THE BATTLE OF THE SOMME
The Operations of Gough's Army upon the Northern
Flank up to September 15
Advance, Australia!--Capture of Pozières--Fine work of Forty-eighth
Division--Relief of Australia by Canada--Steady advance of Gough's
Army--Capture of Courcelette.
All the fighting which has been described was carried out by
Rawlinson's Fourth Army, consisting of the Third, the Fifteenth, and
the Thirteenth Corps. A new element was now, however, introduced
upon the left flank. It will be remembered that Sir Hubert Gough had
been given a Fifth or reserve army, consisting of the Eighth and
Tenth Corps, with which to hold the flank. Of these, the Tenth,
including the Forty-ninth, Forty-eighth, and First Australian
Divisions, was now pushed forward into the fighting, with the
intention of attacking Pozières and widening the British front.
This was the first serious appearance of the Australians upon a
European battle-field, and it may be said at once that the high
reputation which they had gained as dogged and dashing fighters in
the Gallipoli campaign was fully endorsed in France. {190} From
General Birdwood, their admirable leader, down through every unit of
their divisions, there ran an indomitable spirit, united to an
individuality and readiness of resource which made them soldiers of
the highest type. Their physique, too, was extraordinarily fine, and
even the stay-at-home Londoner who had seen the lithe figures and the
eager, clean-cut, aquiline faces under the broad-rimmed hats,
bringing a touch of romance into our drab streets, would need no
assurance that the men were splendid. A nation of sportsmen had
changed themselves very easily into a nation of soldiers. Of all the
strange turns of fate in this extraordinary war, surely there are few
more quaint than that the black-fellow call of "Cooee!" should many a
time have resounded at the crisis of a European battle.
As the First Australian Division lay upon July 22, it had the
straggling and strongly entrenched village of Pozières in front of
it. Upon the right they were in touch with the First Division
filling the gap between Pozières and Bazentin, as described at the
beginning of Chapter VII. On their left was the Forty-eighth
Division of South Midland Territorials. The village had been reduced
to a mere rubbish-heap by the guns, but was none the less dangerous
on that account.
On the early morning of July 23, before it was light, the Australians
made their first eruption into the Somme fighting. "The difficulty,"
as their chronicler truly declares, "was not to get the men forward,
but to hold them." With an eager rush the men of New South Wales
overwhelmed the front trench across the face of the village. It was
dotted with German bodies, killed by the artillery. The {191} second
trench in the village itself was found to be obliterated in places.
It was occupied as far as possible after a sharp hand-to-hand fight,
and daylight found the Australians, chiefly Victorians, in full
possession of the southern and western end of the village. There was
no counter-attack during July 23, and the day was spent in
consolidating and in rounding-up prisoners from the dug-outs. For
three days there was very heavy German shelling, but the division had
served too long an apprenticeship to be shaken by such means. They
lay low and held on tightly.
On Tuesday, July 25, came the first German attack, but it was broken
up so completely by the British barrage that the Australians had only
distant glimpses of the enemy infantry crawling from under the sleet
which beat upon them. The merciless pounding of the bombardment
continued, and then again in the late afternoon came another infantry
attack, which was again scattered by the dominant all-observing guns.
Up to now 150 prisoners, including two German colonels, had fallen
into our hands.
Whilst the Australians had been attacking Pozières from the south,
the Forty-eighth Division had made a similar advance from the
south-west, and had made good the ground upon the left side of the
Albert-Bapaume Road, including the western outskirts of the village
and part of the Leipzig salient. In our admiration for our kinsmen
from across the seas we must not forget, nor will they, that these
lads from the very heart of rural England went step by step with them
up Pozières Hill, and shared the victory which awaited them upon it.
The 143rd Brigade, consisting entirely of Warwick {192} battalions
(5, 6, 7, and 8), the 144th of Glosters (4 and 6) and Worcesters (7
and 8), and the 145th from Gloucester (5), Buckingham, Oxford and
Buckingham (4), and Berkshire (4), took it in turns to surge up
against the formidable German line, showing the greatest valour and
perseverance, overcoming difficulty after difficulty, and always
getting slowly forward from the first movement upon July 22, until
upon July 26 they had overcome every obstacle and joined hands with
the Australians at the cemetery which marks the north end of the
village of Pozières. Many prisoners and a fine extension of the line
were the fruits of their exertions. The 5th Royal Sussex Pioneer
Battalion, amidst considerable difficulties and heavy shell-fire,
consolidated all that had been won. The 4th Gloucesters and 7th
Worcesters particularly distinguished themselves at this time by
their persistent day-by-day work against the German trench line.
