The World War I Canadian Memorial at Courcelette (Somme), France
The Courcelette Memorial is a Canadian war memorial that commemorates the actions of the Canadian Corps in the final two and a half months of the infamous four-and-a-half-month-long Somme offensive. The Canadians participated at the Somme from early September to the middle of November 1916, engaging in several of the battles-within-the-battle of the Somme, including actions at Flers-Courcelette, Thiepval Ridge and the Ancre Heights, as well as a small role in providing relief to the First Australian Imperial Force in the final days of the Battle of Pozières. The battles on the Somme were the first in which all four Canadian divisions participated in the same battle, although not together in a cohesive formation. The Canadian divisions suffered over 24,000 casualties. Courcelette is located to the north of the main D929 road between Albert and Bapaume and at the beginning of the Somme Battles in July 1916 it was well within German held territory (see map above). Indeed, it was not until mid-September that the Allies reached Courcelette and on 15 September 1916, the offensive which was to be known as the Battle of Flers-Courcelette was launched. It was fought on a wide front with the Canadians playing a major role and involved the first use of tanks. After Courcelette's capture it remained near to the front lines until the Germans withdrew to the Hindenburg Line early in 1917. In the German's "Spring Offensive" they retook Courcelette on 25 March 1918 and five months later it was retaken by the British as they advanced in the final few months of the War. The memorial is set within a small park and the inscription commemorates the Canadians part in breaking the German lines from 3 September to 18 November 1916. It reads "THE CANADIAN CORPS BORE A VALIANT PART IN FORCING BACK THE GERMANS ON THESE SLOPES DURING THE BATTLES OF THE SOMME 3rd SEPT. – 18th NOV. 1916".
Size: 5760px × 3840px
Location: 1 N Route nationale, 80300 Courcelette, Somme, Picardy, France, Europe
Photo credit: © DE ROCKER / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
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