Battles of the Somme 1914
- First Battle of Picardy
22-Sep-1914—
26-Sep-1914
By 23 September the German Sixth Army had arrived at St. Quentin and Péronne on the right wing of the German forces in the field, having been moved by rail from its fighting front in Lorraine a few days before.
At this time the French Tenth Army moved to the area of Amiens. From 25 September the French Army started to push in an easterly direction, engaging the Germans, trying to push them eastwards and turn the German right flank.
On the right wing of the German Sixth Army two Bavarian Corps were in action south of the Somme river at Foucaucourt-en-Santerre on 24 September. The objective was to try to push the French Army in a westerly direction towards Amiens and to swing around the French left flank. The Bavarian Corps moved further north to the area north of Péronne and east of Albert on 25 September, capturing the ground immediately north of the Somme river between the villages of Fricourt, Mametz, Montauban and Maricourt.
- First Battle of Albert
25-Sep-1914—
29-Sep-1914
While the Bavarians of the German Sixth Army were fighting the French east of Albert, the XIV (Württemberger) Reserve Corps, consisting of two divisions, was on its way from the German Seventh Army in Alsace, to move into position on the right flank of the two Bavarian Corps. The XIV Reserve Corps, consisting of two divisions and approximately 24,000 men, travelled 250 miles from Alsace by rail to Cambrai. There the two divisions detrained and marched west along the road from Cambrai to Bapaume.
On 27 September 1914 the German XIV (Württemberger) Reserve Corps advanced from Bapaume down both sides of the Roman road from Bapaume to Albert. They chased away the French Territorial units in the direction of Albert. The French put up a stubborn fight to protect Albert.
After a number of fierce battles lasting into October and November, in which the Bavarians of the German Sixth Army suffered heavy casualties, the German troops were ordered to hold their positions. In mid October the German Second Army was moved into the St. Quentin Somme battle sector and the German Sixth Army moved further north to cover the ground north of Arras in what was to become the Lille – Artois battle sector.
The German Army “Digs In”
Having stopped the advance in late 1914 the German divisions north of the Somme river selected good positions on high ground to set up a line of defence with commanding views over the enemy's lines.
The defensive line north of the Somme river initially consisted of short trench sections and fox-holes, incorporating villages and hamlets in or behind the line, including Gommecourt, Serre, Beaumont Hamel, Thiepval, La Boisselle, Fricourt, Mametz and Montauban.