page_title: Battle of Ginchy
section_title: Analysis
hierarchical_section_title: Battle of Ginchy / Aftermath / Analysis
context_page_description: The Battle of Ginchy took place on 9 September 1916 during the Battle of the Somme, when the 16th Division captured the German-held village. Ginchy is 0.93 mi north-east of Guillemont, at the junction of six roads, on a rise overlooking Combles, 2.5 mi to the south-east. After the conclusion of the Battle of Guillemont on 6 September, XIV Corps and XV Corps were required to complete the advance to positions which would give observation over the German third position, to be ready for a general attack in mid-September, for which the Anglo-French armies had been preparing since early August.
  British attacks northwards from the boundary between the Fourth Army and the French Sixth Army, from Leuze Wood north to Ginchy, had begun on 3 September when the 7th Division captured the village, before being forced out by a German counter-attack. Attacks on Leuze Wood and attempts to re-take Ginchy on 4 and 5 September were also defeated by German counter-attacks. The 7th Division was relieved by the 16th Division and 55th Division on the evening of 7 September and the 5th Division was replaced by the 56th Division on the right at the army boundary.
context_section_description: Crown Prince Rupprecht wrote later that the confusion in Ginchy had been caused by two divisions having responsibility for the defence of the village. The hurried relief of the defenders and lack of organisation at the divisional boundary, enabled a British battalion to find its way in small groups through a gap between German units and get round the flank of the 5th Bavarian Division, forcing it to withdraw. Counter-attacks were said to have failed, because the English (sic) had defended Ginchy with few men but many machine-guns, dug-in around the fringes of the village, which stopped the German counter-attacks short of the village. A final attempt failed on 11 September, leaving Bavarian Infantry Regiment 19 with losses of 884 men. Franco-British attacks in September caused a crisis in the German defence and by 5 to 6 September, many German infantry units were at the end of their endurance.
  It had taken the Fourth Army from 15 July to 14 September to advance 1,000 yd (910 m) on a 5 mi (8.0 km) front and cost 82,000 casualties but capture of the ground north of Ginchy gained the British another 3,000 yd (1.7 mi; 2.7 km) of the crest from Leuze Wood to Delville Wood, which overlooked the German third position for 9,000 yd (5.1 mi; 8.2 km), from Delville Wood to Mouquet Farm. On 11 September, Gallwitz wrote that if the process continued, Germany would run out of men and equipment and that the British heavy guns were destroying the German artillery. The 4th Bavarian Division at Flers, reported that the loss of Ginchy exposed the area from Flers to Martinpuich to attack. British and French prisoners had said that in the recent attacks, German artillery-fire had begun too late and that attacks had caught Germans while they were still under cover in dugouts and also managed to overrun troops further back, held ready to counter-attack.
  Prior & Wilson wrote that Guillemont had eventually been captured, using improved tactics but that the 7th Division attacked Ginchy with insufficient weight, seeking to keep troops fresh for the big offensive planned for mid-September. Insufficient attention was paid to mopping-up captured ground, German troops hiding in village cellars were overlooked and the artillery failed to suppress German machine-gunners firing from the flanks. The same form of attack was repeated until the 7th Division was relieved by the 16th (Irish) Division, which moved into line just as the weather deteriorated and rain turned the ground to mud. It was possible to attack Ginchy from the south once Guillemont had fallen and six battalions (albeit tired and depleted by losses) attacked instead of two in previous attacks. A stroke of ill-luck left the Germans in Ginchy unsupported, when the Irish attacked with twice as much field artillery than the previous attacks and took the village in two hours.
  In the 7th Division history, Atkinson called the attacks on Ginchy most unsatisfactory, despite having plenty of artillery and ammunition in support. The fighting in Delville Wood in the aftermath of the big German counter-attack of 31 August had depleted the division; some of the lost ground in the wood had not been recaptured, which left the Germans well placed to enfilade attacks towards Ginchy from the west and north. Atkinson claimed that fighting for the village covered the left flank of the troops further south attacking Guillemont and absorbed German reinforcements in the area. The 7th Division had been used in "driblets", when a co-ordinated attack on a broader front may have succeeded. There had been insufficient time to rest troops, who were poorly trained, led by inexperienced NCOs and the "musketry" of many men from recent drafts was inadequate.
  Harris described British efforts between 15 July and 14 September, a "dissolution" and that the large number of piecemeal attacks demonstrate a failure of command primarily by Haig. He suggested that the British could have established an army group level of command, similar to those in the French and German armies. Despite criticism of British methods and results, Harris
caption: Somme situation map
exif: {}