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High Wood is a small forest

Forest

A forest, also referred to as a wood or the woods, is an area with a high density of trees. As with cities, depending where you are in the world, what is considered a forest may vary significantly in size and have various classification according to how and what of the forest is composed...

 near Bazentin le Petit in the Somme

Somme

Somme is a department of France, located in the north of the country and named after the Somme river. It is part of the Picardy region of France....

 département

Départements of France

The departments of France are French administrative divisions. The 101 departments form one of the three levels of local government, together with the 22 metropolitan and 5 overseas regions above them and more than 36 000 communes beneath them...

of northern France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

 which was the scene of intense fighting for two months from 14 July to 15 September 1916 during the Battle of the Somme

Battle of the Somme (1916)

The Battle of the Somme , also known as the Somme Offensive, took place during the First World War between 1 July and 14 November 1916 in the Somme department of France, on both banks of the river of the same name...

.

Background

The French

French language

French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...

 name for the wood was Bois des Foureaux (now called Bois des Fourcaux) but to the British infantry who fought there, it was known as High Wood and, like neighbouring Delville Wood

Delville Wood

The Battle of Delville Wood was one of the early engagements in the 1916 Battle of the Somme in the First World War. It took place between 14 July and 3 September, between the armies of the German Empire and allied British and South African forces...

, it earned an evil reputation. The stench of rotting corpses in the wood was overwhelming in summer and it inspired E.A. MacKintosh to pen a parody

Parody

A parody , in current usage, is an imitative work created to mock, comment on, or trivialise an original work, its subject, author, style, or some other target, by means of humorous, satiric or ironic imitation...

 of Chalk Farm to Camberwell Green:

" High Wood to Waterlot Farm,
All on a summer's day,
Up you get to the top of the trench
Though you're sniped at all the way.
If you've got a smoke helmet there
You'd best put it on if you could,
For the wood down by Waterlot Farm
Is a bloody high wood. "

Actions

The British Fourth Army

British Fourth Army

The Fourth Army was a field army that formed part of the British Expeditionary Force during the First World War. The Fourth Army was formed on 5 February 1916 under the command of General Sir Henry Rawlinson to carry out the main British contribution to the Battle of the Somme.-History:The Fourth...

 of Lieutenant General

Lieutenant General

Lieutenant General is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages where the title of Lieutenant General was held by the second in command on the battlefield, who was normally subordinate to a Captain General....

 Henry Rawlinson first attempted to capture High Wood on 14 July 1916 during the Battle of Bazentin Ridge

Battle of Bazentin Ridge

The Battle of Bazentin Ridge, launched by the British Fourth Army at dawn on 14 July 1916, marked the start of the second phase of the Battle of the Somme. Dismissed beforehand by one French commander as "an attack organized for amateurs by amateurs", it turned out to be "hugely successful" for...

. Though the wood was initially abandoned by the Germans delays, confusion and hesitation meant that the British did not attempt to occupy it until the evening when two regiments of cavalry

Cavalry

Cavalry or horsemen were soldiers or warriors who fought mounted on horseback. Cavalry were historically the third oldest and the most mobile of the combat arms...

, the 7th Dragoon Guards

7th Dragoon Guards

The 7th Dragoon Guards was a cavalry regiment in the British Army, first raised in 1688. It saw service for three centuries, before being amalgamated into the 4th/7th Dragoon Guards in 1922....

 and the 20th Deccan Horse, made the only cavalry charge of the battle. Though the cavalry gained a foothold and held out until the morning of 15 July, they were unsupported and forced to withdraw.

The next attempt on the wood was made by a company of the 16th Battalion, King's Royal Rifle Corps

King's Royal Rifle Corps

The King's Royal Rifle Corps was a British Army infantry regiment, originally raised in colonial North America as the Royal Americans, and recruited from American colonists. Later ranked as the 60th Regiment of Foot, the regiment served for more than 200 years throughout the British Empire...

