Battle of Bazentin Ridge - Aftermath

Aftermath

The failure to seize the opportunities of the morning of 14 July proved costly for the Fourth Army. It would take two months of bloody attrition before High Wood was finally captured. Following the loss of the Bazentin ridge, the Germans built a "switch trench", known as the Switch Line, to connect their second position near Pozières with their third position under construction on the next ridge. The Switch Line ran through the northern tip of High Wood and one could not be captured without the other and so it was not until the next major offensive, the Battle of Flers-Courcelette on 15 September, that High Wood and the Switch Line fell.

A similar situation developed at Delville Wood which changed hands a number of times over the following month. Having breached the German second position, attention now turned to the flanks. On the right, after Delville Wood was taken, the villages of Guillemont and Ginchy had to be captured in order to bring the French forces into line. On the left, the German strongpoint of Pozières protected the second position north of the Albert-Bapaume road.

The dawn attack of 14 July suggested that the British had discovered the formula for successful battles in trench warfare however subsequent fighting demonstrated that the lessons had not been learnt. The next large Fourth Army attack came on the night of 22 July – 23 July, involving six divisions but failed. Attacks were uncoordinated, artillery preparation was inadequate and the Germans, who had learned from their experience, adopting a more flexible system of defense, moving away from concentrating defenders in the front-line trench.