THE OPERATIONS OF RAWLINSON'S FOURTH ARMY
From the Battle of the Hindenburg Line (September
29) to the Battle of the Selle, October 17
The first American operations--The rupture of the Hindenburg
Line--Predicament of Twenty-Seventh American Division--Their gallant
resistance--Great Australian attack--Remarkable feat by the
Forty-Sixth North Midland Territorial Division--Exeunt the Third
Corps and the Australians--Entrance of the Thirteenth Corps--Rupture
of the Beaurevoir line--Advance to the Selle River.
Turning to Rawlinson's Fourth Army, which were last seen in contact
with the old Hindenburg Line along its formidable front from
Vandhuile on the left to Gricourt on the right, it will be remembered
that it consisted of Butler's Third Corps on the left, the Australian
Corps in the centre, and Braithwaite's Ninth Corps on the right in
contact with the French. The time had now come for an attack on the
largest scale in order to endeavour to carry this Chinese Wall of
Germany by storm. The part assigned to the Third Corps in this
important operation was not a large one, and their front was now
contracted to 2000 yards, while two of their divisions, the
Fifty-eighth Londoners and the Seventy-fourth Yeomanry, were
transferred to another area. There {150} remained only the Twelfth
and Eighteenth Divisions in line, which had to cover the left flank
of the main attack which was to be made by the Australian and Second
American Corps, and by Braithwaite's Ninth Corps to the south of them.
[Sidenote: Sept. 27.]
At this point the great Canal de l'Escaut passes under a tunnel which
is nearly six miles in length. Thus it is the only place in the
whole line where tanks could be used to advantage. The general plan
was that this section of the line should be carried by the Second
American Corps as far north as the northern entrance of the tunnel.
This done they would extend their gains to the left in a
north-easterly direction beyond Vandhuile, so as to open up a way for
the Fifth Corps. After the line had been taken Australian Divisions
were to move forward through the Americans and push the advantage to
the east. The rôle of the Third Corps was to cover the left of the
Americans, and then, when the latter had moved northwards, to mop up
Vandhuile, establish bridge-heads east of that point, and bridge the
canal for the Thirty-eighth Welsh Division on the right of the Fifth
Corps to get across.
Before the general attack which took place on that _dies irae_,
September 29, the Americans had a brisk fight of their own, which
deserves some special mention as it was the first large operation of
an American force acting as part of a British Army. The Second
American Army Corps (General Read) had been specially selected to
lead the attack on September 29, and as a preparation for this great
effort they were ordered to make some advance along their whole front
in order to gain an advantageous point from which to start. They lay
roughly along {151} the front of the Hindenburg outpost line, but
they needed to draw up closer to the main line before the day of
battle. On the night of September 24, General O'Ryan's
Twenty-seventh American Division from New York on the left relieved
the Eighteenth and Seventy-fourth British Divisions, taking over a
front of 4500 yards opposite to Gouy. The defences immediately
before them were particularly strong, including the notorious danger
points, the Knoll, Quinnemont Farm, and Guillemont Farm. The 53rd
American Brigade (Pierce) took over the line, with the 106th Infantry
Regiment in front and the 105th in support. The entire American
front was from near Vandhuile in the north to Bellicourt in the south.
The tunnel, which formed a special feature in the next great battle,
deserves some description, as it was a remarkable feature dating back
to the First Empire, and still bearing upon its arches the laconic N
of the great Corsican. It is 6000 yards long and averages 50 feet
below the surface, with a breadth of about 70 feet. The Germans had
converted it into an extraordinary military work, for it was stuffed
with barges in which a whole division could take absolute refuge from
the heaviest barrage ever launched. There were all sorts of
bolt-holes in every direction for getting in or out, and there were
powerful machine-gun emplacements along the top. Altogether it was
as awkward a nut to crack as any military engineer could conceive.
The main Hindenburg Line lay a couple of hundred yards west of the
tunnel, a heavily-wired system of trenches. About a mile farther
east was a strong support line joining the villages of Nauroy and Le
Catelet, while {152} two or three miles farther on was yet another
strong position, known as the Beaurevoir line. The way in which
Americans, Australians, and British combined with equal valour to
hunt the Germans out of this terrific series of positions is a story
which will go down in the common traditions of the English-speaking
race.
