The Battle of Mouquet Farm, also known as the Fighting for Mouquet Farm was part of the

Battle of the Somme The Battle of the Somme ( French: Bataille de la Somme), also known as the Somme offensive, was a battle of the First World War fought by the armies of the British Empire and French Third Republic against the German Empire. It took place bet ...

and began during the Battle of Pozières (23 July – 3 September). The fighting began on 23 July with attacks by the British Reserve Army. The farm was captured by the

3rd Canadian Division The 3rd Canadian Division is a formation of the Canadian Army responsible for the command and mobilization of all army units in the provinces of Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia, as well as all units extending westwards from th ...

of the

Canadian Corps The Canadian Corps was a World War I corps formed from the Canadian Expeditionary Force in September 1915 after the arrival of the 2nd Canadian Division in France. The corps was expanded by the addition of the 3rd Canadian Division in December ...

on 16 September. The farm was lost to a German counter-attack, before being re-captured on 26 September during an attack by the 11th (Northern) Division during the

Battle of Thiepval Ridge The Battle of Thiepval Ridge was the first large offensive of the Reserve Army (Lieutenant General Hubert Gough), during the Battle of the Somme on the Western Front during the First World War. The attack was intended to benefit from the Four ...

No. 16 Section of the 6th Battalion

East Yorkshire The East Riding of Yorkshire, or simply East Riding or East Yorkshire, is a ceremonial county and unitary authority area in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It borders North Yorkshire to the north and west, South Yorkshire to th ...

(Pioneers) smoked out the last German defenders.

Background

1916

Mouquet Farm was to the right of the modern D 73

Pozières Pozières (; ) is a commune in the Somme department in Hauts-de-France in northern France. Geography The commune is situated on the D929 road, northeast of Amiens between Albert and Bapaume, on the Pozières ridge. Southwest of the village on ...

–Thiepval road, south of Grandcourt and to the south-west of Courcelette, about north-west of the high ground near Pozières. Following the fighting that had occurred around the village earlier in the year, a decision was made by the British to gain control of the ridge beyond the village to create a gap in the German lines, behind the salient that had developed around the German-held fortress of

Thiepval Thiepval (; pcd, Tièbvo) is a commune in the Somme department in Hauts-de-France in northern France. Thiepval is located north of Albert at the crossroads of the D73 and D151 and approximately northeast of Amiens. Population First World ...

. By capturing Mouquet Farm, the British hoped that it would destabilise the German position and enable subsequent gains.

Battle

10 August – 3 September

Map of German defensive fortifications from Thiepval to Courcelette, July 1916

During the night of 10 August, parties of the 4th Australian Division of the

I Anzac Corps The I ANZAC Corps (First Anzac Corps) was a combined Australian and New Zealand army corps that served during World War I. It was formed in Egypt in February 1916 as part of the reorganisation and expansion of the Australian Imperial Force and ...

, attacked towards the farm and managed to establish advanced posts in the valley south of the farm and to the east. Attacks were then made from a foothold in (Fabeck Trench) to the north-east and to deepen the salient near the farm. By 22 August, the 2nd Australian Division had made several more attempts on the farm and realised that the main defensive position was underground, where the Germans had excavated the cellars to create linked dug-outs. On 3 September, the 4th Australian Division attacked again with the 13th Brigade and captured much of the surface remains of the farm and trenches nearby, with hand-to-hand fighting in the ruins and underground. German counter-attacks repulsed the Australians except from a small part of , the fighting costing the Australians

16–26 September

During the battle, the divisions of I Anzac Corps advanced north-west along Pozières ridge, towards Mouquet Farm, with

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

divisions supporting on the left. The approaches to the farm were watched by German artillery observers, who directed artillery-fire on the attackers from three sides of the salient that had developed in the lines. Many casualties were caused to the attackers as they approached the farm; in August and into September, the Australians were repulsed three times. The

relieved the I Anzac Corps on 5 September. The Canadians captured part of the farm on 16 September and were then repulsed by a counter-attack. By 25 September, further attacks had captured part of the farm on the surface but the Germans still held the cellars, dug-outs and tunnels beneath. The farm was captured on 26 September by the 34th Brigade of the 11th (Northern) Division, in the general attack of the

. The 9th

Lancashire Fusiliers The Lancashire Fusiliers was a line infantry regiment of the British Army that saw distinguished service through many years and wars, including the Second Boer War, the First and Second World Wars, and had many different titles throughout its 28 ...

bombed the exits of the underground positions and also managed to reach the second objective, at the west end of Trench, where German machine-gun nests had held up previous attacks. The 6th East Yorkshire (Pioneers) overwhelmed the last defenders with smoke grenades and took

Aftermath

Casualties

In the fighting around Pozières and Mouquet Farm, the I Anzac Corps suffered During its second period on the Somme, the 1st Australian Division suffered having already suffered August. The 2nd Australian Division incurred from 25 July to 7 August and another to 29 August. From 29 July to 16 August the 4th Australian Division suffered and another 27 August to 4 September.

Gallery

File:Mouquet Farm aerial June 1916 IWM Q 27637 rotated North at top.jpg, Mouquet Farm and its defences, June 1916 File:Mouquet Farm aerial September 1916 IWM Q 27639 rotated North at top.jpg, Mouquet Farm and its defences, September 1916

Notes

Footnotes

References

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External links

Contemporary photos of the battle sites

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mouquet Farm Conflicts in 1916 1916 in France Battle of the Somme Battles of World War I involving Australia