_On the right of the road stand_ the ruins of a large sugar factory with a concrete observation-post. _Further on, also to the right_, there is a cross erected by the British. [Illustration: THE SUGAR REFINERY BETWEEN COURCELETTE AND POZIÈRES. GERMAN OBSERVATION-POST OF CONCRETE, IN THE ENGINE-ROOM.] _Before reaching Pozières, N. 29 passes over Hill 160._ The windmill which formerly stood there has disappeared. From the top of Hill 160, which dominates the whole district, there is an extensive view in the direction of Bapaume. To keep this observation-post, the Germans transformed Pozières into a fortress defended by more than 200 machine-guns. After capturing Ovillers-la-Boisselle and advancing little by little along the National road as far as the outskirts of Pozières, the British attacked on July 23, 1916, but only at midnight were they able to get a footing in the village. Throughout the night and the two following days, the fighting went on with unabated fury. It was only on July 26 that the Germans were definitively driven from the northern part of the village, and the fortified cemetery, and a few days later from the windmill on Hill 160. [Illustration: +BRITISH CROSS.+ _In front: +OVERTURNED TANK+._] [Illustration: POZIÈRES. GERMAN OBSERVATION-POST.] Violent counter-attacks were made in August, liquid fire being used in some cases. These attacks were particularly fierce to the north-west of the village and in the vicinity of the windmill, on the night of August 16, when six assaulting waves were broken by the British artillery barrage-fire. When this furious struggle died down, nothing was left of the village. Its site, completely levelled and upturned, is now indistinguishable from the surrounding country--formerly fruitful fields of corn and beet, to-day a chaotic waste of shell-holes. A German observation-post of concrete _is seen on the right_, and another, less damaged, with very deep shelters _(photo below), also on the right. On leaving the village, 300 yards further on, to the right_, there is a large British cemetery. _In the village of Pozières, the road, to Thiepval, which branches off to the right, is only passable for about 1 km. 500. From this point the tourist should go on foot to Thiepval._ [Illustration: POZIÈRES. GERMAN OBSERVATION-POST.] [Illustration] The Capture of Thiepval by the British Situated on a plateau surrounded by hills, Thiepval had been transformed into a veritable fortress. Since September, 1914, the Wurtemburger 180th Regiment had been garrisoned there, and made it a point of honour to hold the place at all cost. For twenty months, formidable defence-works had been made; redoubts, blockhouses and concrete vaulted shelters, built on the surrounding high ground, formed a continuous, fortified line around the village. Inside, a labyrinth of trenches, connected by subterranean passages, linked up with strong points and to bombardment-proof shelters.