At 5.30 A.M. on September 27 there was the preliminary operation,
already mentioned, which should gain the ground necessary for the
jumping-off place. This was done by General Lewis' Thirtieth
American Division on the right with little difficulty. It was
different with the Twenty-seventh on the left. On this flank a depth
of about 1100 yards had to be gained, coinciding roughly with the
rearmost trenches of the Hindenburg outpost line. This task was
carried out by the 106th Infantry with all three battalions in line
and four tanks ahead of each battalion. The leading companies,
following the barrage, reached their objectives in most cases, but
were involved in desperate fighting at the points already mentioned,
which were connected by cross-cuts with the main German line, from
which there flowed an endless supply of reinforcements. All day
attack and counter-attack followed each other, both parties fighting
with great valour and enduring heavy loss. By night the 53rd
American Brigade was well advanced on its right, but its left was
still battling hard to reach the allotted line: 8 officers and 259
Germans had been taken in the fighting. That night the 54th Brigade
(Blanding) took over the new front and lay ready for the coming
battle, with the 108th Infantry on the right and the 107th on the
left. On the front of the Thirtieth Division {153} the 60th Brigade
(Faison) was in line, with the 119th and 120th Infantry in the van,
the latter to the right, in touch with the British Ninth Corps to the
south of them.
[Sidenote: Sept. 29.]
The task which lay before the New Yorkers of the Twenty-seventh
American Division was particularly difficult, because the men were so
scattered over 1100 yards of depth that the barrage had to be thrown
forward to cover that area of ground. Thus the main body of the
stormers had to cross that space before getting the full protection
of the artillery. There were no American guns in action, but the
British artillery was as splendidly efficient as ever, crashing down
at 5.30 A.M. upon the starting line, where it lingered for four
minutes and then advanced at the rate of 100 yards in every four
minutes. The German barrage came down instantly in reply, and though
it was not very heavy it inflicted considerable damage upon the
supporting troops. What with fog and smoke it was difficult to see
more than a few feet in any direction, and this was a great advantage
to the stormers, the more so to troops who are so individual as the
Americans. The Thirtieth Division on the right, a unit raised in the
Carolinas and Tennessee, dashed through the main Hindenburg Line in
the most gallant fashion, capturing Bellicourt on the way, while the
veteran Australian Fifth Division passed through their cheering ranks
after they had reached their allotted limit. The 117th American
Regiment on the right was in close touch to the south with the
Forty-sixth British Division, whose fine advance is chronicled
elsewhere, so that the British, American, and Australian dead lay
along the same battle-line. {154} The 120th American Regiment on the
left had taken and held Nauroy, but had been forced to bend its line
back at the north end as far as the tunnel, on account of the fire
which beat upon them on that flank.
The Twenty-seventh Division had met with grave difficulties from the
start, for the tanks encountered mines and traps, while the infantry
as already explained had practically no barrage, and found a strongly
posted enemy in front of them. The men behaved with the utmost
gallantry and the officers led them with great devotion, but no
troops in the world could have carried the defences under such
circumstances. For a thousand yards north of the inter-divisional
boundary, near the village of Bony, they got into the main line, and
from point to point all along the front bold parties pushed forward
as far as Gouy and Le Catelet, many of whom never got back. The more
successful were ruined by their own success, for as the mist rose it
was found that in their swift advance they had left many pockets and
strong points behind them which fired into their backs when they rose
to advance. The Third Australians, following up the attack, could do
little to make matters better, for all this part of the field of
battle was such a complete mix-up, and the two armies were so
dovetailed into each other, that it was impossible to use artillery,
and yet the situation was such that without artillery it was quixotic
madness for the infantry to advance. The reinforcing Australians
were held up on the line between the Knoll and Guillemont Farm.
