two battalions, 8th Devons and 2nd Gordons crawling across No Man’s Land towards their first objective, a track known as The Black Road which ran south-west from the southern corner of High Wood towards Longueval. The track and the corner of the wood were captured at 3.25am and troops of the 5th Div moved up and continued the advance to the second objective treet>Wood Lanetreet>. The attack faltered in the teeth o heavy German fire and an attempt to dig in just 25 yards from treet>Wood Lanetreet> failed. By 5am the survivors were back at the treet>Black Roadtreet> where 13 Bde (5th div) relieved the 7th Div troops after dark.

                      33rd Div also sent two battalions crawling across No Man’s Land at the same time. 1st Cameronians and 5/6th Scottish Rifles moved from Bazentin Le Petit Wood and forced their way into the west corner of High Wood. They came under fire from the Switch Line and 20th Royal Fusiliers was sent in support on the right flank, clearing the southern part of the wood.
                      In the afternoon 2nd Bn, Royal Welsh Fusiliers moved through, reaching the northern edge of the wood with heavy losses. 1st Queen’s and 16th King’s Royal Rifle Corps reinforced but were driven back by a German bombardment and the enemy reoccupied the northern part of the wood.

                      51st Div relieved the 33rd overnight.

                      Delville Wood

                      Early morning and 3rd Div continued the attack on Delville Wood with 2nd Suffolks and 10th Royal Welsh Fusiliers. The Suffolks, advancing from the west at 3.30am, had it’s two leading companies wiped out. The Welsh got lost and stumbled into their own MG barrage, losing most of their officers. The attack failed.

                      In the evening 76 Bde of the 3rd Div relieved the South African Bde in Delville Wood. Of the 3153 men who entered the wood five days before 778 marched out.
                      sigpic
                      Say NO to violence against Women

                      Originally posted by hedgehog
                      My favourite moment was when the
                      Originally posted by hedgehog
                      red headed old dear got a smack on her ginger head

                      Comment


                      • #26
                        Friday 21st July 1916. Day 21

                        Pozieres

                        The 1st Australian Div took over part of the line, Black Watch Alley, south of Pozieres.
                        sigpic
                        Say NO to violence against Women

                        Originally posted by hedgehog
                        My favourite moment was when the
                        Originally posted by hedgehog
                        red headed old dear got a smack on her ginger head

                        Comment


                        • #27
                          Saturday 22nd July 1916. Day 22

                          Pozieres

                          The 9th (tate>Queenslandtate>) Bnof 3 Bde, 1st Australian Div tried to advance up two German trenches called OG1 and OG2 towards Pozieres. They were driven back by grenades and MG fire.

                          Guillemont

                          From Waterlot Farm 3rd Div made an advance on Guillemont Railway Station but was forced back by MG fire.

                          Trones Wood

                          A battalion of 35th Div made an unsuccessful attack on the German line between Maltz Horn Farm and Arrowhead Copse.
                          sigpic
                          Say NO to violence against Women

                          Originally posted by hedgehog
                          My favourite moment was when the
                          Originally posted by hedgehog
                          red headed old dear got a smack on her ginger head

                          Comment


                          • #28
                            This day by day account of the battle of the somme is a real labour of love for you groundhog and very educational .

                            Comment


                            • #29
                              Originally posted by haribo
                              This day by day account of the battle of the somme is a real labour of love for you groundhog and very educational .
                              Glad you like it. It's an education researching it too.
                              sigpic
                              Say NO to violence against Women

                              Originally posted by hedgehog
                              My favourite moment was when the
                              Originally posted by hedgehog
                              red headed old dear got a smack on her ginger head

                              Comment


                              • #30
                                Sunday 23rd July 1916. Day 23

                                Today saw the commencement of the Battle of Pozieres Ridge. It was also the day on which the first attack was made on Guillemont. Both battles would last until September.

                                Pozieres


                                This map shows Pozieres today- depicting the locations of monuments and war cemeteries. On 23rd July 1916, the Front Line cut the Albert Bapaume Road (D929) roughly at PozieresWarCemetery and ran south east to the Contalmaison-Martinpuich road (yellow on the map) where it turned east almost to the D73 which is the road to Bazentin Le Petit. Here the line turned south again. Pozieres Trench ran from the KRRC Memorial to the D73. From here it became Munster Alley and continued east. From the D73 running north between Pozieres and the Mill were the OG1 and OG2 trenches. The railway line approached Pozieres from the east crossing the D929 at it’s junction with the the D73. The railway then skirted the northern edge of the village and continued west to Ovillers.

