Leipzig salient

1916 CE.

Shown on the map at 50.017°, 2.683°.

The Leipzig Salient was the British term for a German defensive position built in 1915 on the Somme front in France, during the First World War. The Salient was opposite the village of Authuille that contained the Leipzig Redoubt on its west face. The position was to the south-west of the site of the later Thiepval Memorial, north-east of the La Boisselle–Authuille and Thiepval–Aveluy crossroads. The German front line bulged around a quarry which the Germans fortified and enclosed with Hindenburg Trench across the chord of the salient. A redoubt named the Wundtwerk (Wonderwork to the British) lay beyond on a reverse slope. Nab Valley lay on the east side, Thiepval was to the north, with the fortified Mouquet Farm and the village of Pozières to the east. On the First day on the Somme (1 July 1916), the Leipzig Salient was attacked by the 1/17th Highland Light Infantry (17th HLI) of the 32nd Division. The battalion crept forward at 7.23 a.m., ready to rush the German defences as soon as the British barrage lifted at 7:30 a.m.

Text from the Wikipedia article Leipzig Salient, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

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