CWGC Cemetery: BELLICOURT BRITISH CEMETERY

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Local Information

Bellicourt is a village 13 kilometres north of St. Quentin and 28 kilometres south of Cambrai on the N44 road which connects the two cities. The Cemetery is signposted at the junction of the D331 and N44 and is 100 metres from the main road along the D331 in the direction of Peronne.

Historical Information

The Canal de St. Quentin passes under the village of Bellicourt in a tunnel five kilometres long, built under the orders of Napoleon I. The Hindenburg Line ran west of the village, and the barges in the tunnel were used to shelter German reserves. About five kilometres south of Bellicourt, where the canal is open, is the village of Bellenglise, where another great tunnel or dug-out was made by the Germans. On 29 September - 2 October 1918, the Battle of the St. Quentin Canal was fought. The 46th (North Midland) Division stormed the Hindenburg Line at Bellenglise and captured 4,000 prisoners and 70 guns. The 30th United States Division captured Bellicourt and Nauroy, which were cleared by the 5th Australian Division. The North Midland and Australian dead of this engagement fill most of the graves in Bellicourt British Cemetery. The cemetery was made after the battle, when 73 dead were buried in what is now Plot I. It was greatly enlarged after the Armistice, when graves were brought from smaller cemeteries and from the surrounding battlefields. Bellicourt British Cemetery now contains 1,204 burials and commemorations of the First World War. 313 of the burials are unidentified but there are special memorials to 21 casualties known or believed to be buried among them. The cemetery was designed by Charles Holden.