[Illustration]
HISTORICAL RECORDS
OF THE BUFFS, 1914–1919
[Illustration:
_By Lady Butler_
A MAN OF KENT
From the Original in the possession of Major-General Sir E. G. T.
Bainbridge, K.C.B.]
HISTORICAL RECORDS OF
THE BUFFS
EAST KENT REGIMENT
(3RD FOOT) FORMERLY DESIGNATED
THE HOLLAND REGIMENT
AND PRINCE GEORGE OF
DENMARK’S REGIMENT
1914–1919
BY
COLONEL R. S. H. MOODY, C.B., p.s.c.
LATE THE BUFFS
LONDON
THE MEDICI SOCIETY, LIMITED
MCMXXII
Printed in Great Britain at
_The Mayflower Press, Plymouth_. William Brendon & Son, Ltd.
PREFACE
It has been said that a preface to a book is merely to give an
opportunity to the author to make excuses for his shortcomings, and
this is to a certain extent correct.
The chief point that seems to call for explanation in the case of this
work is the condensation of a very long story into a very brief space.
Economy demands that the book containing the history of the Buffs
during the momentous years from 1914 to 1919 shall not stretch its
length beyond a certain limit, and it is difficult to pack the stories
of eight fighting battalions for four years into the required space;
yet it is feared that the unavoidable price of a more lengthy volume or
volumes might perhaps be prohibitive in the cases of many individuals
deeply interested in the regiment.
Thus it is clear that if all battles and engagements are to be
described, what may perhaps be considered as a bald record of events is
not altogether avoidable.
The intervals between the great fights were fairly well filled with
minor enterprises and with individual acts of gallantry, all of which
ought to be recorded, but it is a misfortune that many brave deeds done
by single men or very small parties can find no record in these pages.
Several were performed that were not reported at the time, as is so
often the case in war, when everyone of rank is so occupied with his
urgent duties that it is more or less a chance whether or no he notices
the heroism of individuals about him.
The list of subscribers, without whose help this book could not have
been produced, is printed on pages 549–554.
CONTENTS
PAGE
AUTHOR’S PREFACE v
FOREWORD BY GENERAL THE RT. HON. SIR ARTHUR PAGET,
P.C., G.C.B., Colonel of the Buffs xix
CHAPTER I
THE FIRST BATTALION GOES TO WAR
I Introductory 1
II Events following the outbreak of war 4
III Move to France and Battle of the Aisne 7
IV Battle of Armentieres: Action at Radinghem 14
CHAPTER II
THE SECOND BATTALION TAKES ITS SHARE
I The Second Battalion returns to England from India 25
II It proceeds to the Western Front 28
III “O” Trench 29
IV Trench warfare near Ypres 38
V Second Battle of Ypres 40
CHAPTER III
THE PREPARATION AND THE START OF MORE
BATTALIONS
I Short summary of events 57
II Duties of the Depot 60
III The Third (Special Reserve) Battalion 63
IV The Fourth and Fifth (Territorial) Battalions 65
V Formation of the Sixth Battalion 68
VI Formation of the Seventh Battalion 72
VII Formation of the Eighth Battalion 75
VIII Formation of the Second-Fourth and Second-Fifth
Battalions 78
Formation of the Third-Fourth and Third-Fifth
Battalions 80
IX Raising of the Volunteer Battalions 81
X Formation of the Ninth Battalion 82
CHAPTER IV
THE WESTERN FRONT--LOOS
I The First Battalion 85
II Loos 90
III The Eighth Battalion at Hulluch 94
IV The Second Battalion. The Hohenzollern Redoubt 99
V The Sixth Battalion at Hulluch 105
VI The Seventh Battalion 109
VII Life in and behind the trenches 110
VIII Summary of Events 114
CHAPTER V
THE TURKISH ENEMY
I The Fourth Battalion at Aden 117
II The Fifth Battalion in Mesopotamia. Attempted
relief of Kut. Actions of Sheikh Saad and The
Wadi 121
III The Kent Composite Battalion in the Gallipoli
Peninsula and Egypt 131
Buff portion of the battalion transferred to Royal
West Kent Regiment 132
CHAPTER VI
THE SOMME
I Summary of events which led to the offensive on
the River Somme 134
II The Sixth Battalion from the commencement of
1916 to November of that year. The Hohenzollern
Redoubt and Battles of Albert (1916), Pozieres
Ridge and the Transloy Ridges 136
III The Seventh Battalion during the same period.
The Battles of Albert (1916), Bazentin Ridge,
Thiepval Ridge and the Ancre Heights, with the
capture of the Schwaben Redoubt 147
IV The Eighth Battalion. The Battle of Delville Wood 155
V The First Battalion. Battles of Flers-Courcelette
and Morval 164
CHAPTER VII
A YEAR AT SALONICA
I The Second Battalion 174
II Action of Karajakoi 177
III Affair of Barakli Dzuma 179
CHAPTER VIII
WITH MAUDE IN MESOPOTAMIA
I The position in 1916 183
II Battle of Kut, 1917 185
III Subsequent pursuit to Baghdad 193
CHAPTER IX
PALESTINE
I Formation of the Tenth Battalion 200
II Second Battle of Gaza 203
III Third Battle of Gaza 207
IV Battle of Nebi Samwil 213
V Defence of Jerusalem 216
CHAPTER X
THE WESTERN FRONT
NOVEMBER, 1916, TO JULY, 1917
I Summary of Events 221
II The Seventh Battalion. Battle of the Ancre 222
III The Seventh Battalion--(_continued_) 225
IV The First Battalion 229
V The Eighth Battalion 231
VI The Sixth Battalion. Battle of Arras and the Scarpe 234
VII The Seventh Battalion 240
VIII The First Battalion 243
IX The Sixth Battalion 246
X The Seventh Battalion 247
XI The Eighth Battalion. Battle of Messines 248
CHAPTER XI
THE WESTERN FRONT
CONTINUATION TILL MARCH, 1918
I The position of affairs in the middle of 1917 255
The story of the First Battalion from middle of
1917 to the Battle of Cambrai in November 256
II The Sixth Battalion during the same period 258
III The Battle of Cambrai 263
IV The First Battalion from Cambrai to the 20th
March, 1918 267
V The Sixth Battalion during the same period 270
VI The Seventh Battalion from middle of 1917 to the
20th March, 1918. Poelcappelle 272
VII The Eighth Battalion from middle of 1917 to its
disbanding in February, 1918. Battle of Pilckem
Ridge 279
CHAPTER XII
THE QUEEN’S OWN RIFLES OF CANADA
I The Queen’s Own Rifles of Canada 284
II The Canadian Buffs 291
CHAPTER XIII
THE END OF THE SALONICA AND MESOPOTAMIA
CAMPAIGNS
I The Fourth Battalion in India 292
II The Fifth Battalion in Mesopotamia. Affairs on
the Nahr Khalis. Passage of the Adhaim. Action
of Istabulat. Affair on the Shatt el Adhaim.
