The 38th (Welsh) Division was formed from the many thousands of Welsh
volunteers in late 1914 and 1915 as part of Secretary of State for War
Lord Kitchener's New Armies - a force for the long war that he was the
first to recognize. It was to be ready for battle in 1917. The Division
subsequently carried out its training in Britain and embarked for France
where it served numerous tours of frontline duty until summer 1916.
Mametz Wood village and the area around Fricourt village saw one of the
few successes by the British Army on the notorious First Day of the
Somme. BEF C-in-C Sir Douglas Haig decided to reinforce that success and
attack again around Fricourt in order to seize the German second defense
line at its closest point between Longueval and Bazentin. General Sir
Henry Rawlinson, whose Fourth Army was to undertake the task, had little
option but to assault the German positions frontally. He decided to do
so between the Mametz Wood on the left and Trones Wood on the right.
Initial attacks by other divisions on the night of 4/5 July resulted in
the capture of preliminary objectives. The task of clearing the dense
and seemingly impenetrable Mametz Wood was assigned to the newly arrived
38th Division.
What followed was a searing seven-day ordeal in dense undergrowth which,
despite subsequent success, resulted in the loss of thousands of lives
and the tarnishing of military reputations. Much reduced by casualties,
38th Division was relegated to the reserve with losses of between
one-third and a half of its recorded fighting strength. As well as
examining the story of 38th Division from its formation until the close
of the Mametz Wood fighting, this volume also explores the German point
of view by utilization of published regimental histories and personal
accounts from the Lehr Regiment; Guard- Fusiliers; 9th Grenadiers; 122nd
Württemberg Regiment; and the 77th, 163rd, 183rd, and 184th infantry
regiments. It also reveals new material concerning the forces involved,
the almost forgotten 1915 Christmas Truce, Mametz Wood defenses and the
casualties killed, wounded and missing sustained by both sides.
