The plan was that X Corps would capture the whole of the Thiepval Ridge. The 36th (Ulster ) Division on the right was to capture the ground between Thiepval village and St Pierre Divion which was inclusive to the Division, and included the formidable Schwaben Redoubt.
The wire had been cut, so the Ulstermen were able to advance over the 300 to 450 yards of no mans land and the 109th Brigade broke through the defences to overrun the Schwaben Redoubt. The Brigade continued to advance exploitting to the second objective, the Stuff Redoubt. Moving 10 minutes ahead of ahead if schedule, they began to advance the 6oo yards, only to be shelled by the British Artillery in the pre planed bombardment. Only 50 men reached the Stuff Redoubt.
During the attack, the barrage ran away from the infantry as they were slowed down by the heavy German machine gun fire. Command and control was at a higher level, consequently deviations from the plan to deal with troublesome machine guns could not be dealt with by the batteries.
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| Ulster Tower |
