Au cours de cette nouvelle tentative du mois de septembre, les défenseurs allemands se battent avec beaucoup de détermination. La crête de Thiepval est très fortifiée, les Britanniques n'ont pu prendre cette crête le premier jour de la bataille de la Somme. Ce point fortifié domine les défenses allemandes plus au nord, dans la vallée de l'Ancre.

La bataille se déroule sur un front qui s'étend à l'est de Courcelette près de la route Albert-Bapaume jusqu'à Thiepval et la redoute Schwaben (Feste Schwaben) à l'ouest. Cette offensive est déclenchée 24 heures après l'attaque de la 4e armée britannique sur Morval pour profiter de la désorganisation des troupes allemandes. Ce fut la première offensive de l'armée de réserve (future 5e armée britannique) du lieutenant-général Hubert Gough lors de la bataille de la Somme. La bataille de la crête de Thiepval est une bataille de la Première Guerre mondiale qui se déroula du 25 au 28 septembre 1916, au cours de la Bataille de la Somme.September became the month most costly in casualties for the German armies on the Somme. The German defenders on the Somme front struggled to withstand the preponderance of men and material fielded by the Anglo–French, despite reorganisation and substantial reinforcement of troops, artillery and aircraft from Verdun. The British experimented with new techniques in gas warfare, machine-gun bombardment and tank–infantry co-operation.

Organisational difficulties and deteriorating weather frustrated General Joseph Joffre's intention to proceed with vigorous co-ordinated attacks by the Anglo-French armies, which became disjointed and declined in effectiveness during late September, at the same time as a revival occurred in the German defence.

The final British objectives were not reached until a reorganisation of the Reserve Army and the Battle of the Ancre Heights (1 October – 11 November). Thiepval Ridge was well fortified and the German defenders fought with great determination, while the British co-ordination of infantry and artillery declined after the first day, due to the confused nature of the fighting in the mazes of trenches, dugouts and shell-craters. The battle was fought on a front from Courcelette in the east, near the Albert–Bapaume road, to Thiepval and the Schwaben Redoubt (Schwaben-Feste) in the west, which overlooked the German defences further north in the Ancre valley, the rising ground towards Beaumont-Hamel and Serre beyond. The attack was intended to benefit from the Fourth Army attack in the Battle of Morval, by starting 24 hours afterwards. The Battle of Thiepval Ridge was the first large offensive of the Reserve Army (Lieutenant General Hubert Gough), during the Battle of the Somme on the Western Front during the First World War.

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