Capture of Martinpuich

Capture of Martinpuich
	Part of The Battle of the Somme, First World War
	; Battle of the Somme 1 July – 18 November 1916
Date	15 September 1916
Location	Picardy, France50°08′27″N 02°38′46″E / 50.14083°N 2.64611°E
Result	British victory
Belligerents
Britain	Germany Prussia;
Commanders and leaders
Douglas Haig	Erich Falkenhayn; Crown Prince Rupprecht
Strength
1 division	1 regiment
Casualties and losses
1,854	c. 700 prisoners
	Martinpuich class=notpageimage\| Martinpuich is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region of France

The Capture of Martinpuich took place on 15 September 1916. Martinpuich is situated 18 mi (29 km) south of Arras, near the junction of the D 929 and D 6 roads, opposite Courcelette, in the Pas-de-Calais, France. The village lies south of Le Sars, west of Flers and north-west of High Wood. In September 1914, during the Race to the Sea, the divisions of the German XIV Corps advanced on the north bank of the Somme westwards towards Albert and Amiens, passing through Martinpuich.

The village became a backwater until 1916, when the British and French began the Battle of the Somme (1 July – 13 November) and was the site of several air operations by the Royal Flying Corps (RFC), which attacked German supply dumps in the vicinity. The 15th (Scottish) Division of the Fourth Army captured the village on 15 September, during the Battle of Flers–Courcelette (15–22 September).

Several hundred prisoners of the 3rd Bavarian Division and the 45th Reserve Division were taken and after the village was captured, the pre-war light railway was repaired. The village was lost on 25 March 1918, during the German spring offensive (Operation Michael) and was recaptured for the last time on 25 August, by the British 21st Division.