The picture above shows the area of The Rangers attack on 1st July 1916.

The Rangers attacked on either side of the Hebuterne to Bucquoy Road (centre of the photograph). A and B Companies attacked to the right of the road and C and D Companies to the left. RFC photographs taken on the late afternoon of 30th June showed the German wire was not properly cut in front of the German first line and the men were forced to bunch in the gaps and were excellent targets for German machine guns in Nameless Farm, about three hundred yards behind the cemetery (which is about mid-way between the two front lines).

The centre companies made litte headway and A and C Companies only succeeded in getting into the German lines on the extreme left and right of the attack.

Attempts by men of the 1/4th London Regiment to reinforce The Rangers failed with hardly a man getting across with the German artillery being very severe here. With the strongpoint of Nameless Farm, just to the south of the sunken Gommecourt to Puisieux Road, holding out, the attack collapsed leaving small, scattered groups of men left in the German lines. One group of men from A Company on the right, led by 2nd Lt Parker, held out in the German front lines until mid-afternoon but were eventually all either killed or captured.

The Rangers' attack was the first to collapse and left a large hole in the British position which was exploited to the full by German bombing counter-attacks.

169th Brigade
London Rifle Brigade
Queen Victoria's Rifles
168th Brigade