The Capture of Contalmaison was a tactical incident of the Battle of Albert. Contalmaison is a commune in the Somme department in Picardy in northern France. The village is north-east of Albert on the D 104, north-west of Mametz Wood and south of Pozières, at the junction of several roads, atop a spur with a good view in all directions. In 1914, there was a church and a château just to the north, a chalk pit nearby and 72 houses, making it the seventh-largest village on the Somme. Military operations in the area began when the German XIV Reserve Corps advanced down the Bapaume–Albert road and Contalmaison was captured at noon on 28 September, by Reserve Infantry Regiment 40 (RIR 40) and RIR 110 of the 28th Reserve Division which took for a loss of three men killed and In 1916, the village was between the German first and second positions, each having three trenches about apart, behind deep fields of barbed wire. The village was ringed by a dense network of trenches and barbed-wire obstacles, with a commanding view of the vicinity. On 1 July, the First day on the Somme a small party from the 34th Division got within of the village. Rear-area troops were scraped up to counter-attack them and pushed the party back from the (Readiness Trench) to the (Pioneer Trench). The 34th Division lost the highest number of casualties of any division involved in the attack. Operations to capture Contalmaison continued until the village was captured, with fresh divisions from 2 to 10 July; the British were able to close up to the German second position, ready for the Battle of Bazentin Ridge (14–17 July). The capture of the village cost the British about casualties and the commander of the 17th (Northern) Division was sacked. The attacks forced the Germans into a costly piecemeal defence and many losses were inflicted on the 17 regiments that contributed men for the defence of Contalmaison and the vicinity; Infantry Regiment Lehr was almost annihilated. The German policy of resolute defence and counter-attack exposed many German units to British firepower and by 10 July, German casualties on the Somme had risen to The village became a backwater until 25 March 1918, when the 79th Reserve and 183rd divisions re-captured it during Operation Michael, the German spring offensive. The village changed hands for the last time when it was taken