THE LAST SUMMER
The remainder of June was spent pleasantly in rest billets, disturbed
only by the first of the great influenza epidemics, which, pursuing a
mild course, resulted in no deaths, but caused the evacuation in all
of 112 men. On the 20th the Division lost their Commander, Sir R.
Fanshawe, who returned home. He had commanded us for more than three
years; devoted to the care of his Division and to the task of
defeating the enemy, he demanded in everything the same high standard
which he always set himself. A frequent visitor to the trenches, he
did not reserve his appearance for quiet times; at Pozières and
Ronssoy, for example, he was on the captured ground at the heels of
his infantry. Therefore, he retained the confidence of the men
throughout, in good days and bad.
Our sojourn in the plains was prolonged during the first twenty days
of July under the full heat of summer, all moves being made in the
early hours of the morning. On 12th July the Battalion had the
satisfaction of winning the Divisional Signal Competition.
The ten days spent in the line were devoid of incident, one man only
being wounded by a shell, and on the 30th July a return was made to
Marziele for ten days, where a terrific storm one night blew down all
the tents and bivouacs. The 10th August found them again in the
mountains taking over from the 6th Gloucesters the extreme left of the
divisional line. The war had now entered upon its penultimate stage
with the splendid Allied victories of 18th July and 8th August; the
enemy had lost everywhere the initiative, and was not to have the
chance of regaining it. Although the Italians did not feel themselves
capable at present of any important attack, the Austrians were not
left in peace. Large-scale raids resulting often in the capture of
hundreds of prisoners, were undertaken without respite by the French
and British, provoking no attempt at retaliation.
Nor was the Battalion without share in these activities. The ground
was first prepared for a full-dress raid by offensive patrols. On
August 16th Lieut. Baxton attacked and bombed a party of the enemy on
Coda Spur, the bombs falling clean among them. On the 15th a similar
party under 2nd Lieut. Crawford shot five Austrians, who were
patrolling their own wire, and who, when challenged, with fatal
stupidity, halted and stood outlined against the skyline, an easy
mark.
The time was now ripe for a more ambitious effort. The Battalion was
withdrawn for a few days to Granezza, and returning to the trenches on
the evening of the 26th, made a successful raid that same night in
conjunction with the Bucks on our left. The attack was to be directed
against the enemy trenches on either side of Asiago, the point of
junction between the Battalions being at the south-east corner of the
town. All four Companies were engaged; C on the right was to form a
defensive flank within the enemy's trenches; B, on the left, was to
seize the front line before Asiago, where A, passing through, would
secure the support line, and allow D Company in turn, passing through
them, to explore the southernmost limits of the town, and join hands
with the Bucks. The withdrawal was to be in inverse order--_i.e._, C
and B were to hold the captured positions until the other two
Companies had been safely passed back.
Zero hour was 10.40 p.m., and there had been no preliminary barrage.
The Companies had moved out from our outpost line at 9 p.m. and got
into striking position after safely traversing the wide intervening
area. As they lay waiting for the fiery signal, the enemy began to
show nervousness; they had probably heard something suspicious, but
could not see far, as clouds obscured the moon, and a white mist hung
in the valley. They fired lights and rifle grenades and a few shells
during the last half-hour before the bombardment opened, but caused no
serious inconvenience. The barrage worked well; 32 minutes elapsed
before it completed its shift from the front line to the final
objective, which also it enclosed in a frame of shells on either
flank. Here it remained for one hour, after which it died gradually
away, as the withdrawal progressed. C Company reached and held their
objective on the right with little difficulty, extracting 50 prisoners
from the trenches and dugouts. B were equally successful, though a
little hand-to-hand fighting was necessary to force an entrance on
their right; they found the trenches shallow and ruinous, with few
occupants (they could only collect six prisoners), and the dugouts in
the quarry behind were wholly untenanted. The enemy annoyed them
during their occupation of the trench with continuous shell-fire. A
Company, according to programme, now passed through them in small
columns, but as their commander was hit at this difficult moment, they
lost direction and got mixed up with the Bucks, so that only one
platoon met the enemy, who showed some fight in houses and dugouts
near his support line. D Company successfully reached their objective,
the enemy flying wildly before them and leaving four only in their
hands. Those houses of Asiago which they searched were neither
garrisoned nor fortified. The withdrawal took place with surprising
ease, without even being troubled by systematic shell-fire. Prisoners
were handed in to the 144th Brigade and receipts were given for 72;
but it seems that nearly 100 was the actual bag. Casualties were
fairly numerous, amounting in all to 77, but very light in character,
only one man being killed and four missing, while of the wounded 26
remained on duty. The majority of wounds was due to shell-fire and
unaimed machine-gun bullets, as there was very little genuine
fighting. Many awards were made in connection with this well-executed
operation; they are given in an appendix. I may mention here that
Captain Cawley, who was wounded, received the M.C. and the Italian
Silver Medal, and C.S.-M. Alder the same Italian decoration, together
with the D.C.M.
September passed quite quietly in alternations between the front line
and Granezza. The Battalion was now under the command of Colonel
Whitehead, who succeeded, but did not replace, Colonel Lloyd Baker. He
was a brave man, but of a narrow and unsympathetic school, staled by
continuous service throughout the war.
October brought no change except in the weather, which declined
suddenly to autumn on the hilltops, with night-frosts and continuous
violent rain. The Austrians were still harassed perpetually by
enormous and invariably successful raids, by bombardments and aerial
bombing, to which they submitted with the patience of necessity.
The absence of any great concerted attempt to destroy them seemed
almost inexplicable to our troops, as they heard of all the great
works which were being performed against their enemies elsewhere.
Already had Bulgaria fallen; the last Turkish Army had been dissolved;
the German line was crumbling to pieces under the remorseless hammer
of the British; and the interchange of Notes with America foreshadowed
the end of the war. The Italians, however, were determined to wait
until the possibility of failure had been reduced to a minimum, and
doubtless they were the best judges of the capacity of their own
troops. Thus it was not until 25th October that they launched the blow
which was to prove the destruction of the Austrian Empire.