The Western Front Today - Newfoundland Memorial, Gueudecourt
One of five Caribou memorials erected by the Newfoundland government following the First World War (the most famous of which is at Beaumont-Hamel), they are today maintained by the Canadian government following Newfoundland's union with Canada in 1949.
The Gueudecourt memorial stands on the British front line of 17 November 1916 as it stood at the close of the Somme Offensive launched on 1 July 1916. Clearly visible to the left of the caribou is a preserved trench line.
The area in which the memorial stands was seized by Newfoundland troops from the Germans on 12 October 1916.
References:
Before Endeavours Fade, Rose E.B. Coombs, After the Battle 1994
Major & Mrs Holt's Battlefield Guide - Somme, Leo Cooper 2000
A howitzer is any short cannon that delivers its shells in a high trajectory. The word is derived from an old German word for "catapult".
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