The best traffic-free bike rides around Bucquoy

An interesting anecdote is that the Royal Naval Division was originally formed from reservists of the British Navy who had no place on ships during the war. This unit was trained as infantry and played a crucial role in several battles, including the Battle of the Ancre.

The British Royal Naval Division Memorial in Beaucourt-sur-l'Ancre commemorates the officers and men of the Royal Naval Division who died during the Battle of the Ancre, part of the great Somme offensive. The memorial is located on Rue d'Hamel (Route D50) and Chemin de Serres les Pusieux.

Miraumont is a small village in the Somme department, in the Hauts-de-France region, which occupies a historically and geographically special place. It is situated in a narrow valley at the source of the Ancre River, a tributary of the Somme, and is surrounded by gently rolling hills that were once the scene of fierce fighting during the First World War. During the Battle of the Somme in 1916, Miraumont was close to the front line and was badly hit. Today it is a quiet rural commune of around 630 inhabitants, where the past is still palpable in the surroundings and in nearby military cemeteries. Its proximity to other historic sites such as Thiepval and Beaumont-Hamel makes it a worthwhile stop for those wishing to explore the region's wartime past.

The extension to the Mesnil-Martinsart Communal Cemetery was built in July 1916, at the time of the Battle of the Somme, and contains 333 graves: 321 British, 5 Canadians, and 7 New Zealanders. Since the village of Mesnil was located near the front until September 1916, and again from March to August 1918, this cemetery was begun in July, at the time of the Battle of the Somme. Although bodies were still being buried in 1918, it was mainly after the armistice that a large number of bodies from the nearby battlefield, located northeast of Mesnil, were gathered here. This was the case for 141 British sailors and soldiers, as well as the Canadians from Mesnil Dressing Station Cemetery. This cemetery was located during the war to the west of the village, near a small railway line, which was mainly used to transport munitions. It was used from June 1916 to February 1917, and again from March to July 1918, mainly by the 63rd Division: the Royal Naval Division

Redan Ridge Cemetery No. 2 (Redan Ridge Military Cemetery) contains 279 casualties of the 1914-18 war, 124 of whom are unidentified. All but one fell in July and November 1916 near Beaumont-Hamel, which was then on the front line. The cemetery was established in the spring of 1917, when these battlefields were cleared.

The monument to the 8th Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders is a Celtic cross symbolically erected on the embankment of a sunken road, at the spot where the men of this regiment rushed to capture the village of Beaumont-Hamel on November 13, 1916, at the end of the Battle of the Somme. First, on July 1, when it was located in no man's land, exactly equidistant from the British and German trenches, and served as a refuge for so many soldiers wounded during the fighting; then, five days before the end of that same battle, when the village of Beaumont-Hamel was finally captured on November 13, by the men of the 8th Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, who had rushed from that position. The 8th Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders was a Scottish regiment that fought on several fronts. A reading of the inscriptions engraved on the different sides of the base of this monument tells us this. Thus, this cross is dedicated to the glory of the battalion's glorious dead and to the memory of those who will never return. Its combat losses, throughout the war, amounted to 51 officers and 831 men and non-commissioned officers, including 105 wounded officers and 2,527 men and non-commissioned officers. Finally, a Celtic inscription reveals "it is good to have friends on the day of battle." Mobilized from August 4, 1914, to November 12, 1919, a period of five years and 100 days, the regiment fought from May 1, 1915, to November 11, 1918, in Belgium and France. Until 1918, the 8th Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders belonged to the 51st Division; In 1915, it fought at Richebourg, Festubert and on Thiepval Ridge, which was to leave a sad memory for the British on 1 July 1916 (this is where the memorial to the missing now stands); in 1916, it fought at the Labyrinth, Vimy Ridge, Fourcaux Wood (High Wood), Beaumont-Hamel (there, therefore) and Courcelette; in 1917, it was Roclincourt, Arras, Roeux, Ypres and Cambrai. In 1918, the 8th Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders fought as part of the 61st Division at Saint-Quentin, Holnon Wood, Villéveque, Nesle, Villers-Bretonneux and on the Lys; but also within the 15th division which distinguished itself at Soissons, at Buzancy and in the final advance which would lead to the armistice

At the start of the Battle of the Somme, a powerful German fortified redoubt stood at this location on a hilltop protecting the approach to Beaumont-Hamel. On July 1, 1916, while all the mines exploded at 7:28 a.m., two minutes before the assault began, Hawthorn Ridge exploded at 7:20 a.m. This was a decision made by Lieutenant-General Hunter-Weston, commanding the 8th Corps. Its explosion certainly caused damage to the fortifications and the German troops, but they had plenty of time to set up their machine guns, much to the misfortune of the British infantrymen who set out to assault this ridge carrying thirty kilos of equipment over a distance of approximately 500 meters. On November 13, 1916, the final phase of the Battle of the Somme began, ending three days later. Beaumont-Hamel, one of the objectives of July 1st, was still in German hands. This time it was up to the Scots of the 51st Division to capture the village. In support of this attack, a second mine exploded under Hawthorn Ridge (November 26, 1916) a few minutes before the troops rushed from their positions, this time located less than 250 meters away, where today stands the monument to the Scottish regiment of the 8th Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders. The ruins of Beaumont-Hamel railway station and the village were this time captured.

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