The Bazentin-le-Petit Military Cemetery is a military cemetery located in the Somme region of France commemorating British and Commonwealth soldiers who fought in the Battle of the Somme in World War I. The cemetery is managed by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, and honors those who died on the front line near Bazentin from late July 1916 to May 1917.[1]

Bazentin-le-Petit Military Cemetery
Map
Details
EstablishedJuly 1916
Location
Bazentin-le-Petit, Somme, France
CountryBritish and Commonwealth
Coordinates50°01′57″N 2°45′36″E / 50.03256°N 2.75999°E / 50.03256; 2.75999
TypeMilitary
Owned byCommonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC)
No. of graves182 total, 15 unidentified
WebsiteOfficial website
Find a GraveBazentin-le-Petit Military Cemetery

Location

edit

The cemetery is located on the west side of the village of Bazentin-le-Petit, a subvillage of Bazentin, which is located approximately 8 kilometers northeast of the town of Albert and 3 kilometers southeast of the village of Pozieres.[1]

Fighting near Bazentin-le-Petit

edit

Bazentin was held by the Germans until 14 July 1916, when the British 3rd and 7th Divisions captured it and the British 21st Division captured Bazentin-le-Petit Wood. The village was temporarily lost in the German spring offensive of 1918, but was recaptured by the 38th Welsh Division on 25 August of the same year.[1][2]

Establishment of the cemetery

edit

The cemetery was established in late July 1916 and was used by units operating on the front line until May 1917. It was originally called the Singer Circus Cemetery.[1][2]

Statistics

edit

The cemetery contains 182 burials, of which 15 are unidentified. The 33 German graves in the cemetery were moved to another location in 1922. Overall, the Bazentin-le-Petit cemeteries cover an area of 1824 square yards.[1][2][3]

Identified Burials by Nationality[4]
Nationality Number of Burials
United Kingdom 104
Australia 55
South Africa 9
 
Bazentin-le-Petit Military Cemetery Plan
Identified Burials by Unit[3]
Unit # Unit #
Australian burials 55 Royal Field Artillery 15
Durham Light Infantry 11 Royal Garrison Artillery 10
Welsh Regiment 9 South African Infantry 8
Cameron Highlanders 6 Cameronians – Scottish Rifles 5
Northumberland Fusiliers 5 Machine Gun Corps 4
Royal Army Medical Corps 4 Royal Army Service Corps 4
Black Watch 3 East Yorkshire Regiment 3
Gloucestershire Regiment 3 Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders 2
Gordon Highlanders 2 Royal Engineers 2
Royal Scots – Lothian Regiment 2 Duke of Wellington – West Riding Regiment 1
Green Howards – Yorkshire Regiment 1 King's Own Scottish Borderers 1
King's Royal Rifle Corps 1 Lancers 16th 1
Leicestershire Regiment 1 Loyal North Lancashire Regiment 1
Northamptonshire Regiment 1 Royal Horse Artillery 1
Royal Warwickshire Regiment 1 Seaforth Highlanders 1
South African Heavy Artillery 1 South Wales Borderers 1

References

edit
  1. ^ a b c d e "Cemetery Details | CWGC". www.cwgc.org. Retrieved 2021-02-24.
  2. ^ a b c "Bazentin le Petit Military Cemetery". www.webmatters.net. Retrieved 2021-03-15.
  3. ^ a b "Bazentin-Le-Petit Military Cemetery". silentwitness.freeservers.com. Retrieved 2021-03-15.
  4. ^ "Bazentin-le-Petit Military Cemetery, Somme, France (CWGC)". WW1 Cemeteries.com – A photographic guide to over 4000 military cemeteries and memorials. Retrieved 2021-03-15.