, 33rd Division

British 33rd Division

The British 33rd Division was a New Army division formed in 1914 as the 40th Division in the K5 Army group then renumbered in April 1915 as part of the new K4 Army Group....

 on 15 July but by this time the Germans had reoccupied the wood in numbers. High Wood became an anchor for the new German defensive trench line, known as the Switch Line, that connected their second defensive line near Pozières

Pozières

Pozières is a commune in the Somme department in Picardie in northern France.-Geography:The commune is situated on the D929 road, some northeast of Amiens between Albert and Bapaume, on the Pozières ridge.-Population:-History:...

 with their incomplete third defensive line east of Flers

Flers, Somme

Flers is a commune near the northern edge of the Somme department in Picardie in northern France.It lies to the south of the D929 road, between Albert and Bapaume.-History:...

. The Switch Line ran through the northern tip of High Wood and both proved impregnable to the piecemeal attacks mounted by the Fourth Army.

The 33rd Division attacked again on 20 July and managed to capture part of High Wood while the 5th Division and 7th Division attacked the Switch Line to the east. (It was during the 7th Division's attack that Private

Private (rank)

A Private is a soldier of the lowest military rank .In modern military parlance, 'Private' is shortened to 'Pte' in the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth countries and to 'Pvt.' in the United States.Notably both Sir Fitzroy MacLean and Enoch Powell are examples of, rare, rapid career...

 Theodore Veale

Theodore William Henry Veale

Theodore William Henry Veale VC was an English recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces....

 won the Victoria Cross

Victoria Cross

The Victoria Cross is the highest military decoration awarded for valour "in the face of the enemy" to members of the armed forces of various Commonwealth countries, and previous British Empire territories....

.) The next big Fourth Army assault came on the night of 22–23 July and on this occasion the 51st (Highland) Division

British 51st (Highland) Division (World War I)

The 51st Division was a British Territorial Force division that fought on the Western Front in France during the First World War. The division's insignia was a stylised 'HD' inside a red circle. Early doubts about the division's performance earned it the nickname of "Harper's Duds" after the...

 attacked High Wood but here, as everywhere else on the Fourth Army front, they were repulsed with heavy casualties. Sergeant Bill Hay of the 1/9th Battalion, Royal Scots, described the attack thus:

"That was a stupid action, because we had to make a frontal attack on bristling German guns and there was no shelter at all. ... There were dead bodies all over the place where previous battalions and regiments had taken part in previous attacks. What a bashing we got. There were heaps of men everywhere — not one or two men, but heaps of men, all dead. Even before we went over, we knew this was death. We just couldn't take High Wood against machine-guns. It was ridiculous. There was no need for it. It was just absolute slaughter."

The British field gun

Field gun

A field gun is an artillery piece. Originally the term referred to smaller guns that could accompany a field army on the march and when in combat could be moved about the battlefield in response to changing circumstances, as to opposed guns installed in a fort, or to siege cannon or mortars which...

s had difficulty supporting attacks on High Wood because they had to fire over Bazentin Ridge. The low elevation of the guns meant the shells were just skimming over the British trenches and the margin for error was small with numerous casualties from friendly fire

Friendly fire

Friendly fire is inadvertent firing towards one's own or otherwise friendly forces while attempting to engage enemy forces, particularly where this results in injury or death. A death resulting from a negligent discharge is not considered friendly fire...

.

On 18 August the 33rd Division was called on to attack High Wood once again and failed. The division tried on 24 August between High Wood and Delville Wood and as preparation for this assault, a machine gun

Machine gun

A machine gun is a fully automatic mounted or portable firearm, usually designed to fire rounds in quick succession from an ammunition belt or large-capacity magazine, typically at a rate of several hundred rounds per minute....

 barrage was fired by the 100th Machine Gun Company (100th Brigade) which in twelve hours fired over 1 million bullets from ten machine guns.

Another failed attack was made on 3 September as part of the fighting for Guillemont

Guillemont

Guillemont is a commune roughly 8 miles east of Albert in the Somme department in Picardie in northern France.It, like much of the surrounding area, is primarily an agricultural community, but is known for its large cemetery, which has become a tourist attraction...

