a famous French Division, and this was the first time British troops had held this particular sector of the line.
The next big effort demanded of the 46th Division was the attack on Gommecourt, a village which was the apex of the most westerly portion of the enemy line at that time. The attack, which was carried out on the 1st July, 1916, was the extreme left of the great Somme offensive, and had been foreseen by the enemy and was not successful. Very heavy casualties were again sustained, and no gain of ground was made. It is pleasant to record in parenthesis that in 1917 it was the privilege of the 46th Division to chase the Germans out of the village where so many of their comrades had fought their last fight only a few months before.
Whilst following up the retiring army in this area, there was on March 13th, 1917, some sharp fighting, as he took up a position in a strongly-wired trench known as Rettemoy Graben. This position, after being bombarded for a day, was attacked by the 5th North Staffords and 5th South Staffords; the 7th Division attacking on their right, with Bucquoy as their objective.
The attack was made at 11 p.m. on a very dark night, but owing to the wire only being partially cut (due to the limited time at the disposal of the Artillery), and the enemy fighting a very stubborn rearguard action, the attack was unsuccessful, and the two battalions mentioned suffered heavy casualties.
In March 1917 the Division relieved the 24th Division in front of Lens in the Lievin sector, and it remained there for four months. During this time much hard fighting took place, which culminated in the operations of July 1st, 1917. From the time the sector was taken over the line was advanced an average of 2,000 yards, and the ground captured included Cité St. Edward, Cité
