'Sausage Valley', with Bécourt Wood and Lochnagar, Somme, March 2015
"Silently our machine guns and infantry waited until our opponents came closer. Then, when they were only a few metres fom our trenches, the serried ranks of the enemy were sprayed with a hurricane of defensive fire....within moments it appeared that the battle had died away completely, but later in huge masses the enemy bagan to pull back towards Bécourt, until finally it seemed as though every man was attempting to flee back to his jumping-off point. The fire of our machine guns persuaded them, hitting them hard."
Colonel Kienitz, 110th Reserve Infantry Regiment.
"Silently our machine guns and infantry waited until our opponents came closer. Then, when they were only a few metres fom our trenches, the serried ranks of the enemy were sprayed with a hurricane of defensive fire....within moments it appeared that the battle had died away completely, but later in huge masses the enemy bagan to pull back towards Bécourt, until finally it seemed as though every man was attempting to flee back to his jumping-off point. The fire of our machine guns persuaded them, hitting them hard."
Colonel Kienitz, 110th Reserve Infantry Regiment.
So named by British troops after a German observation balloon that flew over it prior to the battle, Sausage Valley formed the path of advance towards the village of Contalmaison. The largest of the mines sprung on July 1st, the Lochnagar, was only partially successful in destroying the Schwaben Höne, a German defensive position on the front line - the lips of the still extant and vast crater are visible in the centre of the frame - and the troops of the British 34th Division were compelled to advance into fierce fire from both flanks, and from in front. This vantage point is precisely on the German third line of trenches - the course of the second is visible as the white chalk mark in the centre, the first ran just this side of the crater. The advancing men were shockingly, and lethally, exposed.
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