Groups of brave men gathered together from time to time, and stormed
up to Guillemont and Quinnemont Farms, which were among {155} the
most deadly of the German strongholds. A British Divisional General
assured the present chronicler immediately after the action that he
had never seen the dead lie so thick at any spot during the war as
the Americans lay round Guillemont Farm. Neither the blue-clad
infantry of Grant nor the grey Confederates of Lee showed a higher
spirit than the khaki-clad lads who fought alongside the British that
day. The best that could be done, however, was to hold such ground
as had been gained, and to wait until the advance of the Fifth
Australians from the south, and of the Eighteenth British Division
from the north, should make all their section of line untenable for
the Germans. The Twenty-seventh Americans and Third Australians had
in the meantime held on to every inch of ground they had gained, and
also to every prisoner whom they had taken. On the night of
September 30, the Americans, shattered in numbers, but with unabated
spirit, were withdrawn from the line. Altogether 40 officers and
1100 men had been taken from the enemy.[1]
[1] It was the privilege of the present writer to see the actual
operations during this decisive action which broke the Hindenburg
Line. His account, written at the time, of his personal experience
is too slight for the text, but has been reproduced in the Appendix,
where it can be consulted or avoided by the reader.
It is necessary now to state the difficult and confused events of
September 29 from the point of view of the Fifth Australian Division,
who had almost as severe a day as their compatriots on the left.
General Hobbs' Division went forward with the 8th Brigade on the
right, which was in constant touch with the British troops. On the
left was the 15th Brigade, which eventually found its northern flank
in the air on account of the hold-up {156} in that quarter. At 9.40
the line of the 8th Brigade passed Bellicourt, which the Americans
had cleared. As they advanced, however, they were scourged by a very
heavy fire from the direction of Nauroy. At midday the 32nd
Battalion of Australians on the right were in touch with the 4th
Leicesters on Knobkerry Hill. As the Brigade advanced they came upon
concrete pill-boxes of the familiar type behind Nauroy which caused
heavy losses. Joncourt on the right was taken by the 32nd Battalion,
and at 8 in the evening the general line of Nauroy-Le Catelet had
been reached.
The 15th Brigade on the left had the harder task. The fog and the
rapidity of the American advance had combined to leave a number of
machine-guns still active, and there was constant opposition. Touch
was maintained with the 44th Battalion of the Third Australian
Division on the left. A great many scattered groups of Americans
were reached, most of whom came on with the Australians. The Brigade
had been well provided with tanks, but in the space of fifteen
minutes all the heavies and most of the whippets had been knocked
out. So mixed were the conditions and so thick the clouds over the
battlefield that for a time the 59th Australian Battalion on the left
was altogether lost, but the 57th and 58th fought on together, and
with their American friends reached the Le Catelet line, a bunch of
Germans remaining in the trench between the two battalions. The 59th
was afterwards found to have trended northwards and to be in close
liaison with the right of the Third Australian Division.
The fighting had been mixed on September 29, but it became still more
so next day, and it will tax the {157} industry of some Antipodean
historian to trace each unit, Australian or American, and define
their relations to each other. The rôle of the 15th Brigade was
simple as it was directed to make good the rest of the Nauroy-Le
Catelet line, which was in time accomplished. The 14th Brigade was
ordered to attack northwards in order to help the left flank which
had encountered such difficulties on the first day, while the 11th
Brigade was also directed towards the north-east, and ordered to take
a strong impediment called the Knob, which was eventually done. The
53rd Battalion which led the 14th Brigade distinguished itself
greatly, advancing with a steady persistence which always gained its
ends, and overflowing the German field-guns. It was finally held up,
however, and a strong counter-attack drove it to take refuge in that
part of the Le Catelet-Nauroy line which was already in British
hands. There was a good deal of close fighting in this quarter but
the gains were held by the 15th Brigade, which failed, however, to
get Cabaret Wood Farm. On October 1 the 56th Australian Battalion,
with the aid of tanks, carried Estrées.