Second action of the Jabal (or Jebel) Hamrin.
Third action of the Jabal Hamrin 294
III The Second Battalion in Macedonia. Battle of
Doiran, 1918 304
CHAPTER XIV
HOLDING ON
I Preparations for defence 315
II The First Battalion during the German offensive.
Battle of St Quentin. Back to Belgium 317
III The Sixth Battalion during the German offensive.
Battle of the Ancre, 1918 331
IV The Tenth Battalion in France 339
V The Seventh Battalion during the German offensive.
Battle of St Quentin 340
CHAPTER XV
THE GRAND RESULT
I The Seventh Battalion, the 6th August to the 21st
August, 1918. The Battle of Amiens 355
II The Sixth Battalion at the Battle of Amiens 359
III The Sixth and Seventh Battalions from the 22nd
August to end of September, 1918. Battles of
Albert, 1918. Second Battle of Bapaume. Battle
of Epehy 361
IV The Sixth Battalion’s history up to the Armistice 381
V The Seventh Battalion during the same period.
Battle of the Selle. Battle of the Sambre 384
VI The Tenth Battalion during the advance to victory.
The Battle of Epehy 391
VII The First Battalion during the advance to victory.
Battle of Epehy. Battle of Cambrai, 1918.
Battle of the Salle. March into Germany 400
CHAPTER XVI
CONCLUSION 415
LIST OF APPENDICES
PAGE
I Nominal roll of Officers who were killed in action,
or died of wounds or disease in the Great War,
1914–1919 425
II Nominal roll of Warrant Officers, Non-Commissioned
Officers and Men who were killed in action, or died
of wounds or disease in the Great War, 1914–1919 432
III Rewards (British) won by Officers, Warrant Officers,
Non-Commissioned Officers and Men in the Great
War, 1914–1919 504
IV Foreign Decorations awarded to Officers, Warrant
Officers, Non-Commissioned Officers and Men
during the Great War, 1914–1919 530
V Mention in Despatches: all ranks during the
Great War, 1914–1919 535
VI Mention for Record (Mention “B”): all ranks
during the Great War, 1914–1919 545
VII List of serving officers, 1st and 2nd Battalions,
awarded brevet rank 548
LIST OF SUBSCRIBERS 549
ILLUSTRATIONS
PLATES IN COLOUR
A MAN OF KENT
(_After the painting by Lady Butler_) _Frontispiece_
THE RECAPTURE OF KUT EL AMARA
(_After the painting by Herbert Alexander, A.R.W.S.,
Lieut. 5th Bn. The Buffs_)
_To face page_ 190
PLATES IN MONOCHROME
_To face page_
YPRES FROM NEAR THE MENIN GATE 40
BATTLEFIELD NEAR ST JULIEN 44
ROAD NEAR HOOGE 86
BRINGING UP WIRE 162
MORVAL 172
SALONICA--ROAD MADE BY BRITISH 176
ARCH AT CTESIPHON 194
GENERAL ALLENBY ENTERS JERUSALEM 214
SCENE ON THE ANCRE 224
WINTER ON THE WESTERN FRONT 234
A NEW TRENCH 262
CAMBRAI ON THE MORNING THE ENEMY WAS DRIVEN OUT 410
LIST OF MAPS
GENERAL MAP--WESTERN FRONT _End Papers_
_To face page_
RADINGHEM 20
YPRES 56
NEIGHBOURHOOD OF LOOS 98
HOHENZOLLERN REDOUBT AND THE DUMP 104
ADEN 120
TURKISH LINES NEAR KUT 130
THIEPVAL 154
VALLEY OF THE STRUMA 182
VICINITY OF KUT 198
PALESTINE 220
LOOS CRASSIERS 254
SPOIL (OR BUFFS’) BANK 254
CAMBRAI 266
POELCAPPELLE 276
COUNTRY NORTH OF BAGHDAD 308
COUNTRY NEAR CAKLI STATION 308
LAGNICOURT AND NOREUIL 324
VENDEUIL 346
VENDEUIL TO VARESNES 350
COUNTRY RETAKEN FROM ENEMY, AUTUMN OF 1918 356
ALBERT 364
COMBLES AND MORVAL 378
RONSSOY 378
DIAGRAM: BATTLE OF THE SELLE 386
ST QUENTIN 406
GENERAL MAP--MIDDLE EAST _End Papers_
FOREWORD
To read this record of the part played by the Buffs in the desperate
fighting of the early months of the war, in turning the tide of the
enemy’s success and in the crowning victories, fills me with pride.
No pen can adequately convey the true measure of the constancy and
valour of those men who endured and fought through the daily hardships,
the hourly perils, the nerve strain during darkness--and this under
the conditions of modern warfare, in battles which lasted not hours
but weeks, with the added horrors of high explosives, gas poisoning,
flame throwers, tanks and machine guns, delay-action mines and other
mechanical and inhuman devices. Through all these trials the spirit of
the regiment--of the Men of Kent--never faltered, its certain hope of
victory never wavered.
