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  • #91
    Friday 15th September 1916. Part 3


    High Wood

    47th Div was in action here and also on both sides of the wood.

    East of the wood 1/7th and 1/15th Bns, London Regt advanced on the Switch Line at 6.20am reaching it with little difficulty. They linked up with the New Zealand Div on their right and dug in.

    The attack on the wood was supported by four tanks. Only one reached the German lines where it did some damage in the German support line until put out of action. The other three tanks all broke down in No Man’s Land. The infantry assault was stopped by MG fire and the fighting in High Wood became very confused when, at 7.20am the supporting battalions of 141 Bde advanced on the second objective. 1/4th Bn, London Regt then joined in at 8.20am on it‘s way to attack a strongpoint called the Cough Drop. A party of the battalion captured and held this area out of touch with their own division but in touch with the New Zealanders.

    The fighting in the wood continued all morning until a mortar bombardment on the wood in conjunction with a bombing attack on the flanks broke the German resistance. The survivors of 141 Bde were in control of the wood by 1pm.

    At 3.30pm 1/21st and 1/24th Bns, London Regt passed east of the wood to attack the Starfish Line. They were halted short of the objective. As night fell the Div had no organized front line.


    Flers

    The attack on Flers began from Delville Wood.

    The New Zealand Div attacked from North of Longueval towards the German positions west of Flers. 2nd Bn, the Otago Regt and 2nd Bn Auckland Regt advanced 30 seconds early and were caught in their own barrage as well as suffering from MG fire from High Wood. They managed to capture the Switch Line and 2nd Auckland Regt also occupied treet>Coffee Lanetreet>. At 7.20am the 4th Bn, New Zealand Rifles passed through and advanced on Flag Lane which they captured by 8am. 2nd and 3rd Bns, New Zealand Rifles then took over the assault. The 2nd captured Flers Trench and part of Flers Support. The dug in under MG fire from Flers and treet>Abbey Roadtreet> at 11am. The 3rd Bn was held up by wire in front of Flers Support where they waited for tank support. Two tanks (D11 and D12) arrived at 11am, crushed the wire and the rest of Flers Support was quickly occupied. At 11.30am two companies of 1st Bn, New Zealand Rifles attacked Grove Alley. They were forced to withdraw at 2.3pm. Two other tanks supporting the New Zealanders were put out of action, D10 at Flat Trench on it’s way to Flers Support while D8 reached treet>Abbey Roadtreet> but was unable to take further part in fighting because it’s viewing prisms were smashed. D12 having broken through the German line ditched west of Flers while D11 made it to Box & Cox where it waited all night for orders.

    41st Div was in action in Flers itself. It attacked from north of Delville Wood with 124 Bde on the right and 122 Bde on the left. The attack commenced at 6.20am.

    122 Bde attacked with 15th Bn, Hampshire Regt and 18th Bn, King’s Royal Rifle Corps in front and 11th Bn, Royal West Kents with 12th Bn East Surrey Regt in support. They too the Switch Line by 6.4 and advanced to Flers Trench. No less than seven tanks supported the assault of 41st Div. D15 was knocked out at the Switch Line, D14 ditched south of the village while D18 was hit in front of Flers Trench but was able to withdraw.

    At 8.20am D16 entered Flers followed by the men of 122 Bde. D6, D9 and D17 worked along the east of the village smashing strongpoints and MG positions built into the ruins. By 10am the Germans had evacuated the village. There was much confusion amongst the British troops too and it took until 1am to round up groups of stragglers and consolidate on the positions called Box& Cox and the Hog’s Head. Of the four tanks that entered Flers, only D16 made it back unscathed. D6 advanced as far as the outskirts of Guedecourt where it caught fire. D9 was put out of action at treet>Glebe Streettreet> and D17 was hit by shellfire east of Flers.

