Delville Wood order of battle

Battle of Delville Wood
	Part of the Battle of the Somme in the First World War
Date	14 July – 15 September 1916
Location	Delville Wood, Longueval, the Somme, France50°01′40″N 2°48′36″E / 50.0278°N 2.8099°E
Result	British victory
Belligerents
British Empire South Africa; United Kingdom;	German Empire
Commanders and leaders
Douglas Haig; Henry Rawlinson	General–Major Fritz von Below; Max von Gallwitz
Strength
	9 divisions, 1 brigade
	Only brigades and battalions that participated in the actions associated with the Battle of Delville Wood are shown. For details on the full organisation, see the Order of Battle for the Somme.

Date14 July – 15 September 1916

Location

Delville Wood, Longueval, the Somme, France

50°01′40″N 2°48′36″E / 50.0278°N 2.8099°E

Result British victory

The Battle of Delville Wood was fought from 14 July to 3 September 1916, one of the twelve battles of the Somme in 1916. It was fought by the British and French against the army of the German Empire in the Somme River valley in northern France. The battle was the début of the 1st South African Brigade (part of the 9th (Scottish) Division) on the Western Front, which captured Delville Wood and held it from 15 to 19 July. The casualties of the brigade were similar to those of many British brigades on First day on the Somme (1 July 1916).^[1]

Delville Wood is well preserved with the remains of trenches, a museum and monument to the 1st South African Brigade. After the relief of the South Africans the battle for the wood continued until the end of August, when the last German footholds were captured by the 43rd Brigade of the 14th (Light) Division on 27 August. A large German counter-attack on 31 August regained part of the north edge of the wood until British attacks from 4 to 8 September, which secured the wood until the battles of 1918.^[2]

[1]

[2]

1st South African Brigade: Casualties during the Battle of Delville Wood 14–20 July 1916^[12]
Brigade / Unit	Unit strength 14 July			Killed			Wounded			Missing / POW			Died of wounds to October			Total Casualties			Effective unit strength after 20 July
	Off*	Other Ranks	Total	Off*	Other Ranks	Total	Off*	Other Ranks	Total	Off*	Other Ranks	Total	Off*	Other Ranks	Total	Off*	Other Ranks	Total	Off*	Other Ranks	Total
1st Battalion	31	748	779	7	108	115	17	346	363	2	73	75	1	29	30	27	556	583	4	192	196
2nd Battalion	28	669	697	11	95	106	12	373	385	0	92	92	3	25	28	26	585	611	2	84	86
3rd Battalion	29	847	876	8	120	128	15	403	418	6	225	231	0	30	30	29	778	807	0	69	69
4th Battalion	27	672	699	4	104	108	15	293	308	1	84	85	0	32	32	20	513	533	7	159	166
Other	8	96	104	0	0	0	2	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	2	6	96	102
Total	123	3,032	3,155	30	427	457	61	1,415	1,476	9	474	483	4	116	120	104	2,432	2,536	19	600	619

Delville Wood order of battle

British and Dominion forces

South African casualties

German Forces

Footnotes

References

Further reading

External links

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