We shall now follow the work of General Braithwaite's Ninth Corps on
the extreme right of the whole British Army on this great day of
battle. This Corps consisted now of the First, Sixth, Thirty-second,
and Forty-sixth Divisions. Of these, the Sixth Division (Harden) was
in touch with the French, the First (Strickland) was in the centre,
and the Forty-sixth (Boyd) was on the left. Opposite the Corps lay
the broad and deep St. Quentin Canal, and the storm troops of the
Forty-sixth Division were fitted up with 3000 life-belts, having
proved {158} by experiment that they were buoyant enough to support a
fully-equipped man. Since the Spanish infantry of Alva waded out
neck-deep to attack the Dutch defences on the Frisian Islands there
has surely never been a more desperate enterprise than this, when one
remembers that on the farther side of the Canal was every devilment
which German sappers could construct, while no tanks could lead the
van of the stormers. The general plan was that the Forty-sixth North
Midlanders should take the whole position between Bellenglise and
Riqueval; that the Thirty-second Division (Lambert) should then pass
through their ranks and push onwards to Tronquoy and beyond; while
the First Division should carry out a difficult turning movement by
swinging its left flank north-east to form a defensive line between
Pontruet and the Canal at the right of the Forty-sixth Division's
advance. The Sixth Division was to make threatening demonstrations.
The very special obstacles which lay in the path of the Ninth Corps
had led to a reinforcement of their artillery, so that it was after a
two days' bombardment from 500 pieces of all calibres that the
assault was made at the same hour as that of the Americans on the
left. The Stafford men of the 137th Brigade led, with the 1st
Regular Brigade covering their right flank. An advance line of
German trenches intervened between the British and the Canal.
Favoured by the thick mist the attackers were able to overrun these
without any great loss, killing most of the garrison who fought
bravely for every inch of ground, and winning their way to the Canal.
In the meantime the 1st North Lancashires cleared the trenches on
their {159} right, while farther south the 1st Black Watch pushed
forward from Pontruet, cleared the trenches north-east of that place,
and finally, squeezing out the North Lancashires, fought their way
down to the right flank of the Stafford stormers.
The 3rd Infantry Brigade had also become strongly engaged on the
right of the First Division. The 1st Gloucesters were pushed along
the high ground a mile south-east of Pontruet. Here they were held
up for the time, but the 1st South Wales Borderers came in on their
left and connected up with the Black Watch. All day the 3rd Brigade
threw back a long flank north of Gricourt to the Sixth Division,
which was ordered to hold its ground.
The 137th Brigade having fought its way to the banks of the St.
Quentin Canal proceeded now to force the passage. The 6th South
Staffords on the right found the water low and there was little
swimming to be done, but the 5th South Staffords in the centre, and
the 6th North Staffords on the left were hard put to it to get
across. The men dashed backwards and forwards on the bank, like
hounds that are balked, looking for the most hopeful spot, and then
springing into the water, sink or swim, with their gallant officers
trailing ropes behind them as they got across. In a few minutes the
whole smooth surface of the Canal for a mile or more was dotted with
the heads of the English infantry, while cables, broken bridges,
extempore rafts, and leaking boats were all pressed into the service.
Within a few minutes the dripping ranks were into the trenches on the
eastern bank, where the moral effect of their dashing achievement
took all the iron out of the defenders. At Riqueval the bridge was
intact and the enemy pioneers in the {160} act of blowing it up when
the British sappers and infantry swarmed in upon them and bayoneted
them with the lanthorns in their hands. This bridge and a second
pontoon bridge made later by the engineers and pioneers of the
Forty-sixth and Thirty-second Divisions, were invaluable as a means
of communication.
The trenches and the tunnel entrance at Bellenglise were soon
occupied and the perilous passage had been safely made. The advance
then continued, the teams of four guns being shot down as they tried
to get away. The 138th Lincolns and Leicesters with the 139th
Sherwood Forester Brigade had relieved the Stafford battalions, which
dropped back after having performed one of the most notable feats of
the war. These two brigades began to go forward preceded by twelve
tanks which had made their way round over the solid ground on the
Australian front. The advance was much impeded, however, by some
German guns on the west side of the Canal, to the south of the point
where it had been crossed. These guns, firing into the back of the
139th Brigade on the right, knocked out by direct fire every one of
the six tanks allotted to it. A party of the Foresters then
recrossed the Canal, shot or bayoneted these gunners, and
extinguished the opposition in the rear.
