Butte de Warlencourt

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The Butte de Warlencourt is an ancient burial mound alongside the Albert-Bapaume road, north-east of the village of Le Sars in the Somme département of northern France. It is located on the territory of the commune of Warlencourt-Eaucourt.

During the final stages of the 1916 Battle of the Somme, the Butte de Warlencourt was the subject of a number of costly and unsuccessful attacks by the British Fourth Army. It was never captured, only being relinquished by the Germans following their retreat to the Hindenburg Line in February 1917.

The Butte de Warlencourt earned an evil reputation and the British became somewhat obsessed with its capture long after any strategic benefits could be derived. The Butte dominated the British lines and was used by the Germans for artillery observation. The Germans also constructed deep dugouts throughout the Butte, making it a formidable defensive position.

The first attack on the Butte was made on 1 October 1916 by the 141st Brigade of the British 47th (1/2nd London) Division following their capture of the nearby village of Eaucourt L'Abbaye. Another failed attack was made by the 140th Brigade on 7 October. The 47th Division's history described it thus:

"From across the valley the enemy had magnificent observation of the ground leading to our objective. and made full use of it... not a man turned back, and some got right up under the Butte, but they were not seen again."

The regiment most closely associated with the Butte de Warlencourt was the Durham Light Infantry. In November this sector was held by the British 50th (Northumbrian) Division which contained the 151st Brigade comprising, at the time, three Durham Light Infantry battalions. On 5 November the Butte was attacked by the 1/9th Durham Light Infantry, commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel Roland Boys Bradford who had just won the Victoria Cross at Eaucourt L'Abbaye. Initially the attack was successful with a foothold being gained in the German trenches however strong counter-attacks drove the Durhams out. The battalion sustained over 400 casualties.

Bradford summed up the fatal attraction of the Butte:

"The Butte itself would have been of little use to us for the purposes of observation. But the Butte de Warlencourt had become an obsession. Everybody wanted it. It loomed large in the minds of the soldiers in the forward area and they attributed many of their misfortunes to it. ... So it had to be taken. It seems that the attack was one of those tempting, and unfortunately at one period frequent, local operations which are so costly and which are rarely worthwhile. But perhaps that is only the narrow view of the Regimental Officer."

The land on which the Butte de Warlencourt stands was bought by the Western Front Association in 1980 and is the site of a number of memorials.