Battle during the First World War
The Capture of Combles (25 September 1916) was a tactical incident that took place during the Battle of Morval, part of the Battle of the Somme, during the First World War. Combles lies north-east of Amiens and east of Albert, on the D 20 Rancourt–Guillemont road, south of Bapaume, in the Combles valley a hollow between outcrops of Bazentin Ridge, between Morval to the north, Ginchy to the north-west and Falfemont Farm to the west. North of the village the valley widens into a basin, which forks north-east around the Morval Spur. In late September 1914, military operations took place in the vicinity, when the II Bavarian Corps was engaged by French Territorial divisions in an encounter battle. The French divisions were forced back and the two divisions of the II Bavarian Corps, advanced westwards on the north side of the Somme, eventually being stopped around Maricourt, Montauban and Fricourt.
Combles became a backwater until 1916, when it was used as a shelter for reserves, supplies and engineer stores and a staging area for reinforcements. the German third defensive position being built as the battle began, ran close behind the village. Combles was attacked by the British and French on 25 September, during the Battle of Morval after several delays due to rain and poor visibility. Brigades from the 56th and 5th divisions in the north, wheeled to the right to form a south-facing flank above Combles, as the French 2nd Division attacked from the south. The British attack swiftly established the defensive flank and patrols began to probe southwards. German resistance against the French attack close to the village, particularly with machine-gun fire, held back the advance.
Further to the east, the French captured Rancourt in the afternoon and closed up to Frégicourt. Prisoners taken by the British and French revealed that a retirement from the village was intended during the night. A constant Anglo-French artillery barrage was maintained on the exits. Infantry patrols probed forwards and the British and French forces met at several points in and east of the village in the early hours of 26 September. A huge amount of equipment, ammunition and engineering stores were captured in the village and on 27 September, the inter-army boundary was moved north to Morval, to assist French attacks towards Sailly-Saillisel. On 24 March 1918, Combles was recaptured by German troops, during the retreat of the 9th (Scottish) Division in Operation Michael, the German spring offensive. The village was recaptured for the last time on 29 August, by the 18th (Eastern) Division, during the Second Battle of Bapaume.
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Background.
1914.
Combles lies east of Albert on the D 20 Rancourt–Guillemont road and south of Bapaume. Morval lies to the north, Ginchy to the north-west and Falfemont Farm to the west. The village lies in a hollow between outcrops of Bazentin Ridge. On 25 September 1914, the French 11th Division advanced on the north side of the Somme towards Combles and Péronne, against increasing artillery and machine-gun fire. Next day, German attacks by the II Bavarian Corps (General Karl Ritter von Martini) attacked westwards on the north bank of the Somme, with the 4th Bavarian Division, which had pushed back French territorial divisions around Bapaume, in an encounter battle and left flank guards facing north. The division advanced through Sailly, Combles, Guilemont and Montauban. To the south, closer to the Somme, the 3rd Bavarian Division advanced through Bouchavesnes, Le Foret and Hardecourt, where the arrival of the XI Corps of the new French Tenth Army during 28 September, slowed the Bavarian advance and next day, stopped the Bavarians east of Albert.
1916.
On 22 July, reconnaissance aircraft from 9 Squadron Royal Flying Corps (RFC) flew over the German defences from Combles to Gueudecourt and reported that they were formidable but unoccupied. The village was bombarded with 3,000 heavy shells on the night of 24/25 July and next day an ammunition train in the station was hit and blew up. Late on 2 September, troops of the 111th Division, at readiness in Combles, were called forward to counter-attack towards Guillemont. The French Sixth Army attacked on the north bank of the Somme, from 3 to 4 September and I Corps with the 1st Division (Général Élie de Riols de Fonclare) and the 2nd Division (Général Pierre Guignadaudet) on the northern flank, next to the British Fourth Army, took high ground south of Combles and established a foothold in Bois Douage. On 4 September, German counter-attacks on the Combles ravine, south-west of the village, were repulsed and I Corps made a slight advance north-east, from Le Forêt towards Rancourt. The British capture of Falfemont Farm on 5 September enabled the two armies to link across the Combles ravine. French patrols advanced south-east of the village and captured Ferme de l'Hôpital, just east of Le Forêt.
Rainstorms, disorganisation behind the front line and chronic supply difficulties, forced the Sixth Army to stop operations until 12 September, during which many French divisions were relieved. The I Corps commander, General Adolphe Guillaumat, ordered that bogged and broken down vehicles be thrown off the roads and supplies carried forward in daylight. By 6 September, I Corps had screened Combles using the Maurepas–Frégicourt road and on 12 September, attacked Rancourt. The 2nd Division captured Bois d'Anderlou and broke into the German defences north-west of Marrières Wood, with the right flank facing Rancourt and Sailly-Saillisel; further south, Bouchavesnes was captured by Infantry Regiment 44 (IR 44) and IR 133. On 13 September the French closed on Rancourt and Ferme du Priez between Rancourt and Combles, took the farm next day and made a small advance towards Rancourt. The I Corps artillery began a bombardment at dawn on 15 September in support of the British XIV Corps; French infantry attacked at 3:00 p.m. on the left near Combles and tried to bomb into Bois Douage. On the right a small advance was made near Le Priez Farm but an attack on Rancourt was repulsed by German artillery and machine-gun fire.
