The Attacks on the Butte de Warlencourt (7 October – 16 November 1916) were tactical incidents during the Battle of the Somme. The Butte de Warlencourt is an ancient burial mound off the Albert–Bapaume road, north-east of Le Sars in the Somme in northern France. The Butte is on the territory of the commune of Warlencourt-Eaucourt and slightly north of a minor road to Gueudecourt and Eaucourt l'Abbaye. During the First World War, German troops constructed deep dugouts in the Butte and surrounded it by several belts of barbed wire, making it a formidable defensive position in advance of (Gird Trenches to the British). After the Battle of Flers–Courcelette (15–22 September 1916), the view from the Butte dominated the new British front line and was used by the Germans for artillery observation.
During the Battle of Le Transloy (1–20 October 1916), the Butte de Warlencourt was the subject of several attacks by the British Fourth Army, which were costly failures; attacks in November were also defeated. The 2nd Australian Division occupied the Butte on 24 February 1917, during the German retirements made on the Somme front, preparatory to Operation Alberich (), the German retreat to the Hindenburg Line. The Butte de Warlencourt was recaptured by the German 2nd Army on 24 March 1918, during the retreat of the 2nd Division in Operation Michael, the German spring offensive. The Butte was recaptured for the last time on 26 August, by the 21st Division, during the Second Battle of Bapaume. In 1990, the site was purchased for preservation by the Western Front Association with the help of donations from members. The Association announced in October 2018 its sale to its former chairman, Bob Paterson. Following concerns raised, Paterson offered to sell the site back to the Western Front Association.
Background
1914
On 25 September 1914, during the Race to the Sea a French attack north of the Somme against the II Bavarian Corps (General Karl Ritter von Martini), forced a hurried German withdrawal. As more Bavarian units arrived in the north, the 3rd Bavarian Division advanced along the north bank of the Somme, through Bouchavesnes, Leforest and Hardecourt until held up at Maricourt. The 4th Bavarian Division, further to the north, defeated French Territorial troops and then attacked westwards near Gueudecourt, towards Albert, through Sailly, Combles, Guillemont and Montauban. The II Bavarian Corps and XIV Reserve Corps ( Hermann von Stein) pushed back a French Territorial division from the area around Bapaume. The Germans advanced towards Bray-sur-Somme and Albert, as part of an offensive down the Somme valley to reach the sea. The German offensive was opposed north of the Somme by the northern corps of the French Second Army east of Albert. The XIV Reserve Corps attacked on 28 September, along the Roman road from Bapaume to Albert and Amiens, intending to reach the Ancre and then continue westwards along the Somme valley. The 28th () Reserve Division advanced close to Fricourt against scattered resistance from French infantry and cavalry.
1916
On 21 July 1916, 3 Squadron Royal Flying Corps (RFC) discovered new German defences from Le Transloy to Warlencourt and more trenches between Eaucourt l'Abbaye and Flers, west of the Butte. On 22 August a dogfight between 11 Squadron and about twenty German fighters took place above the Butte and three Roland D.I aircraft were shot down. On 4 October, the 47th (1/2nd London) Division occupied Flers Support Trench unopposed and after nightfall on 5 October, advanced to occupy a ruined mill north-west of Eaucourt. The capture of Eaucourt enabled the British to move field artillery over the High Wood ridge, into range in a valley beyond the Starfish to support attacks on the Butte.
Bavarian Reserve Infantry Regiment 16 remained in the line near Eaucourt and suffered many casualties; by 5 October, the commander of I Battalion reported that the battlefield conditions were extraordinary; morale was low because of cold rations and constant artillery-fire, some of which came from German guns. The many casualties, the inability to bury the dead, strewn around the trenches, sapped morale further. The cold, rainy weather poor food and lack of hygiene caused a big increase in non-battle casualties, with up to of the troops contracting diarrhoea; no fresh troops were available to rest the garrison, despite constant appeals from their commanders.
Prelude
German defensive preparations
The Butte is a mound about high, on a slope near the Gird trenches (). In the Franco-Prussian War the mound had been tunnelled and during the Battle of the Somme the Germans fortified the Butte with machine-gun posts and encircled by many belts of barbed wire. From the mound, Pozières to the south-west; La Barque and Bapaume to the north-east are easily visible. Many German artillery positions had been established on the ground east of the Butte. German artillery positions commanded the area around Martinpuich, where the British had to move much of their artillery, which increased the accuracy of German counter-battery fire.
British offensive preparations The 47th (1/2nd London) Division captured the nearby farmstead of Eaucourt L'Abbaye from 1 to 3 October. On 4 October, the 140th Brigade took over the line from the 141st Brigade in preparation for another general attack. Next day the 1/6th London Regiment (1/6th London) occupied an old mill west of Eaucourt l'Abbaye. The attack by III Corps was to begin at on 7 October, against the Gird trenches, which ran north-west to south-east from Gueudecourt to Warlencourt and past the Butte. The 47th (1/2nd London) Division was to attack in the centre, with the 41st Division on the right and the 23rd Division on the left flank. The Germans had dug a new trench (Diagonal Trench) across the 47th (1/2nd London) Division front, over the high ground north of Eaucourt I'Abbaye, westwards into the valley. Diagonal Trench was the first objective and was to be taken by the 1/8th London, then the final objective at Gird Trench and the Butte was to be captured by the 1/15th and 1/7th London, with the 1/6th London in support. On 9 October, the 26th (South African) Brigade relieved the 140th and 142nd brigades.
