Leipzig Salient 1916
Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate.
Key facts
| 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 | 50.0167, 2.6833 | Wikidata P625 |
About the battle
The Leipzig Salient was the British term for a German defensive position built in 1915 on the Somme front in France, during the First World War. The Salient was opposite the village of Authuille that contained the Leipzig Redoubt on its west face. The position was to the south-west of the site of the later Thiepval Memorial, north-east of the La Boisselle–Authuille and Thiepval–Aveluy crossroads. The German front line bulged around a quarry which the Germans fortified and enclosed with Hindenburg Trench across the chord of the salient. A redoubt named the Wundtwerk (Wonderwork to the British) lay beyond on a reverse slope. Nab Valley lay on the east side, Thiepval was to the north, with the fortified Mouquet Farm and the village of Pozières to the east.
On the First day on the Somme (1 July 1916), the Leipzig Salient was attacked by the 1/17th Highland Light Infantry (17th HLI) of the 32nd Division. The battalion crept forward at 7.23 a.m., ready to rush the German defences as soon as the British barrage lifted at 7:30 a.m. The Scots advanced until 30–40 yd (27–37 m) short of the German front line, rushed the redoubt when the barrage lifted and caught the German garrison sheltering in their quarry dugouts at the centre of the redoubt.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Leipzig Salient (revision 1370626703), 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
- First day on the Somme 1916 · 0 km
- Battle of Albert (1914) 1914 · 1 km
- Battle of the Somme 1916 · 1 km
- Capture of La Boisselle 1916 · 1 km
- Capture of Ovillers 1916 · 2 km
- Battle of Albert (1916) 1916 · 3 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