First Day On The Somme - Fricourt, Mametz & Montauban

Fricourt, Mametz & Montauban

The fortified village of Fricourt lay in a bend in the front-line where it turned eastwards for two miles (3 km) before swinging south again to the Somme River. If the attacks by XV Corps on either side of Fricourt reached their objectives, the village would be isolated in a pocket so it was deemed unnecessary to make a frontal assault.

The 21st Division advanced to the north of Fricourt. In an effort to protect the infantry from enfilade fire from the village, three mines, collectively known as the Triple Tambour mines, were blown beneath the Tambour salient on the northern edge of the village. The sole purpose of these mines was to raise a protective "lip" of earth that would obscure the view from the village but the benefit was minimal.

The 21st made some progress and penetrated to the rear of Fricourt. The 50th Brigade of the 17th (Northern) Division held the front-line opposite the village. One battalion of this brigade, the 10th West Yorkshire Regiment, was required to advance close by Fricourt and suffered 710 casualties, the worst battalion losses of the day. A Company from the 7th Green Howards made an unplanned attack directly against the village and was annihilated. The battalion commander later said:

I got a message to say that A Company on the right had assaulted at 8.20. ... I could only account for this by supposing that the company commander had gone mad.

East of Fricourt, the village of Mametz was captured by the 7th Division though the line of objectives beyond the village were not reached. The loss of Mametz made the German position in Fricourt precarious so the garrison was withdrawn during the night and a patrol from the 17th Division took possession of the village early on 2 July.

The southern flank of the British line was held by XIII Corps whose objective was the village of Montauban. The two assault divisions — the 18th (Eastern) and 30th Division, both New Army formations — seized all their objectives at the cost of over 3,000 casualties each.

There were a number of reasons for the success on the southern flank. The 18th Division, despite being New Army, was impeccably trained by Maj.Gen. Ivor Maxse, widely regarded as one of the finest British generals of the war. The German defences in the south were not as formidable as those north of the Albert-Bapaume road and lacked the terrain advantages. The British were also aided by support from the superior artillery of the neighbouring French army.