    Meanwhile 124 Bde attacked with 10th Bn, Queen’s Regt and 21st Bn, King’s Royal Rifle Corps in the lead with 26th and 32nd Bns, Royal Fusiliers in support. The assaulting troops formed up in No Man’s Land and advanced behind a creeping barrage at 6.20am. Tea Support was quickly occupied and then the Switch Line at 7am. By 7.50 am they were in Flers Trench. At 3.20 pm 200 men of the two battalions that started the attackplus two companies of 23rd Middlesex who had been brought up from reserve occupied the western end of Bull’s Road. Where they linked with 122 Bde troops. Attempted attacks on Gird Trench that evening failed.
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    • #92
      Friday 15th September 1916. Part 4

      Delville Wood



      This photograph shows the area of operation for 14th and 41st Divisions on Sept 15th 1916. The road from Longueval to Flers can be easily seen in the photo. The British front line ran through the triangular green field and parallel with the nort east side of the wood. It turned south and ran down to meet the east side of the wood and turned east again at the Ginchy road.

      Tea Support Trench cut the Flers road just above the bend. Cutting the road also were the Switch Line half way between the bend and Flers and Flers Trench just south of the village.At the south east corner of Flers the trench changed names to Gap Trench. The small dark brown field east of the bend is roughly the area where Cocoa Lane met Tea Support and ran back to the Switch Line. Here it became Gap Alley and continued north east to Gap Trench. Bull's Road began at the north east corner of Flers and ran east to Lesbouefs

      14th Div was in action east of Delville Wood. The Germans still occupied a small salient here between the wood and Ginchy.

      TwO companies of the 6th Bn, King’s Own Yorkshire Light Infantry (KOYLI) supported by three tanks were ordered to expel the Germans from here at 5.15am prior to the main attack. Only one tank (D1) was operational and it advanced from treet>Pilsen Lanetreet> followed by the KOYLI’s bombers. The tank was hit by a shell and the infantry engaged by MG fire from their flank leading to a melee with bomb and bayonet.

      At 6.20am 8th Bn The Rifle Brigade and 8th Bn, King’s Royal Rifle Corps advanced from the wood supported by just one of the three tanks that they were supposed to have. D3 advanced from Delville Wood north east towards treet>Cocoa Lanetreet>. The infantry came under heavy fire from Pint Trench and Tea Support and also ran into their own barrage. However they captured Switch Line by 7am, losing D3 to shellfire on the way. The brigade’s supporting battalions advanced from Delville Wood at 6.30am. By 8am they had pushed through the advance battalions on to Gap Trench. At the same time the reserve brigade (42 Bde) came forward from CaterpillarValley 3kms to the rear. They continued the advance past Gap Trench to Bull’s Road (the Flers-Lesbouefs road) where they were halted just short of the objective by MG fire. By 11.20 am 42 Bde was dug in and in contact with Guards Div on their right. The Germans attacked at dusk but were driven off and 43 Bde relieved 42 Bde after dark.

      Ginchy




      The Guards Div was in action near Ginchy. 1st Gds Bde attacked on the left and 2nd Gds Bde on the right.

      1st Gds Bde’s first objective was part of Serpentine Trench. They reached this objective behind a creeping barrage at 7.15 am having suffered heavily to MG fire from Pint Trench and the sunken road leading to Flers. At 7.30am 2nd Bn, Grenadier Guards advanced from Ginchy but immediately came under fire from an uncaptured part of Serpentine Trench.They entered the trench and, bombing left and right, linked up with the units on their flanks. By 11.15 am 2nd and 3rd Coldstream Guards had pushed through to parts of Punch Trench.

      Meanwhile 2nd Gds Bde attacked the rest of Serpentine Trench and a strongpoint called The Triangle. The Triangle delayed them until late morning but by noon a mixed body of troops was digging in south of the treet>Ginchy-Lesboeufs Roadtreet>.

      Battalions from the reserve brigade were sent forward to reinforce in the evening.

      This attack was supposed to be supported by ten tanks but only five made the start line. Of the five three got lost and two ran out of petrol.
      The most famous casualty of the day was Lt Raymond Asquith, 3rd Bn Grenadier Guards. He was the son of the British Prime Minister, Herbert Asquith. A 37 year old barrister, he volunteered for a commission. He is buried in Guillemont Road cemetery in teh same row as his stepmother's nephew, Lt Edward Wyndham Tennant. A less famous casualty is Pte George Lawless, 1st Bn Irish Guards, from Clonmel. He ahs no known grave and is commemorated on the Thiepval Memorial.

      South east of Ginchy, 6th Div was in action. They had one tank in support of three allotted. This tank moved through the start line at the crossroads east of Guillemont and opened fire on it’s own troops as it did so. It then moved northwards along Straight Trench but returned later. I’ll bet the 9th Norfolks were glad to see it coming back.