For over three hundred and fifty years the historic name and high
traditions of the Buffs have been in the keeping of the generations of
men who followed each other in one or other of the so-called Regular
battalions; during the Great War eight battalions, including two
Territorial, took the field, and six others served at home. No less
than thirty-two thousand men passed through the ranks of the regiment,
of whom over five thousand gave their lives for their King and Country.
But in spite of the great increase of numbers, and in spite of all the
new dangers and perils, there was no change in the spirit, no weakening
in the sense of duty which have always animated the Buffs; new and old
battalions alike maintained, and more than maintained, the glory of
the name handed down to them.
The recital of those deeds, and a description of the character of the
war and conditions in which they achieved them, cannot therefore but
inspire those who come after them in the battalions of the Buffs; so
that should they too in their generation be called on to pass through
the fiery ordeal, they also may, in the faith of their fathers, pass
through unshaken to final victory.
[Illustration: Handwritten signature]
CHAPTER I
THE FIRST BATTALION GOES TO WAR
I. INTRODUCTORY
In the early hours of Tuesday morning the 5th August, 1914, the
British Foreign Office issued this statement: “Owing to the summary
rejection by the German Government of the request made by His
Majesty’s Government for assurances that the neutrality of Belgium
will be respected, His Majesty’s Ambassador at Berlin has received his
passports and His Majesty’s Government have declared to the German
Government that a state of war exists between Great Britain and Germany
as from 11 p.m. on the 4th August.” Thus was the British Empire
officially informed that the Great War had, at last, come upon Europe.
Actually the Government had given orders for the mobilization of the
Army some eight hours earlier, at 4 p.m. on the 4th; so that at that
hour on that day this history properly begins.
The war took Great Britain by surprise. This does not mean that England
was totally unprepared for such an eventuality; though comparatively
small our land forces were in a condition of readiness and efficiency
never before equalled. Nor does it mean that the idea of a war with
Germany was new; through many years its likelihood had been canvassed
and openly speculated upon both by soldiers, headed by the veteran
Earl Roberts, and politicians. But it does mean that the man in the
street did not think it would come in our time, and certainly no one
could see any possible connection between the assassination of the
Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his Consort at Serajevo on 28th June and
an international war on a vast scale. The British temperament is not in
its nature warlike; Englishmen do not soldier, like some, from a sheer
love of soldiering. That is why the mass of the nation has always been
steadily averse to conscription. In spite of warnings it was willing
to take the risk, preferring quality to quantity where its army was
concerned.
It is perhaps well to give here, in this introductory, in order to link
up the story that is to follow with the past history of the regiment,
a brief outline of the changes which went to the making of the British
Army as it was at the beginning of hostilities, and the situation which
led to the war.
The South African War had brought it home to the Government that
the system initiated in 1871 failed to meet modern needs in certain
fundamental respects. It was realized that drastic reforms were
overdue; that new methods were essential. The work of reorganization
was undertaken by Mr. (now Lord) Haldane, then Secretary of State for
War; it was made all the more imperative by the aggressive and openly
ambitious imperialism of Germany. Whilst still relying in the first
instance on her naval supremacy, England could no longer think in terms
of small forces fighting in far-flung corners of her mighty Empire.
The danger loomed nearer home, and the possibility of a British force
at grips with a foe across the narrow seas had to be faced; nay more,
it had to be provided for and planned against. An agreement was made
with France, our ancient enemy on many a bloody field, and the General
Staffs of the two countries explored the measures necessary for the
defence of the frontiers from the sea to the Vosges.
This _entente_ was little more than a friendly understanding, and
so little was England under any obligation to go to the aid of France
that the actual position of the British Expeditionary Force was not
settled until after the outbreak of war. Whether Great Britain would
have remained neutral had Germany not forced her hand by invading
Belgium, cannot now be stated. What is known is that Germany believed
she would remain neutral; that, harassed by the threat of civil war
in Ireland and other domestic difficulties, she would content herself
as a looker-on. Therein Germany made her first big mistake. She made
her second when she assumed that the British Army was too negligible
to be seriously considered, and that if it came into the field at all
it would arrive too late to affect the issue. Germany counted on a
swift and fatal thrust across Flanders at the heart of France. She
underestimated British feeling upon the treaty rights guaranteeing the
integrity of Belgium, and she also forgot that Britain would look upon
her advent, entrenched on the Belgian coast, as an intolerable menace.
Thus, as events shaped, Belgium was the tinder on which the spark was
struck that lighted the war-torch in Britain.
As regards the reconstruction undertaken by Haldane great
progress had been made. The Army Council had taken the place of a
commander-in-chief; the Imperial General Staff had been set up; the
Militia, which had been converted into the Special Reserve, was ready
to train and despatch recruits as required by the regular battalions;
and the Territorials were organized on the same principle as the
First Line, and, although they were under strength and only partially
trained, it was thought that many old Territorials would rejoin in case
of war and that complete units would be able to take the field after a
few months’ training. In addition, the universities and public schools
had responded to the invitation to turn their units into Officers’
Training Corps and a reserve of men capable of leadership in a time
of crisis had thus been created. Above all, the Expeditionary Force,
consisting of six divisions and a cavalry division, was ready to move
at a moment’s notice. This finely tempered weapon, this wonderful
fusion of skill and discipline with British courage, this “contemptible
little army” was ready to thrust or parry, wherever it might be sent
and against whatever odds.
II. EVENTS FOLLOWING THE OUTBREAK OF WAR
Before trying to follow the history of any particular unit it is, of
course, necessary to bear in mind the military proceedings as a whole.
Most people have a general idea of what took place in the different
theatres of war, but events are apt to be forgotten, and it may be as
well before describing any particular operations to remind the reader
how it came about that such operations became necessary.
On the 4th August, 1914, war was declared with Germany, and in
compliance with prearranged and carefully drawn up plans that Power,
having already declared war on France on the 3rd, proceeded at once
to violate the neutrality of Belgium whose roads supplied the easiest
way to the heart of France, and the idea was to strike that country
prostrate before Russia was ready to move. It was well understood that
the Russians must be slower than any of the other immediate combatants
to mobilize their forces.
