Battle of Flers-Courcelette - Battle

Battle

The Canadian Corps made their debut on the Somme on left flank, at the north end of the attack. Starting from a line anchored on the ruins of the Pozières windmill, the Canadian 2nd Division advanced in an arc stretching from north to northeast, focused towards the fortified ruins of Courcelette and the fields to the west of the village. The Canadians saw considerable first day success on 15 September, advancing approximately two kilometres in their initial attacks, capturing their assigned objectives in and around Courcelette village. Noteworthy efforts from the 25th Battalion (the Nova Scotia Rifles) and the French Canadian 22nd Battalion (the 'Van Doos') were delivered in the process of clearing the German defenders from the village and holding it in the face of four days of enemy barrage and counter attacks despite being cut off from supplies including food and water.

After having struggling for the preceding two months to take control of it, on the commencement of the battle, the British 47th (1/2nd London) Division succeeded in clearing the last German-held sections of High Wood, sustaining heavy losses in the process.

The New Zealand Division fought for and captured a position known as the Switch Line between High Wood and Flers after 30 minutes of fighting. The British had initially set their eyes on the position two months earlier during the Battle of Bazentin Ridge.

In the centre of the attack, two villages were captured. Martinpuich, was wrested by the 15th (Scottish) Division, and Flers, was captured by the British 41st Division, but these were more than 2,000 yards short of the lofty final planned objectives of the fortified villages of Gueudecourt and Lesbœufs which lay still further to the east.

To the south, on the right flank of the attack, where Haig had hoped the hole would be opened in the German lines to allow the cavalry penetration and breakthrough, the attacks faltered. In this area, a fortified German position known as the "Quadrilateral" Redoubt sat west of Ginchy, but due to poor weather that prevented flying and poor sight lines, the exact position of the trenches of the redoubt were unknown to the attackers. The artillery preparation and tank support did little to neutralise the defenses and left the trenches and wire protecting the position largely intact, which allowed the German garrison to batter the 56th (London) Infantry Division and 6th Division of the XIV Corps' attack. The 6th division finally took the Quadrilateral after four days of attacks on 18 September. With the Quadralateral quieted The Guards Division made considerable headway, advancing 2,000 yards, but they were stopped short of their ultimate objective, the village of Lesbœufs. To take the remaining objectives, the British Fourth Army launched the Battle of Morval on 25 September.