Battle of Flers–Courcelette

Battle of Flers–Courcelette
Part of the Battle of the Somme of World War I
Battle of the Somme 1 July – 18 November 1916
Date 15–22 September 1916 Location Flers and Courcelette, France 50°3′32″N 2°44′52″E / 50.05889°N 2.74778°E / 50.05889; 2.74778Coordinates: 50°3′32″N 2°44′52″E / 50.05889°N 2.74778°E / 50.05889; 2.74778 Result British victory
Belligerents
United Kingdom New Zealand  Canada France	German Empire
Commanders and leaders
Douglas Haig Ferdinand Foch Émile Fayolle Henry Rawlinson Hubert Gough	Crown Prince Rupprecht Fritz von Below
Strength
Sixth Army Fourth Army (11 divisions, 49 tanks) Reserve Army	1st Army
Casualties and losses
29,376	(part of 130,000 casualties in September)
Flers & Courcelette Flers and Courcelette, communes in the Pas-de-Calais department, Nord-Pas-de-Calais, France

The Battle of Flers–Courcelette (15–22 September 1916) was fought during the Battle of the Somme in France, by the French Sixth Army and the British Fourth Army and Reserve Army, against the German 1st Army, during the First World War. The Anglo-French attack of 15 September began the third period of the Battle of the Somme but by its conclusion on 22 September, the strategic objective of a decisive victory had not been achieved. The infliction of many casualties on the German front divisions and the capture of the villages of Courcelette, Martinpuich and Flers had been a considerable tactical victory but the German defensive success on the British right flank, made exploitation and the use of cavalry impossible. Tanks were used in battle for the first time in history and the Canadian Corps and the New Zealand Division fought for the first time on the Somme. On 16 September, Jagdstaffel 2, a specialist fighter squadron, began operations with five new Albatros D.I fighters, which were capable of challenging British air supremacy for the first time since the beginning of the battle.

The attempt to advance deeply on the right and pivot on the left failed but the British gained about 2,500 yards (2,300 m) in general and captured High Wood, moving forward about 3,500 yd (3,200 m) in the centre, beyond Flers and Courcelette. The Fourth Army crossed Bazentin Ridge, which exposed the German rear-slope defences beyond to ground observation and on 18 September, the Quadrilateral, where the British advance had been frustrated on the right flank, was captured. Arrangements were begun immediately to follow up the tactical success which, after supply and weather delays, began on 25 September at the Battle of Morval and was continued by the Reserve Army next day at the Battle of Thiepval Ridge. In September, the German armies on the Somme lost about 130,000 casualties, the most costly month of the battle. Combined with the losses at Verdun and on the Eastern Front, the German Empire was brought closer to military collapse than at any time before the autumn of 1918.