Thus, on the 5th August, the Germans, who thoroughly recognized the
advantage of getting in the first blow, were opposite Liége and
occupied that city five days afterwards, although the last fort did
not fall until the 17th. On the 14th August the French, too, were in
Belgium, and between the 12th and 17th the British Expeditionary Force
had landed on the coast and the army was moved into position extending
from Condé through Mons and Binche.
During the few days prior to the British landing the Belgians had
been driven steadily backward by overwhelming forces, as also had
the French; and as the British Expeditionary Force only consisted of
four divisions (the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 5th) and a cavalry division its
numbers were far too small to make any very perceptible alteration
in the situation. The result was a steady general retreat of all the
Allies commencing on the 24th August and lasting to the 5th September,
by which time the armies were behind the River Marne and in the
immediate neighbourhood of Paris, and the British base had necessarily
been shifted from the Channel ports to the mouth of the Loire.
A cold statement that the Great War opened with a rapid retreat conveys
the truth perhaps, but not all of it. Never in its long history of
adventure and heroism had the British Army covered itself with such
glory. There are retreats and retreats in war. When an army runs away
that disaster is described under this term, and there seems to be no
other correct military expression for what happened in Flanders and
France in August, 1914, though, as a matter of fact, the little army
sent from these shores was fighting one long continuous battle against
overwhelming odds; its artillery completely outnumbered; its infantry
facing death and wounds in the most soldier-like spirit possible to any
troops, quite unable to understand why the movement was backward and
not forward, but resolved to a man to get some of their own back when
their time came.
On the 5th September the retreat had ceased, and by this date the
German Colonies of Togoland and Samoa had been wrested from them and
their fleet had learnt what the British sailor was capable of, notably
in the Bight of Heligoland on the 28th August.
On the 6th September the tide of war had turned on land: a general
offensive by French and British troops had commenced, the Battle of
the Marne begun and Paris saved.
Strictly speaking, there was no Battle of the Marne, the fighting
between the 6th and 10th of September being desultory and chiefly
in the nature of independent and to a great extent disconnected
engagements, but the struggle or series of struggles, however
described, proved, indeed, a turning point--the British crossed the
river on the 9th and the Germans were in full retreat.
On the 13th the Allies recovered the important town of Soissons and
forced the passage of the Aisne, on which river the enemy stood to
fight, and there the combatants were still engaged on the 20th, for
now the German retreat was over; on this day the British Expeditionary
Force was reinforced by the British 6th Division (16th, 17th and
18th Infantry Brigades) which had landed on the 10th September, and
the Buffs once more in their long history came into the presence of
England’s foes.
All this time the Territorial Force was working hard to fit itself to
help, and in a short time the bulk of it was sent to India to release
our forces there which were promptly sent to France.
Meanwhile the new armies, whose numbers under the voluntary system
were such as to fill every Englishman with pride, were straining every
nerve to prepare themselves for war, and they were drafted off to
the different fighting theatres as fast as they could be armed and
equipped. The most wonderful fact of the early days of the war was
the way that Kitchener’s appeal for recruits was answered. Thousands
and thousands of quiet, peaceable citizens, who had never dreamed of
anything to do with soldiering, much less of getting into uniform
and themselves going off to fight, men from every rank of life, now
thronged and jostled each other at the recruiting offices. They took
long railway journeys at their own expense, or walked miles if they
had no money, for the pleasure of standing, often for days, in queues
waiting their turn to enlist. They faced the doctor with fear, hiding
their disabilities, and passed the test with a sigh of relief.
What was true of England was true to an equal extent of the Colonies
and oversea possessions, and the total number of soldiers raised,
equipped and put into the firing line astonished ourselves almost as
much as it dismayed the Germans, whose reckonings in this respect, as
in all others, were completely at fault. The Queen’s Own Rifles of
Canada, the Allied Regiment of Canadian Militia, was represented in
several of those gallant battalions which sailed in such numbers from
their shores and which did such glorious service in France and Flanders.
The story of the struggle is so long, and the Buffs fought in so many
theatres and places, that the clearest and best way of describing the
deeds of the regiment appears to be the division of the eventful years
of 1914 to 1918 into sections, so that the story of each battalion
of the regiment may appear as clearly as possible between certain
approximate dates. Of course, this system must be to a certain extent
elastic, for, if a fixed date happened to be one during which a
particular unit was in the midst of a very particular job, it would
obviously be better to finish the description of that operation before
drifting off to the doings of its brother Buffs somewhere else. The
doings of the ten battalions, then, which together formed the regiment
of Buffs, are what the reader is invited to consider in the following
pages.
III. MOVE TO FRANCE AND THE BATTLE OF THE AISNE
The 1st Battalion on the 4th August, 1914, was quartered at Fermoy
in Ireland and the 2nd was in India. It is obvious, therefore, that
as the 2nd Battalion had to come home, the 4th and 5th to complete
their training, and all others to be not only trained, but raised
before they could add their splendid quota to the glory of the Buffs,
the story of the first period of the war up to the 17th November,
1914, must mainly concern the senior battalion of the regiment. This
date is taken because it was then that the desperate attempt of the
Germans to hack their way through to Calais and the Channel ports
finally proved a failure, and in France and Belgium heavy, murderous
and continuous fighting merged into stonewall tactics, if tactics they
could be called: when each of the opposing sides dug themselves in and
when the long, dull, trying period of trench warfare set in on the
Western Front. Up to this date no attempt had been made to force the
Dardanelles. In fact, Turkey had only become a declared enemy a very
few days and Italy was still at peace.
