Battle of Ginchy

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Battle of the Somme
Albert – Bazentin – Fromelles – Pozières – Mouquet Farm – Guillemont – Ginchy – Flers-Courcelette – Morval – Thiepval Ridge – Le Transloy – Ancre Heights – Ancre

The Battle of Guinchy took place on 9 September 1916 during the Battle of the Somme when the British 16th (Irish) Division captured the German-held village of Guinchy. In terms of the Somme fighting, the attack was highly successful with the village being taken on the first attempt. The Irish took the well fortified village in an hour. However the Irish Royal Munster Fusiliers suffered heavy casualties in the process. Indeed of the two attacking brigades, the 47th Brigade (8th Battalion) failed completely, encountering enemy defences unaffected by the British bombardment whose shelling kept falling short into no-mans land.

For the Germans the loss of Guinchy deprived them of their strategic observation posts overlooking the entire battlefield.