


In early July 1916, 33rd Division was sent south from First Army to reinforce Fourth Army fighting on the Somme. It began to move south by train on 10 July and was in Corps Reserve during the Battle of Albert (12–13 July) before part of the division was committed to action during the Battle of Bazentin Ridge on 14 July. 19th Brigade then took part in the Attacks on High Wood: at dawn on 20 July the brigade attacked with two battalions, who forced their way into the wood but came under machine gun fire. 20th Royal Fusiliers, following close behind, cleared the southern part of the objective, but the losses in senior officers led to confusion in the brigade. With fresh support, 20th Royal Fusiliers then reached the northern part after hard fighting, but were driven back to the southern half by high explosive and gas shelling before relief could arrive. Casualties suffered in holding the positions in High Wood under shellfire were heavy. The 20th Royal Fusiliers had 139 men killed on this day and of these men, the bodies of 104 of them would never be found.