The 1st Buffs were, as has been said, at Fermoy. Their brigade was the
16th and the Brigadier-General was E. C. Ingouville-Williams, C.B.,
D.S.O., himself a very well-known old Buff who, after being adjutant
of the 2nd Battalion, distinguished himself as commander of a column
in the Boer War and was promoted out of the regiment, as is sometimes
the fate of soldiers who serve in a “slow-promotion” corps. The other
battalions of the 16th Brigade were the 1st Leicestershire Regiment,
1st King’s Shropshire Light Infantry (K.S.L.I.) and the 2nd York and
Lancaster Regiment; it will be useful to remember the names of these
battalions as they must naturally be frequently referred to in the
following narrative, and they were the close and very good comrades of
our men.
The history of the 1st Battalion had, up to this time and since the
commencement of the war, been briefly as follows: as early as the
29th July directions had been received that certain precautionary
measures were to be taken at once, and on the 4th August the order for
mobilization reached the battalion at Fermoy. Almost immediately the
strength was augmented by 554 reservists, many of whom were wearing the
Indian Frontier and South African Medals. Thus a very fine battalion
resulted. The commanding officer, Lt.-Colonel H. C. de la M. Hill, was
a well-known musketry expert, and he had with him Brevet-Colonel Julian
Hasler, who had distinguished himself in both the campaigns alluded to,
Major E. H. Finch Hatton, who won his D.S.O. in South Africa, Major R.
McDouall, who also gained a D.S.O. in the same war, and many another
good officer. The sergeants were very highly trained, so much so,
indeed, that nearly all the survivors were made commissioned officers
within a few months of the battalion reaching the shores of France.
The privates, after the great influx of reservists, were composed
of brisk and energetic youngsters, keen and bold, and steady old
soldiers--invaluable as a stiffening.
It proved afterwards that “the dash was all on the side of the
youngsters, but the old reservists were a great backbone in holding off
the German advance--in trench warfare they were excellent--in fact,
they liked it.”[1]
On the 12th August the battalion left Fermoy, and after a troublous
journey reached Cambridge on the 19th. As everybody knows that the song
of “Tipperary” was most popular at this time in the Army, it may be
interesting to note that it was first played by this battalion. It was
arranged by Bandmaster Elvin for the band a year before and the score
was lent to many other units. The stay at Cambridge, which lasted up
to the 8th September, was beneficial in so far that it remade soldiers
of the reservists whose physical condition had somewhat deteriorated
during a long spell of civil life. The battalion was hospitably
entertained by Christ’s College; the officers were entertained at the
High Table and frequent presents of fruit, chiefly mulberries, from
Milton’s Mulberry Tree, were sent to the men.[2]
On the 8th September at noon the 1st Battalion The Buffs, together with
the 2nd York and Lancaster Regiment, sailed for the mouth of the Loire
to which Sir John French had now transferred his base. The journey was
made by rail and march after the port of St. Nazaire was reached, the
train starting at dim dawn on the 11th and taking the route: Nantes,
Angers, Tours, Verdun, Paris to Mortcerf, a twenty-six-hour journey.
The ensuing eight days’ march was not without incident and not without
discomfort, but there was excitement, too. Heavy firing was heard all
day on the 12th. The first taste of outpost duty in war time came
the following night. Billets were used each night, but these were
not always of the best and the weather was generally execrable. The
billets, which one night consisted of a cowshed, were sometimes shared
with Belgian refugees, and altogether it was with a sort of relief that
the real fighting line was reached at last at 2.30 a.m. on the 21st
September. Vailly on the Aisne was entered and the Fifth and Royal
Fusiliers relieved in the trenches at that place, A, C and D Companies
being in the front line with B in reserve.
It will be remembered that the Germans, after their retreat from the
Marne, were now standing fast, and that in its turn the Allied pursuit
was checked upon the Aisne. The enemy knew somehow that fresh troops
were now in front of them and, hoping to find an inferior article to
that they had been sampling for the last month, determined to attack
and try what they were made of.
The Buffs were on the left of the brigade line, on the crest of a
small plateau beyond the river, and the enemy’s trenches were on the
far slope, from two hundred to seven hundred yards away, with all the
best of the situation because, owing to the shape of the ground, our
artillery had great difficulty in aiding this particular part of the
line, whereas the Germans were very closely supported by their guns. On
the right was an improvised sub-section of defence consisting of the
Norfolk Regiment and King’s Shropshire Light Infantry, under Colonel
Hasler of the Buffs.
The attack commenced at 8 p.m., lasted for two and a half hours, and
was a failure. The firing was heavy and the attempt was resolute
enough, but as the locality was difficult for our guns the Buffs
employed prolonged rapid fire as a substitute and succeeded in
repulsing the onslaught. Major E. H. Finch Hatton, D.S.O., and Captain
F. C. R. Studd were wounded in the action, two men were killed and five
wounded.
The battalion remained in these trenches till the 13th October and
suffered several casualties. In fact, each day added a few to the
killed and wounded, and each day brought to light some good quality in
the men. The first name in the regiment to be brought to notice for
gallantry was No. 9967 Corpl. Randall who, himself wounded, on the 2nd
October showed great courage in attending to Pte. Hamilton under fire.
Hamilton, however, did not survive. The stretcher bearers, too, were
proved to be a most gallant set of men--stretcher bearers always are
somehow. The sight of the pain and mutilation of others seems to bring
out a sort of ferocious tenderness on the part of those who protect
and assist the maimed. Pte. Medway was conspicuous even amongst these
devoted fellows.
Particularly heavy firing along the whole line and including reserves
occurred on the 9th October. The church at Vailly was struck and ten
horses belonging to the regimental transport were killed close to it.
The hospital also suffered.
Early in October it appeared to Sir John French that it was advisable
to withdraw the army from the Aisne and strongly reinforce the forces
in the north with a view to outflanking the enemy and so making him
withdraw from his position. In fact, each army at this time was trying
to outflank the other, because frontal fighting, owing to the complete
system of entrenchments in vogue on both sides, was found to bring no
practical results. This accounted for the fact that in a very short
time flanks ceased to exist, for one soon rested on the sea and the
other on neutral Switzerland. French’s first attempt at outflanking
was rendered abortive by the German capture of Antwerp, and so the
war developed into a fierce struggle for the coast, which may be said
to have commenced on the 11th October and continued till the 17th
November; the enemy’s idea being to seize Calais and the Channel ports
and so make up for their failure to capture Paris.