Battle
7 October
The first objective was set at Snag Trench, which ran across the east slope of a depression running north to Warlencourt. The 6th Bavarian Reserve Division held the area with the III Battalion, Bavarian Reserve Infantry Regiment 16. In the centre the objective was distant, halfway to the Butte. On the right the 1/8th London was stopped by massed machine-gun fire, as were the 1/15th London and the 1/7th London, which had been intended to leap-frog through to the final objective. In 1922, the 47th (1/2nd London) Division historian wrote how,
the attackers came under small-arms fire from Diagonal Trench but the 1/15th London and 1/8th London got forward on the right and dug in along a sunken road leading north-east from Eaucourt l'Abbaye to La Barque. A few outposts were established near the Le Barque road and on the right flank, touch was gained with the 41st Division.
To the left, companies of the 1/8th London, followed by the 1/7th London advanced down the slope, forward of the mill and were fired on from Diagonal Trench and by artillery and machine-gun fire sited in depth, to aim cross-fire along the western slopes up to the Butte and high ground to the south. From the far side of the valley, the ground leading to the British objectives was easily observed. Some of the attackers reached the Butte and disappeared and several local counter-attacks were made by Bavarian Reserve Infantry Regiment 16.Parties dug in where they could and several posts were pushed out from the mill, to maintain contact with the 23rd Division, which had advanced along the main road and captured Le Sars. The 23rd Division sent patrols which gained a view of the Butte and the vicinity; at the patrols reported that no Germans could be seen. The 140th Brigade lost many casualties and were relieved on the left flank by the 142nd Brigade but the 1/6th London in the advanced posts had to wait until the 142nd Brigade attack the next day.
On 8 October, a post was spotted halfway up the road towards the Butte by the crew of a British reconnaissance aircraft. The 142nd Brigade attacked Diagonal Trench again with the 1/21st London and the 1/22nd London, who crawled forward to rush the German garrison as soon as a one-minute hurricane bombardment lifted at The 1/21st London advanced until about short of Diagonal Trench with no losses, then massed machine-gun fire inflicted many casualties; few troops reached the trench. On the left flank, three companies of the 1/22nd London reached the trench against slight opposition but enfilade fire from the right flank made the trench untenable once dawn broke. The survivors managed to dig advanced posts up to short of the objective and at the Eaucourt l'Abbaye–Warlencourt road. Touch was gained with the 23rd Division on the left. The 47th (1/2nd London) and 23rd divisions were relieved by the 9th Division (Major-General William Furse) and 15th (Scottish) Division (Major-General Frederick McCracken) from 8 11 October, preparatory to another attack.
12 October +Weather(7 October – 5 November 1916) DateRainmm °F 70.166–52windrain 80.164–54rain 9064–50fine 10068–46finesun 110.166–50dull 12061–55dull 13061–50dull 14061–50dull 15357–41rainfine 160.154–36suncold 17355–43fine 18457–48rainfine 19457–37rain 20048–28cold 21045–28cold 220– –cold 23355–43dull 24354–45dullrain 25252–45rain 26155–39wet 27155–43wetcold 28855–41wetcold 29753–45wet 30761–48wetcold 31063–46 — 1359–46 — 2359–48 — 3159–48 — 4264–52wetdull 5059–48fine The 9th (Scottish) Division took over from the 47th (1/2nd London) Division on the eve of the attack; Furse asked for a postponement but was over-ruled. RFC aircraft tried to reconnoitre the area, to find new German trenches but the light was too poor. By 12 October, the Bavarian companies had been reduced to about each, with rifles and to defend an area of . The divisional objectives were Snag Trench and the Butte, including the Tail, a trench running back from Snag Trench to the Butte and the Pimple, a mound at the west end of Snag Trench. On the left flank, the 15th (Scottish) Division had been sapping forward to support the attack by firing on the final objective, No. 4 Special Company RE preparing to lay a smoke screen on Little Wood and the Butte. On the right flank, the 7th Seaforth Highlanders (7th Seaforth) of the 26th Brigade was met by machine-gun fire as soon as it advanced; it was also hit by the British heavy artillery, which fired short and missed Snag Trench.
The 10th Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders (10th Argyll) moved forward as reinforcements but only about were gained when the troops consolidated overnight. On the left flank, the 2nd Regiment of the South African Brigade, supported by the 4th Regiment was held up by long-range machine-gun fire and lost direction in the smoke screen, which drifted from the Butte. The remnants dug in half-way to Snag Trench behind some advanced parties, who were ordered to retire during the morning of 13 October. Bavarian Reserve Infantry Regiment 16 was relieved by Infantry Regiment 104 on 13 October. The defenders managed to recapture a British foothold in the 7th Company zone and were then relieved by Reserve Infantry Regiment 181. Bavarian Reserve Infantry Regiment 16 had suffered in ten days and had only fit to fight.
18 October