The Operations

Probe into de bois de Caures

Falkenhayn's plan to bleed France white at Verdun began with an earth shattering nine-hour barrage by 1,200 guns along a 25 mile front. Just opposite the German lines, in a box-shaped wood about 1,000 metres to a side, the 56th and 59th Batallions de Chasseurs under Colonel Driant sheltered in dugouts as nearby trenches collapsed. When the smoke cleared, the few remaining trees held uniform fragments and body parts aloft over a landscape of shattered oaks. At 1600, Jaegers of the 81st and 87th Regiments sent patrols forward to probe what was left of the French position.

Coup de grace

The initial German probe into the Bois de Caures had found firm resistance. So, the Germans delayed their main thrust to allow several more hours of shelling. After smashing the entire wood to splinters, they returned with flamethrowers to root out any remaining resistance.

Bangers and Mash

In an effort to achieve a decisive war-winning breakthrough, 1,500 British guns rained shells along an 18-mile stretch of German front straddling the Albert-Bapaume road just north of the Somme for a week. Around La Boiselle, the plan called for the 34th Division to attack in four columns of three battalions each. One column would come across Mash valley north of the road. The other three were to attack south of the road toward the Schwaben Hohe and into Sausage Valley - so named for the German observation balloons that often loomed overhead. A few minutes before H-hour, 0730, shelling stopped and ten mines detonated under German positions. Most British units waited two minutes for the debris to settle. Then whistles, or bagpipes for the Scots, sent them over the top. The Grimsby Chums, opposite the mine blast at Lochnagar Crater, waited three more minutes, just to be safe. Each of the lead battalions left one company behind in reserve.

Storming La Boiselle

Despite massive casualties, by day three of the Somme offensive the British had yet to take La Boisselle, a village barely 400 yards from their July 1st start line. So, on the night of July 3, the 10th Worcestershire Regiment of the 19th Division stormed the village under cover of darkness.

Polish Hill

One month into their highly successful Brusilov Offensive, the Russians renewed their attack on the defiant Austro-Hungarian forces near Kostiuchnowka in present-day Ukraine. The Polish Legion's 1st Brigade held positions on Polska Gora (Polish Hill). After a signature brief-but-brutal artillery barrage, Russian troops of the 110th and 77th Divisions attacked.

Counterattack at Polish hill

In keeping with an aggressive defense, Polish troops counterattacked Polish Hill immediately after dark

French Canadians at Regina

Three months into the Somme campaign, the 5th Canadian Infantry Brigade squared off against the German 1st Marine Infantry Regiment just north of Courcelette in the Battle of the Ancre Heights. Around 1600 on October 1, the rain slackened and shelling ceased. The Canadians climbed from their parapets to advance on the objective, Regina Trench. From left to right, they fielded three depleted battalions across 1,200 yards of front. On their right, the 22nd (French Canadian) Battalion had the greatest distance to cross, about 800 yards. It advanced in three waves of 80 men each with about five yards between each man.

Second shot at Regina

After a week of rain, the Canadians renewed their assault on Regina. This time, the 7th Bridage's Royal Canadian Regiment attacked on the left toward the intersection of the Kenora and Regina trenches while the 9th Brigade's 43rd Battalion attacked on the right between East and West Miraumont Roads. The troops set off in the pre-dawn darkness.

From Delville to Flers with the Heavy section

After two months of bitter, bloody struggle on the Somme, Field Marshal Sir Douglas Haig needed a clear victory. To make that happen, he gambled on new weapons from the Heavy Section Machine Gun Corps - tanks. At 0515, three of these lumbering rhomboids went into action along with two companies of the 6th King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry near Delville Wood just south of Flers.