ant remnant that struggled back to their own line took 600
prisoners, one trooper alone bringing in fifteen through the enemy's
own barrage.

The village of Fricourt, as will be seen by the map, forms a prominent
salient, and the British command decided to cut it off by attacking on
two sides. An advance was planned on the strongly fortified villages
of Ovillers and La Boiselle. The British on the first day won the
outskirts and carried all the intrenchments before them, but had not
gained control of the ruins, though a part of a brigade had actually
entered La Boiselle and held a portion of the place. To complete the
operation of cutting off Fricourt it was necessary to carry Mametz on
the south; this accomplished, the forces would unite in the north at
La Boiselle and Ovillers and, following the long depression popularly
known as Sausage Valley toward Contalmaison, would be able to squeeze
Fricourt so hard that it must be abandoned by the enemy. The British
plans worked out successfully. A division that had been sorely
punished at Loos and was now occupying a position west of Fricourt had
now an opportunity to avenge its previous disaster. With grim
determination to clean up the old score against the Germans, they
advanced rapidly into the angle east of Sausage Valley, carrying two
small woods and attacking Fricourt from the north and occupying a
formidable position that threatened Fricourt.

The strongly fortified village of Montauban fell early in the day of
July 1, 1916. Reduced to ruins, it crowned a ridge below the position
of the British lines in a hollow north of the Peronne road at Carnoy.
The British artillery had done effective work, and the attack on
Montauban resulted in an easier victory than had been expected. The
Sixth Bavarian Regiment which defended the place was said to have lost
3,000 out of the 8,500 who had entered the battle. Here for the first
time in the campaign was witnessed the advance in line of the soldiers
of Britain and France.

It was a moving sight that thrilled and heartened all the combatants.
The Twentieth Corps of the French army lay on the British right, while
the Thirty-ninth Division under General Nourisson marched in line with
the khaki-clad Britons.

Only after surveying the captured ground did the French and British
realize what a seemingly impregnable stronghold had been won. Endless
labor had been expended by the Germans not only in fortifying the
place but in construc