The 138th Brigade on the left advanced well, and by 12.30 was near
Magny and Le Haucourt, but it was necessary to call a halt, as the
failure to hold Nauroy upon the left had exposed the north flank of
the division, while the south flank had always been somewhat in the
air. During the delay the barrage got ahead, but the infantry soon
overtook it {161} once more, racing eagerly for the protection of
that slowly-moving cyclone. By 3 P.M. all objectives allotted to the
Forty-sixth Division had been taken, and by 4 P.M. the Thirty-second
Division had passed through their ranks--a glorious military picture
on a day of victory--with the old 14th Brigade in the van. The
leading lines of the infantry were now well up with the German guns,
and it is on record that the German gunners fought with the greatest
valour and continued to fire their guns at point-blank range up to
the last. Many great deeds were done as small bodies of infantry
closed in on these guns, often dashing through their own pelting
barrage in their determination that the enemy should not have time to
limber up and get away. Nauroy had now fallen save only the north
end, which was still a scourge to the left flank of Braithwaite's
Corps. Late in the afternoon the 97th Brigade captured the southern
half of Joncourt, and before night Le Tronquoy had fallen also. From
there the final line ran west of Le Vergies, and then back to
Etricourt, where it was in touch with the Thirtieth American Division.
Late at night the Sixth Division on the extreme right, which had
endured heavy fighting all along its front during the day, was
relieved by the extension northwards of the Fifteenth French Corps.
The Sixth Division went into reserve. All night there was a
bickering of machine-guns and rifle-fire along the front, and before
morning the 14th Brigade had completed the mopping up of the villages
which it had captured.
It was a most glorious day's work which reflects great credit upon
General Braithwaite and his men, {162} who were allotted a task which
it seemed presumptuous to demand and yet carried it out to the last
inch. The stormers captured 90 guns and 5400 prisoners during the
day, the vast majority of which (70 guns and 4000 prisoners) fell to
the Midland Territorials. It was fitting that in so intimate a
struggle as that between Great Britain and Germany it was men from
the very inner heart of England who at the critical moment struck the
most deadly blow.
[Sidenote: Sept. 30-Oct 1.]
On September 30 there was a continued forward movement on the front
of the Ninth Corps. The First Division took Thorigny and the
Thirty-second Division took Le Vergies during the day, with some 700
prisoners. The general movement of troops was from the south, the
French taking ground to the left in order to release the British for
that north-eastern movement which promised the more decisive results.
On the morning of October 1 the Thirty-second Division, in close
liaison with the Australians, completed the capture of Joncourt, and
made progress towards Sequehart. During the afternoon the glad news
arrived that the French were progressing splendidly in the south and
that their pioneers were in St. Quentin. All day the Thirty-second
Division was flowing slowly onwards, taking Sequehart and
establishing its van in the Fonsomme line, which extends from that
village to Beaurevoir. The Germans had given fanciful names to all
of these lines which were taken with such unfailing regularity by the
Allies. There were the Siegfried line, the Wotan line, and other
Wagnerian titles, which led some wit to remark at the time that if
they went far enough through the list of that composer's operas, they
would certainly come, sooner or later, to the Flying Dutchman. {163}
There was some confused fighting in the line south of Ramicourt, but
the setting sun found the Thirty-second Division in full possession.
It was clear, however, that heavy fighting was ahead, as the
Intelligence Department learned that three fresh divisions, the
Eighty-fourth, Two hundred and twenty-first, and Two hundred and
forty-first, had come forward to buttress the line of defence. These
new-comers were strong enough to bar the way successfully to the
weary Thirty-second Division on the morning of October 2. In the
evening the Germans passed to the attack and, backed by strong
gun-fire, they got temporary possession of Sequehart, the British
line being drawn across the high ground to the west of that village.
We must now pause to consider what was going on in the north.