On 16 September, the artillery of the Sixth Army continued counter-battery fire and the infantry prepared to follow up in case of a German retirement. During the evening of 18 September, surprise attacks by I Corps advanced a short distance south and south-east of Combles but the relief of exhausted divisions was necessary before the main offensive was resumed with the British on 21 September (inclement weather led to postponements until 25 September). German artillery fire continued despite the rain and counter-attacks were conducted around Rancourt and Bouchavesnes. By mid-September, Combles had been outflanked on the north side by the British advance into Leuze Wood and on 20 September, the 52nd Reserve Division was pushed back further. Two days later, French troops drove back the 213th Division on the southern flank of the 51st Reserve Division and captured a sugar refinery south of the village.
Prelude.
British-French offensive preparations.
The British conformed to the French preference for afternoon attacks, which meant that the final bombardment would take place in daylight. The British preferred dawn attacks to avoid the attacking infantry waiting for too long in the front-line, vulnerable to German counter-bombardment. Tank policy had been decided at a meeting on 19 September, where the vulnerability of tanks waiting in advanced positions from dawn to zero hour, led to a decision by the Fourth Army commander, General Henry Rawlinson to keep them in reserve, ready to advance if they were needed. The XIV Corps commander, Major-General Lord Cavan, put all four divisions of the corps in line, to give them narrower fronts, the easier to deploy supporting infantry. The German defences on the flanks were too close for an artillery bombardment and the corps substituted a Stokes mortar and machine-gun barrage to begin at zero hour. At 5:50 a.m. on 24 September, the 1/9th Battalion London Regiment of the 169th Brigade, 56th (1/1st London) Division, bombed down Combles Trench towards the French 73rd Regiment, as it attacked from the south-east towards the British but German reinforcements forced the bombers back to their start line.
The 95th Brigade of the 5th Division held the right flank of a front from the north edge of Bouleaux Wood on the east slope of Ginchy–Telegraph Hill, on the left of the 56th (1/1st London) Division which held the line in Bouleaux Wood. German posts had been dug on the near side of the valley and dug-outs in the light railway embankment were held by infantry and machine-guns. The 56th (1/1st London) Division was to form a defensive flank facing south-east over Combles. During the night, two tanks allotted to the division moved forward to rendezvous in the quarry west of Leuze Wood. All three brigades of the division were in line, the 169th Brigade on the right between Combles and Leuze Wood, the 167th Brigade in the centre along Beef and Bully trenches and the 168th Brigade on the left in Middle Copse and in new trenches being dug ready to envelop Bouleaux Wood. The 1/4th London, the right-hand battalion of the 168th Brigade, was to clear the northern end of Bouleaux Wood and to establish a line of posts overlooking the ravine, while the London Scottish on the left continued the defensive flank in the direction of Morval.
From 19 to 20 September, the pioneer battalion 1/5th Cheshire Regiment dug Gropi Trench, a connexion between Beef Trench and Middle Copse covered by the London Scottish who captured several German troops of II Battalion, Reserve Infantry Regiment 235, extended two trenches to the light railway and linked the copse to the Quadrilateral, which made a jumping-off line long facing Combles and Bouleaux Wood. At 4:30 p.m. on 24 September, the 4th Battalion of the London Regiment (Royal Fusiliers) marched from Casement Trench to assembly trenches in the Gropi–Ranger system and Middle Copse. The obliteration of landmarks confused some guides but Middle Copse was eventually reached. Gropi Trench gave good cover from snipers, who were active from the direction of Bouleaux Wood during the morning. From 15 to 16 September the weather was dry, then rain fell from 17 to 21 September, 22–25 September was dry and slight rain fell from 26 to 28 September.
Franco-British plan of attack.
The French Sixth Army planned to attack from the Somme north to Combles, in which I Corps would capture Frégicourt and Sailly-Saillisel and XXXII Corps would take Rancourt, the west end of St Pierre Vaast Wood and Saillisel. The 56th (1/1st London) Division was to mask Bouleaux Wood and reach trenches to the north-east and the right-hand brigade of the 5th Division was to advance from the second objective to Morval with four 30-minute halts, gaining touch with the left of the 56th (1/1st London) Division. The 56th (1/1st London) Division was to guard the southern flank of the Fourth Army during the attacks on Morval, Lesbœufs and Gueudecourt planned for 25 September, by capturing positions at the northern corner of Bouleaux Wood which commanded the valley north-east of Combles.
The division was to extend the flank opposite Combles to neutralise the German defences in Bouleaux Wood, cut the tramline which looped around the north end of the wood and gain touch with the 5th Division on the left. The 168th Brigade objectives were trenches between the wood and tramline and German dugouts along the cutting and bank of the line. The 167th Brigade was to fire machine-gun and Stokes mortar barrages at the wood and the 169th Brigade was to fire on the north and north-east exists of the village. Local liaison between the 56th (1/1st London) Division and the French 2nd Division (General Pierre Guignadaudet) was to be maintained by the divisional commander, Major-General Charles Hull, for a combined attack on the village on 26 September, if necessary. Infantry supported by two tanks were to advance from Bouleaux Wood as the French advanced from the south, depending on the resistance of the German defenders.
German defensive preparations.
On the German right flank the XXVI Reserve Corps took over the Combles area on 3 September, with the 52nd Reserve Division on the right, the 51st Reserve Division held Morval with the Reserve Infantry Regiment 236 and the ground further south with Reserve Infantry Regiment 235. Reserve Infantry Regiment 234 held the village but losses had reduced the front line strength of the