The Bazentin-le-Petit Military Cemetery is a military cemetery located in the Somme region of France commemorating British and Commonwealth soldiers who fought in the Battle of the Somme in World War I. The cemetery is managed by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, and honors those who died on the front line near Bazentin from late July 1916 to May 1917.
Location The cemetery is located on the west side of the village of Bazentin-le-Petit, a subvillage of Bazentin, which is located approximately 8 kilometers northeast of the town of Albert and 3 kilometers southeast of the village of Pozieres.
Fighting near Bazentin-le-Petit
Bazentin was held by the Germans until 14 July 1916, when the British 3rd and 7th Divisions captured it and the British 21st Division captured Bazentin-le-Petit Wood. The village was temporarily lost in the German spring offensive of 1918, but was recaptured by the 38th Welsh Division on 25 August of the same year.
Establishment of the cemetery The cemetery was established in late July 1916 and was used by units operating on the front line until May 1917. It was originally called the Singer Circus Cemetery.
Statistics The cemetery contains 182 burials, of which 15 are unidentified. The 33 German graves in the cemetery were moved to another location in 1922. Overall, the Bazentin-le-Petit cemeteries cover an area of 1824 square yards. +Identified Burials by NationalityNationalityNumber of BurialsUnited Kingdom104Australia55South Africa 9
+Identified Burials by UnitUnit#Unit#Australian burials55Royal Field Artillery15Durham Light Infantry11Royal Garrison Artillery10Welsh Regiment9South African Infantry8Cameron Highlanders6Cameronians – Scottish Rifles5Northumberland Fusiliers5Machine Gun Corps4Royal Army Medical Corps4Royal Army Service Corps4Black Watch3East Yorkshire Regiment3Gloucestershire Regiment3Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders2Gordon Highlanders2Royal Engineers2Royal Scots – Lothian Regiment2Duke of Wellington – West Riding Regiment1Green Howards – Yorkshire Regiment1King's Own Scottish Borderers1King's Royal Rifle Corps1Lancers 16th1Leicestershire Regiment1Loyal North Lancashire Regiment1Northamptonshire Regiment1Royal Horse Artillery1Royal Warwickshire Regiment1Seaforth Highlanders1South African Heavy Artillery1South Wales Borderers1
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