                                North of Pozieres, 48th Div attacked the German trenches along the railway line with six battalions of Territorials. 1/5th and 1/6th Glosters suffered heavy casualties. On their left 1/4th Glosters managed to bomb forward some distance while on the right 1/4th Oxf and Bucks LI and 1/4th Buckinghamshire Regt captured a trench south of the railway. A dawn counterattack from Pozieres cemetery was beaten back and then 145 Bde renewed it’s attack on the left capturing the railway track and a trench east of it.

                                1st Div attacked south east of Pozieres at 12.30am. 1 Bde attacked the Switch Line Trench with 1st Bn, Cameron Highlanders and 10th Bn, Gloucestershire Regt. They were halted by MG fire. 2 Bde sent 2nd Bn, Royal Sussex Regt and 2nd Bn, King’s Royal Rifle Corps to capture the junction of the Switch Line and Munster Alley. They were reinforced at 2.30 am by 1st Loyal North Lancs but with no success.


                                In conjunction with these assaults north and south of Pozieres, 1st Australian Div attacked the village itself from the south at 12.30am. Four battalions (9th and 11th of 3 Bde and 1st and 2nd of 1 New South Wales Bde) quickly captured Pozieres Trench but the German trenches, OG1 and OG2, east of the village held out. By 3am the support battalions 3rd, 4th, 10th and 12th had dug in along the Bapaume road. 3 Bde was enfiladed by OG1 however and had to throw back it’s right flank to face the German line. At 5.30am a counterattack from there was repulsed. During the day patrols were sent north of the road and after dark the 8th Bn was moved up from reserve to occupy the remainder of the village.

                                Bazentin Le Petit

                                19th Div attacked with 4 battalions of 56 and 57 Bdes. The objective was a German trench north of the village. Halted by MG fire all four battalions were withdrawn by 4am.

                                High Wood


                                At 10pm on the 22nd, the 5th Div’s 13 Bde attacked Wood Lane Trench, which ran south east from High Wood to Delville Wood. Caught in the light of German flares the Bde suffered heavy casualties from machine guns sited in High Wood and withdrew. Reinforced by two battalions another attempt on treet>Wood Lanetreet> was made by 13 Bde at 1.30am. Again it failed and the Bde was back at it’s start line by dawn, having suffered over 1000 casualties.

                                At 1.30am two battalions of 154 Bde, 51st Highland Div, attacked High Wood itself, tasked with the capture of a 600 yard stretch of the Switch Line Trench. 1/4th Gordon Highlanders lost direction in the wood and were machine gunned. 1/9th Royal Scots were shelled as they advanced into the wood. Both battalions withdrew at 3am with the loss of 450 men.


                                Delville Wood

                                At 3.40am 3rd Div launched another attack on Delville Wood. 9 Bde attacked from south of Longueval, initially making some progress with three battalions. Eventually these were forced back to their start lines. 95 Bde of the 5th Div attacked some German strongpoints in the orchards north of Longueval. The 1st East Surrey Regt and 1st Duke of Cornwall’s Light Infantry captured one strongpoint but were forced back by a German counterattack.

                                Guillemont

                                21 Bde of 30th Div attacked Guillemont at 3.40am with 2nd Bn, Green Howards from north of Trones Wood and 19th Manchesters advancing from the wood itself. The Mancs got into the village despite the wire being uncut but were forced out by 2pm. The Howards got lost in a smokescreen and while some captured a trench south of Guillemont Station, later falling back on Waterlot farm, the remainder withdrew to Trones Wood, disorganising the rest of 30th Div.

                                South of the railway line little headway was made in clearing the ground by bombing parties of 7th Shropshire Light Inf and 8th East Yorks of 8 Bde. These troops also withdrew to Waterlot Farm. The mixture of units here fought off a German counter-attack. From here also, 2nd Royal Scots unsuccessfully attempted to bomb down along the Guillemont road.
                                sigpic
                                Say NO to violence against Women

                                Originally posted by hedgehog
                                My favourite moment was when the
                                Originally posted by hedgehog
                                red headed old dear got a smack on her ginger head

                                Comment

                                Working...
                                X