Battle of Flers-Courcelette: First Use of Tanks in Warfare

From Wikipedia.

I had never heard of this battle before starting these entries dealing with the Naours Cave.

The battle took place during the Somme Offensive in the summer and autumn 1916.  The object of this battle was to cut a hole in the German line by using massed artillery and an infantry attack.  That hole was then to be exploited by cavalry.

Overall, the attempt here failed, but the villages of Courcelette, Flers and Martinpuick were captured.

This battle was significant because it marked the first time tanks were used in battle.  Tanks were referred to as "Land Battleships."  It was also the first battle the New Zealand and Canadian Divisions participated.

Kind of interesting that cavalry was originally to be used to exploit the anticipated hole in the German lines and this was the first use of tanks, the cavalry's replacement.

Way, Heigh, Over the Bounding Land.  --Cooter

Australian Cemetery at Flers, France-- Part 1

From GWGC site.

In the last blog entry, I mentioned that Private Herbert John Leach, who had signed his name in the Naours Cave, had been buried at the Australian Cemetery in nearby Flers, France.  I did some more research on it.

It is referred to as the A.I.F. Burial Ground, Flers.  Then there was mention of 1212 casualties which I wasn't sure if that meant these were men who were killed or wounded there during fighting as that number didn't match up with the number of burials.

The cemetery is located 2 kilometers north of Flers, Department of the Somme.

A lot of fighting occurred at and around Flers, which was captured from the Germans 15 September 1916,. in the Battle of Flers-Courcelette.  The village was entered by the New Zealand Division and 41st Division.

--DaCoot