      6th Div’s objective was the strongpoint called the Quadrilateral east of Ginchy. At 6.20am 8th Bedfords attacked the Quadrilateral but were stopped by MG fire. The same happened to 1st Buffs at 6.35am. 9th Norfolks and 1st Leicesters advancing on Straight Trench north of the Quadrilateral ran into uncut wire and MG fire. By 9am all attacking troops in 6th Div were digging into shell holes.

      Last edited by Groundhog; 18 September 2006, 14:22.
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      • #93
        Friday 15th September 1916. Part 5

        Leuze Wood

        56th Div was still in occupation in Leuze Wood. 169 Bde was tasked with securing Loop Trench and maintaining touch with the French on the Railway track south of Combles Ravine.

        At 6.20am 1/2nd Bn, The London Regt, supported by a tank, occupied the northern part of Combles Trench but the attack on Loop Trench was halted by MG fire. In the afternoon bombers from London Rifle Bde came up in support and a bombing attack commenced up Loop Trench and down Combles Trench. The tank was immobilised at the Loop but kept it’s MGs in action for five hours. By 11pm Combles Trench had been barricaded 80 yards short of the road.

        167 Bde meanwhile attacked Bouleux Wood at 6.20am with one tank of two allotted. One lost a track, the other moved to Middle Copse at 6am. 1/1st London Regt attacked at Zero Hour but met heavy MG fire before reaching the copse where they dug in. The tank advanced to Bouleaux Wood followed by 1/7th Middlesex Regt. They were pushed back to 1/1st London’s positions where the survivors were reinforced. At 1.40pm 1/8th Middlesex took over the attack but were pushed back to Leuze Wood. 167 Bde troops consolidated on the line of Middle Copse.
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        • #94
          Saturday 16th September 1916. Day 78

          Thiepval

          In the area of Thiepval, 49th Div launched several raids on the German lines. 1/7th Duke of Wellington’s Regt bombed up the old German line towards the village.

          Mouquet Farm

          In 11th Div, the bombers of 6th Bn, Lincolnshire Regt secured all of Constance Trench as far as the treet>Thiepval-Pozieres Roadtreet>. 6th Bn, Border Regt captured the western half of Danube Trench. An attempt by the Germans to retake Constance Trench was beaten off by 9th Bn Sherwood Foresters.

          At 5pm 3rd Canadian Div launched a two battalion attack from Fabeck Graben northwards to Zollern Graben and Zollern Redoubt. They were stopped by MG fire. After dark Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry and 49th Edmonton Bn bombed towards each other in Fabeck Graben, closing the gap between them. 2nd Canadian Mounted Rifles bombed some dugouts in Mouquet Farm.

          Martinpuich

          The Germans attacked Martinpuich early in the morning but were repelled by 15th Div troops. Heavy shelling of the village followed. The Scots established posts close to treet>26th Avenuetreet> and took over the line up to the treet>Bapaume Roadtreet> from the Canadians.

          Troops of 50th Div launched attacks on Prue Trench. Parties from 1/9th Durham Light Infantry and 1/5th Border Regt attacked east of Crescent Alley and reached the objective but were forced out. West of Crescent Alley, 1/5th Durham Light Infantry launched an unsuccessful frontal attack on Prue Trench and later on an equally unsuccessful bombing attack along it from Martin Alley.

          1/23rd Bn, London Regt in 47th Div attacked from Crest Trench. Their objective was Prue Trench via the Cough Drop, a distance of 1300 yards. Caught by MG and shellfire they took cover in the Starfish. One company reinforced 1/6th London in the Cough Drop.

          Flers

          1 New Zealand Bde repelled a German advance from Ligny at 9am and was then brought forward to launch an attack of it’s own. 1st(Wellington) Bn secured it’s sector of Grove Alley at 9.30am. Because 64 Bde’s advance failed the New Zealanders consolidated just short of the treet>Ligny Roadtreet>. 1st (Canterbury) Bn dug a trench back to Box & Cox as part of the consolidation. In these actions tank D11 helped repel the German attack but in the assault advanced only 300 yards before being immobilised by shelling.