This struggle is sometimes called the Battle of Flanders, but it in
reality included several fights, the chief of these being collectively
described as the Battles of Ypres, 1914. Of course, the great move
from the Aisne to the neighbourhood of St. Omer and Hazebrouck took
time, and it was not till the 19th October that the move was completed.
General Foch, whose headquarters were at Doullens, at this time
commanded all French troops north of Noyon and our Commander-in-Chief
had arranged with him a general wheel of troops to the right, in order
to menace the German flank; this arrangement was made before the fall
of Antwerp. It brought the English 7th Division to Ypres; caused heavy
fighting for the 3rd Division about Givenchy, which lasted for three
weeks; moved the 4th Division to the north and 6th to south of the
town of Armentieres, and was the immediate cause of the flight which
followed at Radinghem.
Antwerp fell on the 9th October, and this event released 90,000 enemy
troops, and the Germans also at this time brought four fresh Army
Corps from their Eastern or Russian front, and so the English Army and
that part of the French one which was in its neighbourhood were facing
greatly superior numbers. As far as the Buffs were concerned they were
relieved in their trenches on the Aisne by French troops on the 12th
of the month, marched to Bazoches with the rest of the 16th Brigade
and there entrained for Cassel, which they reached on the 13th. The
relief of the trenches at Vailly was carried out successfully, but not
altogether without difficulty. The enemy seemed to have an idea of what
was going on and fired a number of flares, and a searchlight was also
seen. The wheels of the transport were, however, covered with straw, as
was the floor of the pontoon bridge over the river, in order to deaden
noise. The French took up their position very quietly and very quickly,
and the battalion re-crossed the Aisne at 2.15 a.m., the last of the
brigade marching by Rouge Croix and Oultersteene.
The 16th Brigade was directed to Bois Grenier on the 17th as reserve to
the division. The 17th was also sent here and the 18th to Armentieres,
about four miles to the north. During the morning, however, as hostile
firing was heard and observed, certain alterations were made by the 6th
Division by order of superior authority, and it took up and constructed
a defensive position along a new line: the 17th Brigade on the left,
18th in the centre and 16th on the right from Croix Marechal to Rouge
de Bout--French cavalry being on the right again.
On the 18th October the 17th and 18th Brigades advanced to ascertain
what the enemy was doing about Perenchies, le Paradis and La Vallée,
and to discover his strength, and in connection with this movement the
16th Brigade was ordered to send one battalion towards La Vallée and
Bacquart. The Buffs were selected and the York and Lancasters were sent
to Bridoux to cover their right flank. At 10.30 on this Sunday morning
the Buffs debouched from Grand Flamengrie Farm with orders to seize
the line of the Hameau de Bas-La Vallée road, but not to get seriously
involved. B, C and D Companies deployed, with A in reserve.
IV. BATTLE OF ARMENTIERES: ACTION AT RADINGHEM
Before reaching the above line the battalion got orders to take the
village of Radinghem.
Just beyond this village is a fairly high ridge or plateau on which
stands the Chateau de Flandres, and there is a wood on the edge of the
plateau screening the house from the village, the distance between this
wood and the south edge of the village being about three hundred yards.
Brevet Colonel Julian Hasler was in command of the forward or firing
line which advanced through Radinghem, seized the ridge and, pushing
on, took the Chateau where severe hand-to-hand fighting occurred. But
soon considerable German reinforcements coming up, the Buffs had to
abandon the Chateau itself, though they still clung to the edge of the
wood.
During the attack Company Sergeant-Major Brady, with nineteen men of
C Company, on surmounting a piece of rising ground, suddenly found
himself about two hundred yards from a German battalion in close
order. Each Buff had three hundred rounds of ammunition, and one of
the most beautiful displays of rapid firing ever made was the result:
that particular German battalion was very quickly “put out of action,”
as they say on field days. The successful attack on the Chateau de
Flandres was immensely helped by Major Bayley’s company of the York
and Lancaster Regiment, which had worked its way round to take the
enemy in flank; so that when these men approached, the enemy had
hastily to withdraw. Without a doubt the Buffs owe very much to this
gallant company.
At 6.10 p.m. the situation was looking serious, but after a German
counter-attack had been repulsed things became better. Then orders came
to hand over Radinghem to some French cavalry and to withdraw. When
the Frenchmen arrived, however, they were found to be only 130 strong,
so the Buffs and York and Lancaster consolidated themselves on the
south edge of the village and settled in for the night. The artillery,
a mixed brigade under Lt.-Colonel Humphrey, had most nobly supported
the infantry during the day. Later on, when the regiment had more
experience, they found that the devotion to duty shown by the Gunners
at Radinghem was quite a normal state of things with that arm, and was
so looked for as a matter of course that notice was hardly taken of
their excellent work, but in this, almost their first battle of the
war, praise of the Gunners was in every man’s mouth.
On the 19th touch was obtained with the 18th Brigade at the railway
crossing east of Bas Champs. At 3 p.m. the 16th Brigade was ordered to
withdraw to Bois Grenier and to leave one battalion only at Radinghem.
The consequence of this was of course that, the York and Lancaster
being withdrawn, the Buffs were left alone to occupy the lines which
last night had been constructed for both regiments.
The morning of the 20th opened with very heavy artillery fire from the
enemy’s guns of large calibre, and then the German infantry pressed
very heavily. About 2 p.m. Colonel Hasler was badly wounded,[3] and
command of the front line devolved on Major McDouall. At 3 p.m. the
artillery reported that the Germans were advancing along the two roads
from Le Maisnil leading to Radinghem. This meant that the Buffs would
probably be surrounded, as touch with the 18th Brigade and French
cavalry had failed, and indeed it was ultimately found that these
troops had been driven back. At 3.35 and again at 4 o’clock McDouall
reported that the situation was very serious, but that he was holding
on; that the machine guns were knocked out, the trench on his left
hitherto held by C Company had been captured and that he was “in a
tight corner.” He received orders to retire company by company, and
replied that it was very difficult, but that “We will do the best we
can.” At 4.50 came a message from the brigade to hold on at all costs
and promising the support of two companies of the York and Lancaster.
