Somme - attack on Sailly-le-Sec 11/1/16.

[bob lembke]

Guys and Gals;

In the Somme, on Nov. 1, 1916, the Germans seemingly attacked to take back the village of Sailly-le-Sec on the north bank of the Somme River. I believe that there was a long artillery preparation, and that part of the village was taken.

However, looking in the Australian and Canadian (on-line) Official Histories, there is no mention of this, and they also mention that there was a lot of rain at this time on the Somme. So I assume that this attack, if it occurred, fell on a British unit. (A German history mentions this attack and stated that it was led by flame throwers, but the available FW history does not mention it.)

Any ideas? Any sources? Is any part of the British official histories on-line? My wife's library has a bunch of them, but I have not studied them at any length, which I should do.

Bob Lembke

PS: Allow me to express my appreciation for the help and guidance that I have received on this Forum recently.

[bob lembke]

The deafening silence on this topic suggests that this event/nonevent did not have a high profile on the memory of the Allies. Weltkrieg 1914-1918, Volume 11 makes a fairly big deal of this, mentioning a multi-day artillery preparation and that it was planned to have an extensive use of close-support aircraft, but that the bad weather, mentioned in the Australian official history, prevented that.

Possibly the rain was so bad that the Allies did not notice the attack and the loss of the north-east corner of the village.

Can anyone suggest a British source for what was going on in the Somme?

Bob Lembke

[Robert Dunlop]

Bob, there is no mention of any such attack in the British Official History or the day-by-day account of the Somme.

Robert

[Robert Dunlop]

Bob, on checking the maps, it looks as if the attack would have fallen on French troops. IXth Corps of the French Sixth Army.

Robert

[6th Shropshires]

Hi Bob

Firstly is this Sailly-le-Sec near Corbie. If it is then it could not have been attacked on Nov. 1, 1916 from the ground at any rate. It was well behind the front line. And evan in 1918 the Germans did not take.

Annette