          41st Div sent 64 Bde (attached from 21st Div) to take Gird Trench. In the lead were 9th Bn, KOYLI and 15th Bn, Durham Light Infantry with 10th Bn, KOYLI and 1st Bn, East Yorkshire Regt in support. Darkness and rain hindered the advance to the start line so that when the brigade advanced it was over 1,000 yards behind the barrage. Before passing 41st Div’s forward positions 64 Bde had already suffered heavily from MG and shell fire. A few men got within 100 yards of Gird Trench before pulling back and rallying in Bull’s Road. A fresh attack was ordered in the evening but never materialised. Tank D14 participated in this attack and advanced to Guedecourt before being destroyed.

          Delville Wood

          14th Div attempted to push forward to the Ginchy-Guedecourt road. 6th Bn, Somerset Light Infantry made little progress, suffering casualties to fire from Gas Alley. 10th Bn, Durham Light Infantry suffered a similar fate and dug in in shell holes. An attempt to reinforce with 6th Bn, KOYLI and 6th Duke of Cornwall’s Light Infantry failed. A renewed attack at dusk also failed.

          Ginchy

          Guards Div reinforced by 61 Bde of the 20th Div renewed it’s attack north of Ginchy at 9.25am.

          7th Bn, Duke of Cornwall’s Light Infantry and 7th Bn, Somerset Light Infantry moved forward from Trones wood before dawn and formed up 200 yards in front of 2 Gds Bde in Serpentine Trench. At Zero Hour they advanced and captured the section of the treet>Ginchy-Lesbouefs Roadtreet> that had been the Guards’ third objective the day before. 7th Bn, KOYLI was then brought forward to secure the right flank while 12th Bn, The King’s Regt secured the left. German bombing attacks on the flanks continued all day. It was 1.30pm before 3rd Gds Bde was organised after the fighting of the previous day. The brigade advanced without artillery support.1st Grenadier Guards and 1st Welsh Guards suffered heavy losses to MG fire before digging in between Punch and Calf Trenches, 250 yards short of their objective.

          Guards Div was relieved after dark by 20th Div.
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          • #95
            Sunday 17th September 1916. Day 79

            Courcelette

            5 Canadian Bde attempted unsuccessfully to clear the trenches east of Courcelette.

            Flers

            55th Div relieved 41st Div.

            Delville Wood

            21st Div relieved 14th Div.

            Ginchy

            60 Bde was attacked by the Germans south of the treet>Ginchy-Lesbouefs Roadtreet> at 6.30pm. The attack was beaten off by 12th Bn The Rifle Brigade and 12th Bn, King’s Royal Rifle Corps. A 59 Bde advance was beaten back at dusk.
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            • #96
              Monday 18th September 1916. Day 80

              Martinpuich

              23rd Div relieved 15th Div overnight and also took over the Starfish Line and Prue Trench from 150 Bde of 50th Div.

              At 4.30pm 1/5th Durham Light Infantry supported by bombers of 1/4th and 1/5th Green Howards (150 Bde, 50th Div) bombed east along Starfish Line and Prue Trench almost as far as Crescent Alley. 1/8th Durham Light Infantry failed in an attempt to bomb up Crescent Alley.

              In 47th Div, 140 Bde bombers worked along Flers Trench and Drop Alley in conjunction with an attack on the Starfish Line by men of 1/23rd and 1/24th London Regt. No further gains were made in the area and German bombers drove the men in the line back to the Starfish. However the British retook the lost area after dark.

              Flers

              The bombers of 1st (Otago) Bn, NZEF forced the Germans back up Flers Support almost to the junction with Goose Alley.

              Ginchy

              6th Div sent 1st Shropshire Light Infantry (6 Bde) forward at 6am to take the Quadrilateral. At the same time 18 Bde attacked Straight Trench with 14th Durham Light Infantry and 1st West Yorks. The Quadrilateral fell easily while Straight Trench held out until the battalions’ bombers worked along the length of it as riflemen swept around the rear to capture 140 Germans and 7 MGs. Further sout 2nd Yorks and Lancs worked forward and linked with 56th Div in Middle Copse. An enemy counterattack was spotted forming up on high ground near Morval during the day and was dispersed with artillery.