The Headquarter party of the battalion manned a barricade in the
village and McDouall retired, the work being carried out in a most
soldierly manner, and at 7 p.m. the promised help arrived, followed
half an hour later by the brigadier himself, who ordered the front of
the village to be held, unaware that both flanks were exposed. A staff
officer of the division, however, shortly arrived who was acquainted
with the situation, and he directed the retirement of the Buffs, which
was carried out without trouble, as the enemy was not enterprising and
appeared to have had enough of the battalion. At 1 a.m. on the 21st
the rear guard cleared the village, and that morning Grand Flamengrie
Farm was reached again and billets resumed.
In this action the Buffs lost Lieuts. J. D. Phillips, R. McDougall, M.
Noott and R. S. Glyn killed, and Colonel J. Hasler and Lieuts. G. F.
Hamilton, C. C. Stanfield and Orwan wounded. Of the rank and file 17
were reported killed and 62 missing, but these were undoubtedly all or
nearly all killed; 57 were wounded. The regiment earned great praise
for the stand it made at Radinghem, and, though it will be impossible
in this history accurately to chronicle each honour and reward as
conferred, it is interesting to note that on the 28th November No. 8922
Sgt. J. McNeir was awarded the D.C.M. for the gallant manner in which
he brought up his platoon to the support of B Company at Chateau de
Flandres, near Radinghem, on the 20th October, 1914, and that:--
“On the 20th October, 1914, at Chateau de Flandres, near Radinghem,
Sergeant Forwood continued to serve his machine guns, after the officer
in charge had been killed, until all the team and both the guns had
been knocked out by heavy artillery, himself being wounded in five
places. He crawled in and reported the situation.” Sergeant Forwood was
awarded the D.C.M., and the incident is described by a General Officer,
who later on commanded the 6th Division, as being typical of the fierce
fighting at this time.
On the 23rd October a heavy attack developed at dawn against the
Shropshire and York and Lancaster battalions and part of the line,
which consisted of isolated trenches only, was rendered untenable by
machine guns which the shape of the ground enabled the enemy to bring
up. This attack was a very bold one and Germans were actually bayoneted
in the trenches, and two hundred dead were counted opposite one of the
Shropshire defences.
At one time there was a gap just east of Bridoux, caused by some of
the trenches being lost and others still held, and matters were in
rather a confused state, so, to clear up the situation, Lieut. G. R.
Thornhill’s platoon of the Buffs, under the direction and guidance of
Major Clemson of the York and Lancaster Regiment, was pushed forward
from the Touquet-La Boutillerie road by some dongas running south.
There appeared to be no enemy in the gap, and on approaching one of the
trenches Thornhill and his men rushed forward to secure it, when he and
several of his followers were shot down by a concealed machine gun.
Indeed, only ten returned, bringing with them seven wounded men, but
they were obliged to leave Thornhill, who was actually in the trench,
and several others. Pte. Pearce made a manly effort at rescue and
managed to drag Pte. Bull in, but could not reach his officer. Both A
and C Companies employed the bayonet on this day, counter-attacking in
front of the Shropshire and the Leicestershire trenches.
It is not so very long ago that many thoughtful army officers were of
opinion that the days of the bayonet were over for ever; but then, of
course, no one at all dreamed in the summer of 1914 that soldiers would
again fight in iron helmets or throw grenades, and there have been many
similar surprises during this war.
There seems to be no doubt that from the 23rd to the 25th of October
the situation of the 16th Brigade was very critical, and indeed
Br.-General Ingouville-Williams twice reported that this was the
case. The reason was that the line held was not continuous and it was
impossible to make it so, on account of the great number of Germans
who were attacking. It was therefore resolved to construct a proper
line of trenches 100 yards or so south of the Touquet-La Boutillerie
road and to withdraw into it; but as, during the whole of the 23rd, the
Leicestershire right flank was being enveloped, new dispositions were
made by Brigadiers Williams and Congreve in consultation; they resolved
that the Leicestershire should hold their trenches east of the railway
and then bend back along it--a most prominent salient and with a poor
field of fire, but the best that could be done till the new trenches
were ready for occupation.
On the 24th October loud cheering was heard in this direction, and
it was feared that the Leicestershire had been rushed, and a company
of the Buffs and another of the York and Lancaster were immediately
deployed to take the supposedly successful enemy in flank. Verbal
reports came in during the morning to Brigade H.Q. at La Touquet that
the Leicestershire battalion had been forced to retire, that some posts
had been surrounded and that no officers were left. This account,
however, fortunately proved to have been exaggerated. The enemy had, in
fact, made a small gap in the line, occupying the railway, but the good
old battalion from Leicestershire had quickly closed it and, though it
had suffered severely, it still held its own and was moreover in touch
with the King’s Shropshire Light Infantry.
On the 25th the withdrawal of the whole brigade to the newly made
trenches which had been carefully prepared was carried out without a
hitch, but in most unpleasantly wet weather.
The student, interested in the tactical movements of military forces,
rarely thinks of weather and other little details, but to the poor
suffering soldier weather, punctual or fairly punctual delivery of
rations (not forgetting the rum), baths, clean clothes, nature of
shelter by day and night, and even the phases of the moon seem almost
of more importance than the chance of a few casualties.
