Battle of Thiepval Ridge - Battle

Battle

Following three days of intense bombardment the infantry attack began at 12:35pm on 26 September 1916, with the four assault divisions attacking along a 6,000 yard front. On the extreme right, following up on their success in taking the fortified village of Courcelette in the Battle of Flers-Courcelette, the Canadian 1st and 2nd divisions (and later the 3rd), shielded by a creeping barrage, attacked to the north and northwest of their positions at Courcelette and wrested the base of the ridge from German control but fell short of Regina Trench, which withstood the Canadian Corps until mid-November, costing the Canadians thousands of casualties.

To their left, the adjoining 11th (Northern) Division, attacking northwards, quickly overran the rubble on the site of Mouquet Farm but experienced the utmost difficulty subduing its surviving defenders. The eventual surrender of the depleted garrison allowed 11th Division to move against Zollern Redoubt but severe casualties slowed progress and by evening the attackers had stalled at its edge. The redoubt had been attacked several times in August and September by Australian and later Canadian, divisions.

18th Division’s systematic uphill advance on Thiepval met with early success but enemy resistance stiffened and the push through to the village was halted by machine-gun fire near the ruined chateau. A tank crucially intervened and by 14:30, after much hard close-quarter fighting, the greater part of Thiepval was secured; it was fully cleared early next morning. During the afternoon, following the evacuation of Zollern Redoubt, 11th Division stormed Stuff Redoubt and gained precarious hold of its southern edge.

Day two of the battle saw the capture of the German fortress of Thiepval by Major-General Maxse’s 18th Division. Thiepval village had been an objective on 1 July 1916, the first day on the Somme and been held against a number of British attempts to capture it. The 18th Division had performed well at Montauban on 1 July and had since been honed by its talented commander, Major General Ivor Maxse. His division was able to attack directly along the ridge from the south, because the German position to the east of Thiepval had been weakened by the assault on Mouquet Farm.