Battle of Bazentin Ridge - Prelude

Prelude

In the aftermath of 1 July, the first day of the battle of the Somme, the plans of General Douglas Haig were in disarray. North of the Albert-Bapaume road the attack had failed completely while south of the road, alongside the French XX Corps, the objectives of Montauban and Mametz had been captured. Therefore Haig decided to concentrate his future operations in the south. The Fourth Army of Lieutenant-General Henry Rawlinson, which had been responsible for the entire British sector on 1 July, handed over the northern sector to the Reserve Army of Lieutenant-General Hubert Gough.

While the British had breached the first line of German defences north of the Somme River, they were now faced with a complete second line of defences which extended along the ridge of high ground from near Thiepval in the north to the villages of Guillemont and Ginchy in the south. Where the British had advanced at Mametz and Montauban, the second position ran along the Bazentin Ridge on which lay the villages of Bazentin le Petit, Bazentin le Grand and Longueval. Adjacent to Longueval was Delville Wood. These villages became the objectives for the renewed British offensive.