First World War – Battle of the Somme

The battle of Combles was one of the last major actions of the Somme in 1916. From 25 to 28 September, French and British forces launched a coordinated attack to encircle and take the fortified town of Combles, a key point in the German defence southeast of the front. After massive artillery preparation, French troops advanced from the east and south, British and dominion forces from the west and north. Street fighting, massive use of grenades, and artillery support allowed rapid progress: overwhelmed, the Germans abandoned the town, which was taken on 26 September. Victory at Combles opened the road to Bapaume and weakened the entire German dispositions in the region.

The battle of Guillemont marked a turning point in Allied progress on the Somme. From 3 to 6 September 1916, French and British divisions, after weeks of fruitless fighting, launched a coordinated attack against the fortified village of Guillemont. German trenches, bunkers, and machine-gun nests resisted the first assaults, but Allied artillery pounded the sector relentlessly. The French XX Corps, supported by the British, managed to break through the lines, isolating the village. Street fighting, the defenders' fierce resistance, and the use of grenades, flamethrowers, and machine guns made the capture of Guillemont particularly costly. The Allies finally took the village, opening the way toward Ginchy and the interior of the German dispositions. Guillemont was annihilated, but its fall broke resistance on the ridge and allowed the Allies to relaunch the offensive eastward.

The battle of Maurepas was a strategic and bloody episode of the Somme, involving mainly the French 6th Army. From 20 August to 5 September 1916, French troops attacked the fortified village of Maurepas, the southern lock of the German defence. After several attempts and deadly trench fighting, massive artillery preparation preceded the general assault of 24 August. French infantry infiltrated the German lines, advancing house by house under a deluge of shells and crossfire. Maurepas, transformed into a field of ruins, changed hands several times before being definitively taken by the French on 24 August. Fighting continued until the sector was fully liberated in early September. The capture of Maurepas threatened German positions at Combles and accelerated the collapse of the enemy front southeast of the Somme.

At the northern extremity of the Franco-British Somme front, the battle of Sailly-Saillisel marked the final French progress in this sector. French troops, supported by British elements, had to seize the village of Sailly-Saillisel, on a strategic ridge north of Combles. The assault, conducted in extreme climatic conditions (rain, mud, cold), finally allowed capture of the village after more than a month of fierce fighting.