On the morning of July 26 the Australian advance was resumed. There
were two obstacles immediately in front--the one a strong redoubt,
the other a line of trench. The redoubt was most gallantly attacked
by the men of Queensland and of South Australia, and was overwhelmed
by their bombs. The Victorians, meanwhile, had won their way into
the trench, but as it communicated by many runways with the main
German system behind, an endless flow of reinforcements were able to
come into it, and the length of the trench enabled the Germans to
attack upon both flanks. It was a most bloody and desperate conflict
which swung and swayed down the long ditches, and sometimes over the
edges of them into the bullet-swept levels between. Men threw {193}
and threw until they were so arm-weary that not another bomb could be
lifted. If ever there were born natural bombers it must surely be
among the countrymen of Spofforth and Trumble--and so it proved at
that terrible international by Pozières village. A British aeroplane
swooped down out of the misty morning, and gave signals of help and
advice from above, so as to dam that ever-moving stream of
reinforcement.
The trenches in dispute were of no vital importance themselves, but
they were the outposts of the great German second line which
stretched behind its broad apron of barbed wire within a few hundred
yards to the north-east of the village. The ground sloped upwards,
and the Germans were on the crest. This was the next objective of
the Australians, and was attacked by their Second Division on July
29. On the flank of the hill to the left the Victorians won a
lodgment, but the main position was still impregnable--and almost
unapproachable. Sullenly and slowly the infantry fell back to their
own trenches, leaving many of their best and bravest before or among
the fatal wires.
The position had been improved upon the left, however, by an advance
of the Forty-eighth Division. The Warwick Brigade upon their right
made no great progress, but the 145th Brigade upon the left took the
trench in front of it and pushed that flank well forward. This
successful attack was at seven in the evening of July 27. The
leading battalions were the 4th Berks upon the right and the 6th
Gloucesters on the left, and these two sturdy battalions captured all
their objectives. A number of the 5th Regiment of the Prussian Guard
were killed or captured in this {194} affair. As the whole line had
to turn half left after leaving the taking-off trench, it was a fine
piece of disciplined fighting. General Gough was a personal witness
of this attack.
On August 4, six days later, the Australians came back to the attack
with all the dour pertinacity of their breed. This time their
success was triumphant. A steady bombardment had laid the German
front open, and in the dark of the night the Australian infantry,
advancing over their own dead, rushed the position, surprising the
Germans at a moment when a relief was being carried out. Many of the
Germans who had been expecting a rest from their labours got one
indeed--but it was in England rather than in their own rear. With
the early morning the Australians were on the Pozières Ridge, and one
of the few remaining observation posts of the enemy had passed from
him for ever. In front of them was the land of promise--the long
slope seamed by German trenches, the distant German camps, the
churches and villages of that captive France which they had come so
far to redeem.
Once again the left flank of the Australians was in close
co-operation with a British Division. The Forty-eighth had been
withdrawn and replaced by the Twelfth, a division which was rapidly
acquiring a very solid reputation in the army. The men of the 7th
Sussex upon the right and those of Surrey and of Kent upon the left
were in the front of the battle-line, which rolled slowly up the
slope of Pozières, continually driving the German resistance before
it. The ground gained early in August was some 2000 yards of
frontage with a depth of 400 yards, and though the whole ridge, and
the Windmill {195} which marks it, had not yet been cleared, the fact
that the British had a good foothold upon it was of the utmost
strategical importance, apart from the continual stream of prisoners
who fell into their hands. The Sussex battalion linked up with the
Australians, and nothing could have been closer than the co-operation
between the two, so much so that it is on record that with a glorious
recklessness a bunch of Australians pushed forward without orders in
order to keep the Sussex men company in one of their attacks. The
South Saxons have again and again shown that there is no more solid
military material in England. It is said that a rampant pig with "We
won't be druv!" as a motto was an old emblem of that ancient county.
Her sons assuredly lived up to the legend during the War.
On the morning of the 6th and of the 7th two counter-attacks stormed
up to the new British line. The first was small and easily repelled,
a sporadic effort by some gallant hot-headed officer, who died in the
venture, clicking his Mauser to the last. The second was serious,
for three battalions came very gallantly forwards, and a sudden rush
of 1500 Germans, some of whom carried _flammenwerfer_, burst into the
trenches at two separate points, making prisoners of some 50
Australians who were cut off from their comrades. The attack was
bravely delivered in broad daylight, the enemy coming on in good line
in the face of severe fire; but the Australians, with their usual
individuality, rallied, and not only repulsed the enemy, but captured
many of them, besides recapturing the prisoners whom they had taken.