              Leuze Wood

              In 56th Div an unsuccessful dawn attack on the Combles road was launched by the Queen’s Westminster Rifles (1/16th London Regt). The London Rifle Brigade made a small advance by bombing forward. 167 Bde’s planned attack on the south east side of Bouleaux Wood never meterialised because the troops could not get forward to the start line due to mud. It had been raining heavily all day.
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              • #97
                Tuesday 19th September 1916. Day 81

                Courcelette

                A two hour long assault by the Germans on the north east sector of Courcelette was beaten off by 4th Canadian Bn.

                Martinpuich

                2nd (Auckland) Bn, NZEF continued bombing up Flers Support in conjunction with a 1/5th London bombing assault on Drop Alley. The Londoners were forced back to Cough Drop.
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                • #98
                  Wednesday 20th September 1916. Day 82

                  Courcelette

                  4th Canadian Bn drove off another German attack at 4am.

                  At 5am, 58th Canadian Bn (9 Bde, 3rd Canadian Div) began to bomb west along Zollern Graben in cojunction with an attack on it by the 43rd Bn (Cameron Highlanders of Canada). The Germans later drove them back.

                  Martinpuich

                  2nd (Canterbury) Bn, NZEF made a joint attack with 1st Bn, The Black Watch on Flers Trench. The New Zealanders drove the Germans back beyond Goose Alley while the Scots bombed up Drop Alley as far as the junction with Flers Trench which was then occupied.

                  The Black Watch was part of 1st Div which had relieved 47th Div that morning.
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                  • #99
                    Thursday 21st September 1916. Day 83

                    Martinpuich

                    Patrols of 1st, 23rd and 50th Divs found Prue Trench and the Starfish Trench evacuated by the enemy. The trenches were occupied by the British.

                    Lesboeufs

                    Guards Division relieved 20th Div in this area north east of Delville Wood.
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                    • Friday 22nd September 1916. Day 84

                      Courcelette

                      1st Canadian Div occupied some tenches east of the village and consolidated the line west of the village running along Fabeck Graben and the Mouquet Farm Track.

                      23rd Div reported that treet>Twenty-Sixth Avenuetreet>, a communication trench running back from Courcelette to Le Sars appeared to be unoccupied.


                      Martinpuich

                      Starfish and Prue Trenches were consolidated and patrols reported no enemy south west of Eaucourt L’Abbaye.
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                      • Saturday 23rd September 1916. Day 85

                        Lesboeufs

                        The preliminary bombardment began on Lesboeufs and Morval.
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                        • Sunday 24th September 1916. Day 86

                          Mouquet Farm

                          An unsuccessful attack was made on Mouquet Farm in the evening by a company of 6th Bn, Yorks & Lancs.

                          Martinpuich

                          68 Bde (23rd Div) attacked treet>Twenty-Sixth Avenue easttreet> of the treet>Bapaume Roadtreet> with no success.

                          Flers

                          1st Bn, The Black Watch (1 Bde, 1st Div) tried to bomb up both Flers Trenches with no success.

                          Ginchy

                          A German dawn attack was repulsed with MG fire by 1st Buffs.

                          Leuze Wood

                          1/9th Bn, London Regt tried to bomb down Combles Trench to link up with the French 73rd Regt but they were pushed back.
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                          • Monday 25th September 1916. Day 87

                            The Battle of Morval began today lasting until Sept 28th.

                            Flers

                            1st Bn, The Black Watch bombed up Flers Trench, capturing 300 yards of it. Later in the day the New Zealand Div took over the section.

                            10th Bn, Northumberland Fusiliers (68 Bde, 23rd Div), supported by two tanks, made an attack on the western end of treet>Twenty-Sixth Avenuetreet>. One of the tanks ditched and the other brought down such a barrage as soon as the Germans spotted it that the attack was abandoned by the infantry.

                            East of Flers, 21st and 55th Divs, supported by the New Zealand Div,advanced on Guedecourt.

                            The New Zealanders were tasked with providing flank protection astride Goose Alley.

                            55th Div attacked with 165 Bde. 1/6th, 1/7th and 1/9th Bns of the King’s Regt took Gird Trench at 1pm and, while 1/6th blocked the trench north of the Flers-Guedecourt road, 1/9th Bn cleared Grove Alley. At 2.40pm 1/7th Bn entered part of the sunken road between Gird Trench and Guedecourt.

                            Further south, 21st Div used 1st East Yorks, 1st Lincolns and 10th KOYLI to attack Gird Trench. The Lincolns were stopped in their own line by shellfire while both Yorkshire battalions were stopped by wire and were forced to shelter in No Man’s Land until nightfall.

