Lives of the First World War

known 17th July 1916

The 17th of July passes much as the preceding day - the South Africans again coming under persistent shelling during the night of the 16th and dreading the full onslaught of the German counter - attacks in force. In the evening of the 17th of July Lieutenant Colonel Tanner was wounded and Lieutenant Colonel Thackeray took his place. Furse also intended to relieve the other two brigades, but these decided to stay put in the light of the attack by new troops. The Germans now added to the misery of the defenders by firing thousands of gas shells into the battery positions and back areas, causing confusion to the British artillery support. This was accompanied by a number of assaults against the defensive perimeter of the wood, most notably one from the north west in which the enemy got as far as the junction between Buchanan Street and Princes Street however all the attacks broke down. The attack of 76 Brigade launched at 3.45 am on the 18th of July, did well but the Germans still held out in some isolated posts, in enough to provide the basis for their next attack.

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