A minor attack fought in between the major Allied offensives of 1918, the Battle of Havrincourt was successfully fought by the British on 12 September 1918 in the face of declining German opposition.

Three divisions of Sir Julian Byng's Third Army captured the village of Havrincourt, although defended by a numerically superior German force comprising four divisions. By this late stage in the war the decline in fighting will of the German armies was becoming marked.

Success at Havrincourt coincided with victory at around the same time by the American Expeditionary Force (AEF) at St Mihiel under Pershing - the first major attack planned and executed by the AEF - and, on 18 September, at Epehy.

Taken together, these successes encouraged British Commander-in-Chief Sir Douglas Haig to bring forward preliminary operations directed against the German Hindenburg Line.