                            8th and 9th Bns, Leicestershire Regt took Goat Trench but only a small party of the 8th Bn managed to enter Gird Trench. The 9th Bn took treet>Watling Streettreet> a sunken part of the Guedecourt-Ginchy road.

                            Lesboeufs

                            1st Bn, Irish Guards and 2nd Bn, Grenadier Guards advanced and entered Lesbouefs with little opposition. 4th Bn, Grenadier Guards were late in starting and were then obliged to secure the left flank of the Guards Div because of the failure of 21st Div’s attack. 2nd Bn, Scots Guards kept pace with the Irish and Grenadiers north of the village.

                            South of Lesboeufs, 6th Div attacked the Morval- Lesboeufs road. 16 Bde took the eastern part of the road while 18 Bde took the western part as well as the southern part of the village, linking up with the Guards.

                            Morval

                            5th Div took Morval. 95 Bde sent 1st Bn, East Surreys and 1st Bn, Devonshire Regt to capture the village. The East Surreys were held up by MG fire from the railway embankment north of Combles and a strongpoint on the treet>Ginchy-Morval Roadtreet>. The Devons on their left ran into wire so they swerved left entered a trench and bombed down to this strongpoint while a party of the Surreys dealt with the guns on the embankment. The 1st Norfolks advanced with no difficulty and entered the village. By 6pm 6th Div was consolidating east of Morval on high ground.

                            Bouleaux Wood

                            56th Div attacked from 168 Bde’s trenches at 1.42pm exactly. It was seven minutes after zero hour and the wait was to allow 5th Div on their left to come up in line with 168 Bde. The London Scottish cleared the north end of the wood before coming under fire from the same MGs that held up the East Surreys in 5th Div. The London Scottish mopped up with the East Surreys and by 1.30pm they had taken 80 prisoners and 4 MGs. Five minutes later the London Scottish were in a previously unknown German trench overlooking the Combles-MorvalValley.
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                            • Tuesday 26th September 1916. Day 88


                              Today marks the start of the Battle of Thiepval Ridge.

                              Thiepval

                              18th Div attacked in the Thiepval area with 53 and 54 Bdes.



                              54 Bde attacked the village of Thiepval, with 12th Bn, The Middlesex Regt capturing the village. 11th Bn, Royal Fusiliers cleared the German front line trench. 6th Northamptonshire Regt and 7th Bedfordshire Regt were in support and reserve respectively. Two tanks were also in support. The Middlesex was held up by MG fire from Thiepval Chateau until a tank destroyed the MG posts. The infantry moved on into Thiepval where the supporting tank was destroyed. The Fusiliers had a job clearing the trenches and dugouts but the village was secured by 2.30pm except for the north east corner.

                              53 Bde attacked on the right of 54 Bde. Because of the advances made since July to the south of Thiepval, 18th Div actually advanced north rather than east during the assault in this area. In the attack were 8th Bn Suffolk Regt and 10th Bn, Essex Regt. The troops left the forward trenches before Zero to avoid the German counter bombardment. The Suffolks reached Schwaben Trench and the Essex, the road from Pozieres to St. Pierre Divion within twelve minutes. By 1.15pm both battalions had taken Zollern Trench. Further advances broke down however and the troops consolidated in Zollern Trench.



                              Thiepval today. The monument stands on the site of Thiepval Chateau, with the village behind it. 18th Div attacked from the bottom of the photograph with 54 Bde left of the road and 53 Bde on the right. The German front line (Joseph Trench) ran rouhly through the cemetery in front of the monument. Schwaben Trench ran into the village from the right through the dark green field and Zollern Trench ran from the village through the triangular green field. The St. Pierre Divion road runs left out of the village.

                              Mouquet Farm

                              11th Div attacked in the Mouquet Farm area, with 34 Bde tasked with taking the farm itself.

                              34 Bde attacked with 8th Bn Northumberland Fusiliers and 9th Bn, Lancashire Fusiliers. Thirty seconds before zero, Lancashire bombers seized the exits from the farm. Both battalions reached the German support trench before running into difficulties while the support battalion, 5th Bn, Dorset Regt, lost many men to German artillery while moving into the front line.

