The village is 4 mi (6.4 km) north-east of Albert on the D 104, north-west of Mametz Wood and south of Pozières, at the junction of several roads, atop a spur with a good view in all directions.

Contalmaison village is 4 mi (6.4 km) north-east of Albert on the D 104, north-west of Mametz Wood, to the south of Pozières between Longueval and La Boisselle, at the junction of several roads, atop a spur with a good view in all directions.

The French attacks had been costly and gained little ground; after the end of the Battle of Albert the area round Contalmaison became a backwater except for occasional artillery bombardments into 1916.

The new infantry opposite, did not continue the live-and-let-live practices of their forerunners and a larger number of machine-guns began firing against the German lines, which did not pause every 25 shots, like French Hotchkiss machine guns.

The 103rd Brigade was then to pass through and reach the final objective on the far side of Contalmaison and Pozières at 10:10 a.m. and consolidate, ready to attack the German second position 800 yd (730 m) further on.

Parties of the 15th Royal Scots were left behind to attack at Sausage Redoubt and the rest advanced straight up the slope, straying into the 21st Division sector in the XV Corps area on the right.

A battalion which had followed behind the Royal Scots was pinned down in no man's land by massed machine-gun fire but small groups managed to press on to the Fricourt–Pozières road and some parties, accompanied by a few stragglers, got to Acid Drop Copse and the fringe of Contalmaison.

As news filtered back, Gore sent the 16th Royal Scots headquarters forward to take command and consolidate, creating a defensive flank for XV Corps.

Just after 11:30 a.m., British aircraft reported that German troops were advancing from Contalmaison and Rawling planned a pincer attack with a battalion from reserve, covered by Stokes mortar fire.

By the end of the day, many British officers in the area thought that the Germans were beaten and that an early advance could succeed but Rawlinson was reluctant to act without co-operation from the French.

The attack eventually began at 12:45 a.m. on 5 July, when two battalions of the 52nd Brigade crept forward to 100 yd (91 m) short of the German lines, obscured by the dark and the rain.

Just after 6:00 p.m. three battalions attacked in the open and captured Horseshoe Trench and the west end of Lincoln Redoubt and took about 200 prisoners but touch with the 17th (Northern) Division in Shelter Alley to the east was not obtained.

On the night of 6/7 July, the relief of the Guard by the 183rd Division from Cambrai began but IR 184 was detached, leaving two regiments to take over, who found that the second position had been severely damaged and that many dug-out entrances were blocked.

The bombardment continued during the morning and III Battalion, RIR 122 had 225 casualties as Contalmaison disappeared in a cloud of smoke, debris flying upwards as heavy shells exploded.

The ground was open and the artillery had difficulty in ranging so an attack at 2:00 a.m. by the 17th (Northern) Division was ordered by Horne, against objections from Pilcher and the brigadiers that the trenches would become untenable under machine-gun fire from Contalmaison and Mametz Wood.

On the right, a battalion of the 50th Brigade had tried to bomb up Quadrangle Alley but was driven back and a company which tried to move up the west side of Mametz Wood were caught by machine-gun fire from Strip Trench and lost half their number.

[36] All three battalions were caught in the mud and shot down by an artillery barrage and machine-gun fire from ahead and both flanks, losing about 400 casualties by the time the attack was abandoned.

On the left, the 19th (Western) Division bombers skirmished all day and at 6:00 p.m., a warning from an observer in a reconnaissance aircraft, led to an advance by German troops towards Bailiff Wood, being ambushed and stopped by small-arms fire.

[38] The 23rd Division was ordered to bomb forward towards Contalmaison and close a 400 yd (370 m) gap between the 24th and 68th brigades but trenches were so full of mud that many men were stranded and had to be pulled out.

Patrols towards Contalmaison and Bailiff Wood found them still occupied, despite reports that they had been abandoned and the 24th Brigade attacked the village in the evening with the companies which had suffered the fewest casualties the day before.

Köstlin shouted "Double march, into the trench in front" but it was another 300 yd (270 m) further on and only thirty men followed him, the rest retreating in confusion to the second position or taking cover.

A smoke screen failed as insufficient ammunition could be carried forward in time but the attack was supported by every machine-gun in the division, firing on the edges of the village and its approaches.

The infantry moved forward in four waves, with mopping-up parties following, through return fire from the garrison, uncut wire on the right causing a delay and then reached a trench at the edge of the village, forcing the survivors to retreat into Contalmaison.

The IR 183 report blamed fire on the left flank and rear, from the British who had got into Contalmaison, as the Germans reached the Roerdergraben and at 8:00 p.m. the regiment was ordered to retire to Kabelgraben and Latorffgraben trenches and hold Pozières at all costs.

At 11:20 p.m., a surprise bayonet charge was attempted by a battalion each from the 50th and 51st brigades, which reached part of Quadrangle Support Trench on the left but eventually failed with many casualties.

After the capture of Contalmaison next day, an afternoon attack by part of the 51st Brigade advanced from the sunken road east of the village, to Quadrangle Support Trench.

[53][c] In 2005, Prior and Wilson wrote that Rawlinson had not sufficiently co-ordinated the Fourth Army corps to ensure attacks at the same times, with adequate artillery support, against realistic objectives.

The inexperience of the New Army divisions was manifest but despite the tenacity of the German defenders, the positions were captured, often thanks to the capacity of battalion and brigade commanders to intervene at crucial moments.

[65] In the afternoon, air reconnaissance saw that the British defence of the line from Montauban and Ervillers was collapsing and the RFC squadrons in the area made a maximum effort to disrupt the German advance.

[66] The German garrison in the village ruins and vicinity resisted an attack on 24 August but were by-passed on both flanks by the 38th (Welsh) Division two days later, during the Second Battle of Bapaume and retreated before they could be surrounded.