This was the supreme German attempt to recapture the position, but
they were by no means able to {196} reconcile themselves to the loss
of it, and came on again and again in smaller assaults spread over
several days, which had no result save to increase their already very
heavy losses in this region.
This _flammenwerfer_ attack had broken also upon the outposts of the
36th Brigade to the left, eight of these infernal machines coming
forward with a throng of bombers behind them. The captain of the 9th
Royal Fusiliers, instead of awaiting the attack in a crowded trench,
rushed his men forward in the open, where they shot down the
flame-bearers before they could bring their devilish squirts to bear.
The bombers, who had followed the advance, led the flight. On this
day 127 Germans who had been caught in a pocket between the British
trenches were forced to surrender, after a very creditable resistance.
On August 12 the Twelfth Division attacked once more upon a broad
front, the 35th Brigade upon the right, the 37th upon the left. The
result of the attack was a satisfactory accession of ground, for
although the Surreys and West Kents were held up, the Norfolks and
Essex attained their objective and held it. Some 40 prisoners and a
useful line of trench were the results. That night the 48th South
Midlanders replaced the Twelfth Division once more, resuming their
old station upon the left of the Australians, whose various divisions
rang changes upon each other, men from every corner of the great
island continent, from the burning plains of the Northern Territories
to the wind-swept hills of Tasmania, relieving each other in the
ever-advancing line of trenches and strong points which slowly ate
into the German front. One day it was the West Australians who blew
back an attack with their rifle {197} fire. On the next it was the
Melbourne men who had rushed another position. On the summit of the
Ridge was the stump of an old windmill, which lay now between the two
lines, and it was towards this and along the slope of the crest that
the advance was gradually creeping. It is worth noting that in this
part of the line some sort of amenity was introduced concerning the
wounded, and that neither party sniped the other so long as a Red
Cross flag was shown. It is grievous to think that such a condition
needs to be recorded.
August 10 and 11 witnessed two night attacks by the 4th and 6th
Gloucesters respectively, neither of which made much progress. The
Territorials of the Forty-eighth Division still kept step, however,
with the Australians in all that desperate advance up the long slope
of Pozières Hill, the two units striving in a generous rivalry of
valour, which ended in deep mutual confidence and esteem.
On August 14 the enemy counter-attacked with some vigour, and
momentarily regained a trench near the windmill. On the 15th the
line had been restored. On the 17th there was a strong attack in six
successive lines upon the Forty-eighth British and the First
Australian Divisions, but it had no result. On the 18th, however,
the 5th and 6th Warwicks paid a return visit with great success,
carrying three lines of trenches and capturing 600 prisoners. This
was a very fine exploit, carried out at 5 P.M. of a summer evening.
It was about this date that a new movement began upon the British
left, which extended their line of battle. Since the capture of
Ovillers, a month before, the flank of the army to the left of the
attack {198} upon Pozières had been guarded by the Forty-ninth
Division of Yorks Territorials, but no attack had been attempted in
this quarter. On August 18 the Twenty-fifth Division relieved the
Forty-ninth, and an advance upon a small scale which gradually
assumed more importance was started in the direction of Thiepval, the
German village fortress of sinister reputation, which lay upon the
left flank on the hither side of the River Ancre. Upon this General
Gough had now fixed a menacing gaze, and though his advance was
gradual, it was none the less inexorable until his aim had been
attained; and not only Thiepval itself but the important heights to
the north and east of it which dominate the valley of the Ancre were
in the hands of his persevering troops. The first obstacles in his
path were a stronghold named the Leipzig Redoubt, and to the east of
it a widespread farm, now spread even wider by British shells. This
nest of snipers and machine-guns was known as Mouquet Farm. Upon the
19th, as part of the general attack along the line, which will be
more fully dealt with elsewhere, not only was our Pozières front
pushed forward past the windmill for 300 yards, but the 1st
Wiltshires of the Twenty-fifth Division, operating upon the left of
the Forty-eighth, which in turn was on the left of the Australians,
made an important lodgment on the high ground to the south of
Thiepval. The Forty-eighth Division also made some advance, the 4th
Gloucesters upon the night of the 19th capturing 400 yards of trench
with 200 prisoners. Their comrades of the 6th Battalion had less
fortune, however, in an attack upon the German trenches on August 22,
when they had two companies partially destroyed by machine-gun fire,
while every officer {199} engaged was hit, including Major Coates,
who was killed. On this same day there was again an Australian
advance near Pozières, whilst at the other end of the line, which was
biting like acid into the German defences, the Twenty-fifth Division
began to encroach upon the Leipzig salient, and were within 1000
yards of Thiepval. In this entirely successful attack a new
invention, the push pipe-line, was used for the first time with some
success, having the double effect of blowing up the enemy's strong
point, and of forming a rudimentary communication trench in the track
of its explosion. In this connection it may be stated generally that
while the Germans, with their objects clear in front of them, had
used before the War far greater ingenuity than the British in warlike
invention, as witness the poison gas, _minenwerfer_ and
flame-throwers, their methods became stereotyped after War broke out;
while the more individual Britons showed greater ingenuity and
constructive ability, so that by the end of 1916 they had attained a
superiority upon nearly every point. Their heavy artillery, light
machine-guns, aeroplanes, bombs, trench-mortars, and gas apparatus
were all of the very best; and in their tanks they were soon to take
an entirely new departure in warfare. It is as difficult in our
British system to fix the responsibility for good as for evil, but
there is ample evidence of a great discriminating intelligence in the
heart of our affairs.