                              The Northumberlands met fierce resistance at Zollern Redoubt and lost all their moppers-up. One officer remained unwounded and he collected 50 survivors of the battalion and dug in facing Zollern Trench. The Lancashires lost heavily to fire from the redoubt and the Midway Line. A few survivors reached Zollern Trench. 5th Dorests then sent men to continue the attack, joined by 11th Bn, Manchester Regt and 6th East Yorks, the Divisional Pioneers. Two tanks supporting the attack were destroyed and the surviving crew dismounted their MGs and fought on as infantry.

                              At 5.30pm the surviving Germans in Mouquet Farm were driven from the cellars by smoke bombs.

                              33 Bde attacked between Thiepval and Mouquet Farm. 9th Sherwood Foresters and 6th Border Regt took Joseph Trench at 12.45pm. They then moved through Schwaben Trench and on to Zollern Trench by 1.30pm. By 4pm they had advanced to Hessian Trench where they consolidated and drove off a counterattack.
                              Last edited by Groundhog; 27 September 2006, 02:29.
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                              • Tuesday 26th September 1916. Part 2

                                Courcelette

                                1st Canadian Div attacked with two battalions of 3 Canadian Bde, 14th (Royal Montreal) and 15th (48th Highlanders) and two battalions of 2 Bde, 5th (Western Cavalry) and 8th (90th Rifles) Bns. The two 2 Bde battalions were each reinforced with a company from 10th Bn.

                                In 3 Bde both battalions quickly occupied Sudbury Trench and continued the advance at 1pm. By 2.40pm the 14th Bn had captured the eastern end of Kenora Trench. The 15th had fallen back however and German bombers were able to outflank the 14th Bn. The Germans were driven back and the 14th reinforced by a company of the 16th (Canadian Scottish) Bn.

                                Meanwhile in 2 Bde 8th Bn managed to occupy Zollern Trench despite enfilade MG fire. 10th Bn leapfrogged at 1pm and occupied Hessian Trench. At 4pm a trench was dug from Zollern to Hessian Trench as a defensive flank by 7th (1st tate>British Columbiatate>) Bn.

                                2nd Canadian Div was in action east of Courcelette with three battalions of 6 Bde.

                                28th Bn was unable to leave it’s forward trench due to German shelling. 31st Bn suffered a similar fate, becoming bogged down in No Man’s Land under MG fire from front and left flank. 29th Bn occupied the German line without dfficulty where it was joined by a platoon and a Lewis Gun section from 31st Bn. 31st Bn, reinforced by a company of 27th Bn, attacked again at 10.50pm and occupied the ground east to the Miraumont road.

                                Martinpuich

                                At 11pm units of 1st and 50th Divs attacked a new German trench called Flers Switch. 1st Div was stopped by MG fire while 50th Div took the western end of the trench and bombed along it as far as Spence Trench.

                                Gueudecourt

                                A tank advanced on Gird Trench at 6.30am followed by the bombers and two rifle companies of 7th Bn, Leicestershire Regt. The bombers worked down along the trench driving the Germans towards 15th Durham Light Infantry.

                                While infantry patrols entered Gueudecourt, The South Irish Horse recced the high ground north of the village. At noon the 19th Lancers (1st Indian Cavalry Div) moved from Mametz to Flers and on to Gueudecourt where they came under fire. They dismounted and entered the village from the south west while a troop of the SIH entered from the tate>north westtate>. By 4.30 pm, 6th Leicesters was in the village in strength and began to dig in at 6pm. 64 Bde continued the advance with 10th and 15th Bns, Durham LI who reached an area just short of the Gueudecourt- Le Transloy road. 12th Northumberland Fusiliers then continued as far as the road itself.


                                Combles

                                At 10pm on 25th Sept a captured German officer told 5th Div that Combles was to be evacuated during the night.

                                At 10.40pm, 56th Div sent a patrol of the London Scottish along the railway towards Combles. At dawn they were within 500 yards of the village. Meanwhile in Bouleaux Wood a 1/4th London patrol met no Germans in the northern half of the wood while a patrol of 1/1st London reported the same in the southern part. A patrol from this battalion entered Combles and met with a French unit there. By 7am Combles was occupied and the British had linked up with the French. The division dug in between Combles and Morval.

                                An attack on Mutton Trench failed despite support from two tanks which were both destroyed.
                                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

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