. By 14 September it was estimated that the British had suffered 6,000 casualties in the struggle for High Wood.

High Wood was captured along with the Switch Line, in the next big British offensive the Battle of Flers-Courcelette

Battle of Flers-Courcelette

The Battle of Flers-Courcelette, was a battle within the Franco-British Somme Offensive which took place in the summer and autumn of 1916. Launched on the 15th of September 1916 the battle went on for one week. Flers-Courcelette began with the overall objective of cutting a hole in the German...

 on 15 September 1916. Success was not achieved without further blunder and sacrifice. Due to the closeness of the two front-lines the III Corps commander Lieutenant General

Lieutenant General

Lieutenant General is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages where the title of Lieutenant General was held by the second in command on the battlefield, who was normally subordinate to a Captain General....

 Sir William Pulteney

William Pulteney Pulteney

Lieutenant-General Sir William Pulteney Pulteney, GCVO, KCB, KCMG, DSO was a British general during the First World War.-Military career:...

, decided to use the new tank

Tank

A tank is a tracked, armoured fighting vehicle designed for front-line combat which combines operational mobility, tactical offensive, and defensive capabilities...

 instead of artillery

Artillery

Originally applied to any group of infantry primarily armed with projectile weapons, artillery has over time become limited in meaning to refer only to those engines of war that operate by projection of munitions far beyond the range of effect of personal weapons...

. After two months of constant fighting High Wood was not ideal terrain for tank operations, especially these first under-developed tanks. Four tanks were allocated to High Wood but only one, D-13 penetrated any distance and its presence was not decisive.

The task of capturing High Wood had fallen to the 47th (1/2nd London) Division

British 47th (1/2nd London) Division

The British 47th Division was a first-line Territorial Force division. Originally called the "2nd London Division" it was designated the 47th Division in 1915 and referred to as the "1/2nd London Division" after the raising of the second-line 60th Division...

. Their first attempt with tank support had failed but the attack resumed and after a hurricane bombardment of German positions by Stokes Mortar

Stokes Mortar

The Stokes mortar was a British trench mortar invented by Sir Wilfred Stokes KBE which was issued to the British Army and the Commonwealth armies during the latter half of the First World War.-History:...

s, in which 750 bombs were fired in 15 minutes, High Wood was finally in British hands. Ironically, the 47th Division's performance was considered a failure — High Wood was only one of their objectives for the day — and after four days of fighting in which the division suffered over 4,500 casualties, the commander Major General

Major General

Major general or major-general is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. A major general is a high-ranking officer, normally subordinate to the rank of lieutenant general and senior to the ranks of brigadier and brigadier general...

 Charles Barter

Charles St Leger Barter

Charles St Leger Barter, , KCB, KCMG, CVO, was a career British Army officer.Charles Barter was the son of the Rev J T Barter of Bercham, Co Cork. A graduate of Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, he began his military career with a commission in the 105th Foot in 1875...

 was relieved of command for "wanton waste of men" (though prevailing opinion lays the blame with Pulteney).

There is an interesting 'soldier's eye-view' of the July 14th attack and its aftermath in chapter IX of The War The Infantry Knew 1914 - 1919 by Captain J. C. Dunne (Abacus, 1st edition 1987; ISBN 0-349-10635-5). Dunne was a doctor with the Royal Welch Fusiliers who from recollections of his own and those collected from others, privately published what he considered to be a more accurate account of the Great War as experienced by the soldiers.

On the edge of High Wood is the London Cemetery and Extension

London Cemetery and Extension

The London Cemetery and Extension is a Commonwealth War Graves Commission cemetery at High Wood near Longueval, France. It is the third largest of the Somme battlefield cemeteries, containing 3,872 World War I burials....

. This Commonwealth cemetery was opened with the interment of 47 soldiers of the 47th Division in the days following the 15th September 1916. The men were buried in a large shell hole. The cemetery now contains the remains of some 4000 men, most being First World War casualties.