The Hindenburg Trench was the immediate object of these attacks, and
on August 24 a stretch of it, containing 150 occupants, was carried.
A pocket of Germans was left at one end of it, who held on manfully
and made a successful resistance against a {200} company of the 8th
North Lancashires, who tried to rush them. Ultimately, however,
these brave men were all taken or killed.
Day by day the line crept on, and before the end of the month the
1000 yards had become 500, whilst every advance yielded some new
trench with a crop of prisoners. The enemy was fully alive, however,
to the great importance of the Thiepval position, which would give
the British guns an opportunity of raking Beaumont Hamel and their
other strongholds upon the north of the Ancre. A very strong
counter-attack was made, therefore, by some battalions of the
Prussian Guard on the evening of August 25, preceded by a shattering
bombardment. The attack--the edge of which was blunted by the
British barrage--fell mainly upon the 7th Brigade of the Twenty-fifth
Division. The result was a German defeat, and the menacing line drew
ever nearer to Thiepval, though an attack by the North Lancs upon the
Prussian Fusilier Guards upon August 28 was not successful. On the
day before, however, the Forty-eighth Division upon the right of the
Twenty-fifth made a successful advance, taking a good line of trench
with 100 of the redoubtable Guards. Between Thiepval and Pozières
the ruins of Mouquet Farm had been taken by the West Australians and
the Tasmanians, and was found to be a perfect warren of snipers, so
that it was some time before it was absolutely clear. On the
Pozières Ridge ground and prisoners were continually being gained,
and the trenches between the Ridge and Mouquet Farm were cleared by
Queensland on the right and by Tasmania on the left. It was a most
spirited fight, where Australian and Prussian stood up to each other
within short bomb-throw. But {201} nothing could stand against the
fire of the attack. The whole line of trench upon the right was
captured. There was a dangerous gap, however, upon the Tasmanian
left, and this the Tasmanians were compelled to endure for two days
and nights, during which they were hard pressed by never-ending
shelling and incessant German attacks. It is on record that their
constant reports of their parlous state sent on to headquarters
concluded always with the words: "But we will hold on." If Tasmania
needs a motto, she could find no better one, for her sons lived and
died up to it during those terrible hours. When at last they were
relieved, their numbers were sorely reduced, but their ground was
still intact. At the other side of the gap, however, the West
Australians, hard pressed by an overpowering bombardment, had been
pushed out from Mouquet Farm, which came back into German hands,
whence it was destined soon to pass.
It was during this severe fighting that a little scene occurred
which, as described by Mr. Bean, the very able Australian chronicler,
must stir the blood of every Imperialist. A single officer "of
middle age, erect, tough as wire, with lines on his face such as hard
fighting and responsibility leave on every soldier," appeared in the
Australian communication trenches, asking to see the
officer-in-charge. He spoke the same tongue but with a different
intonation as he explained his mission. He was the forerunner of the
relieving force, and the First Division of Canada was taking over the
line from Australia--a line which was destined to bring glory to each
of them. Surely a great historical picture might be made in more
peaceful times of this first contact of the two great nations {202}
of the future, separated by half the world from each other, and yet
coming together amid blood and fire at the call of the race. An hour
later, Canadian Highlanders in a long buoyant line were pushing
swiftly forward to occupy the trenches which Australia had won and
held. "Australians and Canadians," says Mr. Bean, "fought for
thirty-six hours in those trenches inexorably mixed, working under
each other's officers. Their wounded helped each other from the
front. Their dead lie, and will lie, through all the centuries,
hastily buried, beside the tumbled trenches and shell-holes where,
fighting as mates, they died." So ended the Australian epic upon the
Somme. It is to be remembered that the New Zealanders formed an
entirely separate division, whose doings will presently be considered.
