Capture of Combles 1916
Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate.
Key facts
| Date | 26 September 1916 | Wikidata |
|---|---|---|
| Year | 1916 | Wikidata P585 (point in time) |
| Era | World War I era (1914–1918) | derived from year |
| Location | France | Natural Earth (modern borders) |
| Continent | Europe | Natural Earth |
| War / conflict | Battle of the Somme | Wikidata P361 |
| Coordinates | 50.0100, 2.8661 | Wikidata P625 |
About the battle
The Capture of Combles (25 September 1916) was a tactical incident that took place during the Battle of Morval, part of the Battle of the Somme, during the First World War. Combles lies 30 mi (48 km) north-east of Amiens and 10 mi (16 km) east of Albert, on the D 20 Rancourt–Guillemont road, 8 mi (13 km) south of Bapaume, in the Combles valley a hollow between outcrops of Bazentin Ridge, between Morval to the north, Ginchy to the north-west and Falfemont Farm to the west. North of the village the valley widens into a basin, which forks north-east around the Morval Spur. In late September 1914, military operations took place in the vicinity, when the II Bavarian Corps was engaged by French Territorial divisions in an encounter battle. The French divisions were forced back and the two divisions of the II Bavarian Corps, advanced westwards on the north side of the Somme, eventually being stopped around Maricourt, Montauban and Fricourt.
Combles became a backwater until 1916, when it was used as a shelter for reserves, supplies and engineer stores and a staging area for reinforcements. Gallwitz Riegel the German third defensive position, being built as the Battle of the Somme began, ran close behind the village.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Capture of Combles (revision 1371577772), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; shortened by selecting paragraphs and trimming at a sentence boundary; formatting and citations removed. No text added.
Nearby battles
- Battle of Ginchy 1916 · 3 km
- Battle of Morval 1916 · 3 km
- Battle of Guillemont 1916 · 3 km
- Battle of Delville Wood 1916 · 4 km
- Battle of Pozières 1916 · 5 km
- Second Battle of the Somme 1918 · 5 km
Other battles of the Battle of the Somme
- Attack at Fromelles 1916
- Battle of Albert (1916) 1916
- Battle of Bazentin Ridge 1916
- Battle of Delville Wood 1916
- Battle of Flers–Courcelette 1916
- Battle of Guillemont 1916
- Battle of Le Transloy 1916
- Battle of Morval 1916
- Battle of Thiepval Ridge 1916
- Battle of the Ancre 1916
All 19 battles of the Battle of the Somme →
Browse more: battles in France · Europe · World War I era battles