The Capture of Trônes Wood (8–14 July 1916) was a tactical incident in the First World War, fought by the British Fourth Army and the German 2nd Army, during the Battle of the Somme of 1916. Trônes Wood lay on the northern slope of Montauban ridge, between Bernafay Wood and Guillemont. The wood dominated the southern approach to Longueval and Trônes Alley, a German communication trench between Bernafay Wood and the northern tip of Trônes Wood to Guillemont. A light railway ran through the centre, which was in a dip formed by the east end of Caterpillar Valley sloping away to the west. The wood was pear-shaped, with a base about wide on Montauban ridge, the rest of the wood running north for about , coming to a point on a rise towards Longueval village.
The wood had dense undergrowth which impeded movement, made it difficult to keep direction and during the battle the trees were brought down by shellfire, becoming entangled with barbed wire and strewn with German and British dead. The British attacks were part of preliminary operations, to reach ground from which to begin the second British general attack of the Battle of the Somme, against the German second position from Longueval to Bazentin le Petit on 14 July. The German defenders fought according to a policy of unyielding defence and immediate counter-attack to regain lost ground, intended to delay the Anglo-French advance south of the Albert–Bapaume road and give time for reinforcements sent to the Somme front to arrive.
Background
On 1 July the Anglo-French bombardment on the right flank of the Fourth Army had been highly effective, due to good observation over the German positions and had achieved tactical surprise. The German 28th Reserve Division had been defeated and only saved from destruction by reinforcements from the 10th Bavarian Division. In the XIII Corps (30th Division, 18th (Eastern) Division and the 9th (Scottish) Division in reserve) area the success was complete, the troops on the right flank were in touch with the French south of Bernafay Wood, Montauban had been consolidated and observation gained over Caterpillar Valley. XIII Corps was ordered to prepare to attack Mametz Wood with XV Corps on the left.
There was severe congestion in the Maricourt Salient, with few roads to supply XIII Corps and the French XX Corps of the Sixth Army, which delayed a resumption of the attack, although the road from Maricourt to Montauban was open by Reconnaissance by the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) reported that the German second line from Guillemont to Bazentin le Grand was strongly held. On 1/2 July two German counter-attacks in the early hours were repulsed by shrapnel-fire from the 30th divisional artillery, which also experimented with a Thermite barrage on Bernafay Wood. The 27th Brigade, 9th (Scottish) Division, relieved a brigade of the 30th Division near Montauban and the captured ground was consolidated.
On 2 July Haig met Rawlinson and directed that attacks should continue on the right flank, although Rawlinson was concerned over a lack of heavy howitzer ammunition. On 3 July Haig met Joffre and Foch and announced that he was concentrating British efforts south of the Albert–Bapaume road, despite Joffre's objections. The Fourth Army would continue the attack between Montauban and Fricourt, before attacking the German second position, from Longueval to Bazentin-le-Petit, as the Reserve Army advanced north-east towards Pozières. The attack front was shortened by and XIII Corps and XV Corps were to consolidate their positions, then advance towards Trônes Wood and Mametz Wood. Front-line officers in XIII Corps reported that German resistance was weak and that delay would give the defence time to recover. Congreve, the XIII Corps commander, instructed the 30th Division and 9th (Scottish) Division commanders to capture Trônes Wood, before a general attack on the Fourth Army front intended for 10 July. A local attack was planned, in support of the French, for the morning of 7 July, on high ground at Maltz Horn Farm and Hardecourt, which overlooked the south end of Trônes Wood. The attack was postponed, after a German counter-attack on 6 July, recaptured part of Favières Wood further south, which delayed French preparations by
Prelude
British preparations
On 2 July, patrols from the 30th Division found Bernafay Wood undefended and took 17 prisoners from Reserve Infantry Regiment 51, who had retreated there during the morning. At on 3 July, after a short bombardment, two battalions of the 27th Brigade [9th (Scottish) Division], advanced on a line from the Briqueterie to Montauban and reached the eastern edge by against slight opposition. A few prisoners were taken from the I and III battalions Reserve Infantry Regiment 51, which had withdrawn during the bombardment; four field guns left behind the night before by the 6th Battery, Foot Artillery Regiment 57 were captured. A further advance towards Trônes Wood found it occupied but the 18th (Eastern) Division occupied Caterpillar Wood early on 3 July and Marlboro' Wood unopposed on 4 July.
On 4 July Haig stressed the importance of the rapid capture of Trônes Wood and next day arranged with the French for the right boundary of the Fourth Army to be moved south. General Headquarters (GHQ) also announced a ration of of 18-pounder field gun ammunition and of 6-inch howitzer ammunition per day, plus the use of some French heavy guns on loan to the British. General Henry Rawlinson co-ordinated the attack on the wood with General Émile Fayolle on 6 July but the attack was postponed because of a German counter-attack. Haig issued a memorandum on policy, that advantage must be taken of German confusion and low morale after the opposite the right flank of the Fourth Army had suffered so many casualties.