C.S.M. Stone and Sgt. Stock had been highly complimented during these
last few days, as was Corpl. Marsh for his good reconnoitring work;
but this occurred to the N.C.O.’s and men of the Buffs so frequently
from 1914 to 1918 that it is impossible to refer to all acts of
devotion and gallantry. It may well be noted, however, that on the
25th October C Company was resolutely attacked, the enemy getting
within seventy yards of their trench, and that Captain E. B. Chichester
showed all the gallantry of his English ancestry, cheering on his men
and showing a noble example till he fell mortally wounded. D Company
gallantly repulsed German attacks at 8 and at 9 o’clock and then
retired to a prepared position in rear. The Buffs’ casualties this day
were Captain Chichester and Lieut. Stock killed, Lieuts. R. W. Homan
and Child wounded, five other ranks killed, twenty wounded and two
missing.
About this time the discovery seems to have been made that officers
could be supplied not only from civilians in England, but from highly
trained, very gallant and thoroughly reliable non-commissioned
officers, who were daily adding to their war experience; so Company
Sergeant-Majors (C.S.M.) Nesbit and Stone, Sgts. Corrall, Stock and
Orwin, and a little later on Company Quarter-Master Sergeant (C.Q.M.S.)
Sayer, C.S.M. Kesby, C.S.M. Price, and Sgts. King, Hallan and Harris
were promoted to be 2nd Lieutenants. Most of them, alas, were sent out
of the regiment, which was a great blow, but of course the needs of the
Army as a whole must always be the first consideration.
[Illustration: RADINGHEM]
On the 5th November the death took place of Major-General R. G.
Kekewich,[4] C.B., Colonel of the Buffs; General the Right
Honourable Sir Arthur Paget,[5] P.C., G.C.B., K.C.V.O., was appointed
to succeed him.
On the 15th November Colonel H. C. de la M. Hill, the commanding
officer, was invalided home and Major McDouall temporarily took over
the battalion. This was the first of a long series of changes in the
command, which was the common fate of all units.
After the very strenuous attack by the Germans had died away the
1st Battalion had a longish spell of comparative quiet. Casualties,
which in one of our frequent minor wars would have made a stir, were
of regular occurrence and almost taken for granted; the records show
almost every day something like two killed and five wounded, and drafts
to replace these good fellows were fairly often arriving from England.
Later on the relief of units actually in the trenches by others in rear
occurred at short intervals, but it may be noted here that on the 24th
November the Buffs, when relieved by the Shropshire Light Infantry, had
been no less than four weeks and six days in the front line, east of
Bois Grenier.
During the winter the wet weather, followed by frosts, caused the sides
of the trenches to fall in, and the low-lying nature of the country
made it impossible to drain them properly; so it was decided, as a
temporary measure, to abandon the ditches themselves and build and
man breastworks in lieu. These were generally placed just in rear of
the old works so that the latter could be reoccupied when the weather
improved.
Of course, the long, dull and dreary trench warfare was not entirely
without incident. A poem by Captain C. W. Blackall[6] describes in
graphic verse how one of the ration carriers being a little late in
slipping into the safety of the trench was bowled over by the enemy
and was at first supposed to be dead, but he managed after a while to
crawl in somehow and in spite of his agony he brought in his sack of
bacon with him. That is the sort of spirit which, when it animates
everyone in an army, renders that force absolutely unconquerable. It
has often been the same. On the Indian frontier once a Buff soldier
was apparently killed. Someone bent over him to take any possible last
message. The man was in agony and shot in the stomach, but he could
just speak. “Where’s my bloody rifle?” was all he said.
On St. George’s Day, 1915, the enemy had the audacity to stick out
a flag at their sap head and on it was inscribed the words “Gott
strafe England.” 2nd Lieut. Corrall, Sergt. Vigors and Pte. Russell
disapproved of this, as showing an improperly defiant attitude, so they
crept out and triumphantly brought it in with them.
The Army Commander, Sir Horace Smith-Dorrien, inspected the battalion
in the spring and was much struck with the smart turn-out. Such is
custom and the result of training and education. The Buffs must be
smartly turned-out, and conditions and circumstances have nothing to do
with the matter.
It was on the 3rd May that the 1st Battalion and the rest of the
16th Brigade first heard of the German gas attacks, which occurred
north-east of Ypres and to which reference will be made in the next
chapter. Precautionary measures were taken, but the second battle of
Ypres did not greatly affect the troops so far south of the town as
was the 6th Division, but about 1,500 shells fell into Armentieres
on the 6th May. On the last day of this month a move was made to the
neighbourhood of Bailleul and Poperinghe--the village of Wittenhoek,
four miles south of the latter town, being the Buffs’ billet.
On the 2nd June it so happened that the 2nd Battalion, whose adventures
are now to be related, were in Poperinghe, and so, in the nature of
things, a meeting, which will be referred to later, had to be arranged.
It must be remembered in reading the foregoing pages, and indeed in
studying the next chapter also, that the enemy was, during the last
quarter of 1914 and early in the next year, making a well-organized and
very determined attempt to gain Calais and the coast of the English
Channel, and that enormous masses of men were devoted to this effort,
as well as artillery vastly superior in weight of metal to that which
our side could then by any possibility bring to bear. The English lines
of communication ran across the Channel, and it is a maxim of war that
if such lines are lost the army that relies on them must either win
an overwhelming victory or surrender. If Calais had been won by the
Germans the connection between England and her armies would have been
to a great extent severed, for how could reinforcements, munitions and
necessaries daily cross the Channel under heavy and continuous fire,
and repeated and constant attacks from submarine bases?
At Radinghem and at Ypres then, our regiment was helping to defend
England from a dreadful and unprecedented disaster, and Men of Kent
must further consider that to a certain extent, at any rate, the Buffs
were, more than any other regiment, defending their own homeland, for
if hostile batteries of modern long-range guns could have been planted
on Cape Gris Nez, not only would Dover harbour and dockyard have been
destroyed, but, knowing the Germans as we do now, we may be pretty
certain that Hythe, Folkestone, Sandgate and perhaps Deal would soon
have been in as ruinous a condition as were, a little later, Rheims,
Arras and Ypres.
Leaving the 1st Battalion for a while doing its duty in the
neighbourhood of Poperinghe, we will now turn our attention to the
story of the 2nd Battalion from India.