Whilst the Overseas troops had been fighting hard before Pozières,
there had been a considerable movement upon their left to attack
northwards along the Thiepval Spur. This was carried out by the
Thirty-ninth Division north of the Ancre, the Forty-ninth and the
Twenty-fifth upon September 3. Some ground was gained, but the
losses were heavy, especially in the 75th Brigade, where the 2nd
South Lancashires suffered considerably. This battalion had been in
shallow trenches exposed to fire and weather for six days previous to
the attack, and was greatly worn. This attack was part of the
general battle of September 3, but from Mouquet Farm northwards it
cannot be said to have given any adequate return for our losses.
Our narrative of the events upon the left wing of the army has now
got in front of the general account, but as the operations of General
Gough's force have {203} definite objectives of their own, the story
may now be continued up to September 15, after which we can leave
this flank altogether for a time and concentrate upon the happenings
in the centre, and especially upon the right flank where Delville
Wood, Ginchy and Guillemont had presented such impediments to the
advance. At or about the time, September 4, when the Canadians took
over the lines of the Australians at Pozières and Mouquet Farm, the
Eleventh British Division, the First English Division of the New
Army, which had come back from hard service in the East, relieved the
Twenty-fifth Division upon the Canadian left. For a week there was
quiet upon this part of the line, for a great forward move along the
whole eleven-mile front had been planned for September 15, and this
was the lull before the storm. On the evening before this great
assault, the Eleventh Division crept up to and carried the main
German stronghold, called the Wonderwork, which lay between them and
Thiepval. There was some sharp bayonet work, and the defeated
garrison flying towards Thiepval ran into the barrage so that the
enemy losses were heavy, while the British line crept up to within
350 yards of the village. This advance stopped for ever the flank
fire by which the Germans were able to make Mouquet Farm almost
untenable, and the Canadians were able to occupy it. The capture of
the Wonderwork was carried out by Price's 32nd Infantry Brigade of
Yorkshire troops. The most of the work and the heaviest losses fell
upon the 9th West Yorks, but the 8th West Ridings and the 6th Yorks
were both engaged, the latter losing their colonel, Forsyth. The
total casualties came to 26 officers and 742 men.
On September 15 the Eleventh Division held the {204} flank in front
of Thiepval, but the Second and Third Canadian Divisions shared in
the general advance, and pushed forward their line over the Pozières
Ridge and down for 1000 yards of the slope in front, joining hands
with the Fifteenth Scottish Division in Martinpuich upon the right.
This fine advance crossed several German trenches, took the fortified
position of the Sugar Refinery, and eventually included in its scope
the village of Courcelette, which had not been included in the
original scheme. All Canada, from Halifax in the east to Vancouver
in the west, was represented in this victory; and it was particularly
pleasing that the crowning achievement--the capture of
Courcelette--was carried out largely by the 22nd Battalion of the 5th
Brigade French Canadians of the Second Division. French Canada, like
Ireland, has been diverted somewhat by petty internal influences from
taking a wide and worthy view of the great struggle against German
conquest, but it can truly be said in both cases that the fine
quality of those who came did much to atone for the apathy of those
who stayed. Thirteen hundred German prisoners were brought back by
the Canadians. During the Courcelette operations, the Third Canadian
Division was working upon the left flank of the Second as it attacked
the village, protecting it from enfilade attack. The work and the
losses in this useful movement fell chiefly upon the 8th Brigade.
This considerable victory was, as will afterwards be shown, typical
of what had occurred along the whole line upon that great day of
battle and victory. It was followed, so far as the Canadians were
concerned, by a day of heavy sacrifice and imperfect success. The
Third Division, still operating upon the left of {205} the Second,
endeavoured to carry the formidable Zollern Trench and Zollern
Redoubt to the north of Courcelette. The 7th and 9th Brigades were
in the attacking line, but the former was held up from the beginning.
The latter got forward, but found itself confronted by the inevitable
barbed wire, which stayed its progress. No good was done, and two
gallant battalions, the 60th (Montreal) and the 52nd (New Ontario),
lost 800 men between them. The operation was suspended until it
could be renewed upon a larger scale and a broader front.
At this point we may suspend our account of the operations of Gough's
Fifth Army, while we return to the Fourth Army upon the south, and
bring the record of its work up to this same date. Afterwards, we
shall return to the Fifth Army and describe the successful operations
by which it cleared the Thiepval Ridge, gained command of the Ancre
Valley, and finally created a situation which was directly
responsible for the great German retreat in the early spring of 1917.
{206}