Fricourt was from Albert, north of Bray and west of Mametz, near the D 938 and at the junction of the D 147 and D 64. The village was northeast of Amiens and on the route of the Albert–Péronne light railway. Fricourt Wood was north-east of the village with a chateau on the edge of the village and a number of craters, known as the Tambour () on the west side. Fricourt formed a salient in the German front-line and was the principal German fortified village between the Somme and the Ancre. The ground sloped south-west from Bazentin Ridge, divided by the Willow Stream, which rose in Trônes Wood and flowed past the ends of the Mametz and Fricourt spurs. The stream was the inner boundary of the British 7th Division on the right and the 21st Division on the left. German fortification of the area