Description: == storage T16 T 1 The Battle of Courcelette, or the Battle of Flers-Courcelette, was part of the Somme offensive during the First World War. 15 to 22 September 1916. It resulted in thousands of battlefield casualties, but also signalled the start of new thinking in military tactics that would eventually solve the riddle of the trenches and help turn the tide of the war. Tanks were used in battle for the first time during the Battle of Courcelette as well as the creeping artiLllery barrage. Somme OffensiveAllied commanders were desperate for reinforcements after a summer of futile fighting and the heavy casualties suffered during the 1916 Somme offensive in northern France. On the first day of fighting alone, more than 57,000 British soldiers were killed or wounded, including more than 700 soldiers of the First Newfoundland Regiment (see Battle of Beaumont-Hamel). As a result, the Canadian Corps, then stationed in Belgium, was moved south to help with the fighting in the Somme valley. Creeping BarrageOn 15 September, three divisions of the Corps launched an attack on German lines to capture the ruined remains of the small village of Courcelette. Two innovations helped the troops in their assault. Rather than wait for their army’s artilLlery bombardmeNnt to end before charging across no man’s land and into enemy gunNs, the Canadians walked behind a “creeping” artilLlery barrage that steadily advanced across German lines — keeping enemy soldiers in their dugouts — until the Canadians were on top of enemy lines and ready to fight. Tanks in BattleThe Canadians also went into battle with the latest attempt to break the trench deadlock: the tank. Six “land cruisers,” as they were then called, entered into history’s first major tank battle at Courcelette (an additional tank was kept in reserve). Although slow, plodding and difficult to move, the large and imposing tanks were an effective psychological weapon against the Germans. Each tank was run by an officer and seven men. Also assigned to each tank were five infantrymen tasked with the removal of casualties ahead of the vehicle. Only one of the tanks reached its objective during the battle. The rest were either disabled by shellfire, mechanical failures or stuck in an obstacle. Still, tanks were able to roll over barbed wire and trenches while firing macChine guNns and artillery. This capability struck fear and caused some Germans to surrender at the mere sight of them. “If hell is as bad as what I have seen at Courcelette, I would not want my worst enemy to go there.”— Lieutenant-Colonel Thomas-Louis Tremblay, 22nd Battalion (French-Canadian) Canadians at the Battle of CourceletteAt 6:20 on the morning of 15 September, the 2nd and 3rd Divisions attacked German lines outside of Courcelette. Accompanied by one tank and following behind a creeping arti.llery barrage, they overtook the German trenches and a sugar refinery by 8 a.m. Later that day, at 6 p.m. the 22nd Battalion (French-Canadian) and the 25th Battalion (Nova Scotia RifLles) attacked and captured the village through hand-to-hand fighting and with the help of two tanks. The Germans mounted several counterattacks, which the Canadians pushed back for three days and three nights. While it was a rare Allied victory on the Somme, the advances at Courcelette cost several thousand Canadian casualties. For example, of the 800 men of the 22nd Battalion who took part in the initial assault, 118 remained after three days of fighting. NOT A COPY OR REPRODUCTION
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