Battle of Delville Wood - Background

Background

The Battle of the Somme had started on 1 July 1916 and by this time, the Allies had learned the lessons of the futile offensives of 1915 and of the meat-grinder type losses sustained at Verdun. The Allied objective was no longer to try to break the German Front in a sudden attack as the depth of German defences had proven this to be impossible. These lessons had reshaped earlier tactics and attacks were now independent attrition actions, conducted over a wide front and each one preceded by artillery "preparation" and the use of fresh troops. It was to be attrition on a campaign scale, the "crumbling" of defences. The offensive was split between British and Dominion forces in the north (from Gommecourt to Maricourt) and the French in the south (from the River Somme to the village of Frey).

After two weeks of battle, the German defenders were holding firm in the north and centre of the British sector—here the advance had stopped, except for two battles raging for the control of Ovillers and Contalmaison. There had been a number of Allied gains from the Ancre River southwards. In the area of Lt–Gen Sir Walter Congreve's XIII Corps, the German first line of defences had been breached in the areas of Montauban and Bernafay Wood. Trônes Wood proved more difficult and was captured by the British and then re-taken by the Germans. By 13 July, although under constant artillery bombardment, German forces were still persevering in Trônes Wood and firmly held the town of Longueval to the west of Delville Wood.

The Allied line was now split into sections by a right angle at Longueval—Delville Wood. On the left the Allied front faced north and to the right they faced east. This meant that an advance on a wide front would result in the attacking forces diverging as they advanced. In order to "straighten the line", General Sir Douglas Haig had decided to exploit the advances which had been made in the south by taking and holding Longueval. Being on fairly high ground and providing good spotting opportunities for artillery fire, Longueval would protect the right flank and allow the Allies to advance in the north and align their left with that of Congreve's XIII Corps on the right. General Douglas Haig had promised French President Poincaré significant gains to mark the French National Day, with attacks planned all along the Somme line for 14 July.