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The Ancre 2, Somme day 137


Engagement/Skirmish Name : The Ancre 2, Somme day 137

Date(s) : 14 November 1916

Part of : First World War , The Western Front , The Battle of the Somme ,

Outcome : An inconclusive engagement between British & Commonwealth Forces and German 2nd Army

Type of battle : Land

Summary

The Anzac Corps troops determined attacks just before dawn came to nought in the face of machine-gun fire. The 1/7th Northumberland Fusiliers took their objective. Hook Trench, but came under fire which almost wiped out the whole battalion. German counter-attacks fared no better than the Allies. V Corps troops went forward at 0620hrs and in spite of opposition they took Beaucourt village by 1030hrs. A tank later helped to quell a strong point and an enemy counter-attack was broken up by an artillery barrage. Overnight Beacourt was consolidated. 51st Div achieve one objective only to be shelled out of it by their own artillery. The 2nd Div., V Corps, went over the top early, suffered from their own erratic barrage, got lost, mixed with 51st Div. A confused, costly day the end of which saw them back on their start line.