British plans
After a preliminary bombardment on 8 July, XIII Corps was to occupy the south end of Trônes Wood, Maltz Horn Trench and capture Maltz Horn Farm, as the French 39th Division on the right took the rest of Maltz Horn Trench, up to Hardecourt knoll and from there to Hardecourt. No man's land opposite the British was wide and under German observation but the western approach from Bernafay Wood, held by the 9th (Scottish) Division was not visible form Longueval. An attack could then be made from the south-west on Maltz Horn Farm, out of view of the German second position. On 9 July the 30th Division plan was to attack at after a short bombardment. Next day another attack was mounted after a German counter-attack recovered the wood and recaptured the western edge. On 11 July British troops were withdrawn and a bombardment, said by German witnesses to be "the fiercest yet experienced", opened at before the attack. On 12 July the 30th Division reported that it held the wood but that all three brigades were exhausted, so the 55th Brigade of the 18th (Eastern) Division was attached that morning.
When the 30th Division reported on 12 July that the Germans had again retaken the wood, except for the southern portion, the division was relieved by the 18th (Eastern) Division, which was ordered to take the wood at all costs. Two battalions of the 54th Brigade were added to the 55th Brigade. The 18th (Eastern) Division battalions were dispersed around the salient and German bombardments on La Briqueterie, Trônes Wood, Maltz Horn Farm and Maricourt, had cut telephone communication; no time remained to arrange visual signalling or reconnaissance. The 55th Brigade commander planned for a battalion to attack from the south and occupy the southern half of the wood, an attack by another battalion from Longueval Alley on the north end of the wood above the railway, while a third battalion in Maltz Horn Trench attacked north, to take the strong point at the south-east end of the wood, with the fourth battalion carrying stores to forward dumps. The attack was to start at after a two-hour artillery bombardment, concentrated on Central Trench and the diggings facing Longueval Trench in the north. One battalion was to consolidate the eastern fringe of the wood below the railway line, with machine-gun posts every and the other battalion the fringe north of the railway.
German preparations
After the failure of a counter-attack on the junction of the Sixth Army and the Fourth Army on the night of the 2nd Army organised a new front in the second position, from Assevillers north to Herbecourt, Hem, Maurepas, Guillemont, Longueval and Bazentin le Petit Wood. Further counter-attacks were not possible due to a lack of troops but by 3 July the front from Longueval to Ovillers had been occupied by battalions taken from six divisions. Divisions on the Somme front were reorganised into three groups and air units were reinforced and divided into distant and close reconnaissance, artillery observation, fighting and bombing formations. On 5 July, the pause in Anglo-French attacks led General Fritz von Below, to report that the initial crisis had been contained. No more counter-attacks would be made until the situation was clear, in anticipation of more Anglo-French attacks.
German casualties on 7 July from British air-observed artillery-fire were high and communications were cut, leaving commanders ignorant of the situation; many German wounded had been stranded near the front-line. Sixty-five heavy artillery batteries were sent to the Somme front from along with air reinforcements. Falkenhayn stressed the need to hold the ground from Hardecourt to Trônes Wood, as a base from which to begin an organised counter-attack but all the attacks contemplated were cancelled on 13 July, to be ready to receive the British attack known to be imminent. More groups were organised, using corps headquarters staff, to control the increasing number of divisions reaching the Somme front. with the 123rd Division and parts of the 11th and 12th Reserve divisions, took over from the Somme to Longueval. Many divisional units had been detached as piecemeal reinforcements and were tired, disorganised and depleted by casualties.
Battle
8–9 July
+Weather(4–14 July 1916) Date Rainmm Temp(°F) 4 July17.070°–55°rain 5 July0.072°–52°dull 6 July2.070°–54°rain 7 July13.070°–59°rain 8 July8.073°–52°dull 9 July0.070°–53°dull 10 July0.082°–48°dull 11 July0.068°–52°dull 12 July0.168°– —dull 13 July0.170°–54°dullwind 14 July0.0— – —dull The British attack began at after a bombardment of Trônes Wood and Maltz Horn Trench. The 2nd Yorkshire of the 21st Brigade (30th Division) moved through Bernafay Wood and formed up along the eastern fringe, then began an advance to the south end of Trônes Wood away. As the battalion topped a rise mid-way to the wood, massed small-arms fire came from a trench in the south-west corner of the wood and caused many casualties. Attempts to continue the advance failed, the survivors withdrew to Bernafay Wood and efforts by bombers to move along Trônes Alley also failed. Troops of the French 39th Division captured Hardecourt Knoll and the adjacent part of Maltz Horn Trench, which left their left flank vulnerable to fire from the rest of the trench north of Maltz Horn Farm and to machine-guns in the wood.