[Sidenote: Sept. 29, Oct. 1]
As regards the part played by the Third Corps in these operations it
was mainly limited to the action of the 54th and 55th Brigades of the
Eighteenth Division, with elements of the Twelfth Division. On the
left the 54th Brigade attacked the position known as the Knoll, which
was occupied by the 6th Northants who repelled several severe
counter-attacks. Any further movement was hampered, however, by the
deadly fire of the enemy from Guillemont Farm. The 55th Brigade was
unable, as planned, to get down the Macquincourt valley as the
Hindenburg Line, which commanded it, was still intact. Next morning,
however (September 30), it was found possible to get forward as far
as Guillemont Farm and Vandhuile village, which were occupied with
little loss, but the enemy was still in force in the Hindenburg Line
behind it, and attempts to cross the Canal were checked by the German
machine-guns. {164} The 37th Brigade of the Twelfth Division held
the front line to the north-west of Vandhuile, with outposts along
the Canal, which they also were unable to cross. On October 1 it was
realised that the Australians working north had got in contact with
the remains of the Twenty-seventh American Division, and also with
the 55th Brigade in the Macquincourt valley. On the left the Fifth
Corps had also reached the Canal. At noon on October 1 the long term
of service of the Third Corps was at an end, and their section was
taken over by Morland's Thirteenth Corps. The work of the Third
Corps during that time had been very brilliant. Between August 8 and
September 30 the five divisions which composed it met and overthrew
twenty German divisions, including a number of the very best troops
which the enemy retained in the field. They pushed them back over 25
miles of difficult country, and captured 15,700 prisoners in all with
150 guns. The achievement was the more remarkable as the troops
employed were mostly young and untried, the successors of those
veterans who had laid the foundations of the great reputation of
these grand divisions. 1100 officers and 24,000 men in the list of
casualties attest the severity of the service. In estimating the
work of the latter period it is to be remembered that the Germans
were in the line which they had been taught to consider impregnable,
with very heavy artillery support, so that it is not surprising that
it took six days to drive them back 4000 yards to the main outpost
line, and another week to gain the Canal 2000 yards farther east.
This remark applies equally to the Corps on either side.
Braithwaite's Ninth Corps having passed the St. Quentin {165} Canal
in the dashing way already described, had established itself firmly
upon the other side during the first two days of October. On October
3 it made a further forward movement in close liaison with the
Australians on the left. The two very tired divisions which had
fought incessantly for four days, the Forty-sixth on the left and the
Thirty-second on the right, were still in the van. There was some
hope of a break from these repeated hammer-blows, so the Fifth
Cavalry Brigade were close behind the infantry, waiting hopefully for
the developments of the day. The First Division on the right was
told off to keep in touch with the French Fifteenth Corps which was
joining in the attack.
Both divisions, starting at 6.25 in the morning, made excellent
progress. Ramicourt was carried by the Midlanders in the first rush,
and it had been cleared before 7.30. By 8, Sequehart, with 200
prisoners, had fallen to the Thirty-second Division. The final
objective was the village of Montbrehain and Mannequin Hill. On the
left the Second Australian Division, advancing with irresistible
dash, had occupied Wiancourt and were making good progress towards
Beaurevoir. By 11, some of the Forty-sixth Division were on
Mannequin Hill, and some on the left were in the outskirts of
Montbrehain, but the Australians had been held up to the north of
that village, which made the situation very difficult. By 3 P.M.,
however, the whole of this important point had fallen, with the large
capture of 70 officers and 2000 men. There was very severe and close
fighting in the village all day, and the northern flank of the
Midland Territorials was still bare to enfilade fire, so they were
drawn back to the western outskirts, which are on the reverse slope
{166} of the hill east of Ramicourt. At 7 P.M. the Germans
counter-attacked on the British right and for a time regained the
crest of Mannequin Hill, but they were pushed off again after dark.
Another counter-attack against the Thirty-second Division about the
same hour at Sequehart was a complete failure. During the night one
brigade of the First Division and a dismounted section of the 5th
Cavalry Brigade reinforced the utterly weary Forty-sixth Division on
the left. In the meantime the French Fifteenth Corps, which had
attacked with no marked success during the day, elongated its line to
the north so as to relieve the First Division.
[Sidenote: Sept. 30-Oct. 3.]
The breach made during this day's fighting in the Beaurevoir-Fonsomme
line, together with the action of the New Zealanders, presently to be
described, in keeping their grip of Crevecœur in the north, had
completely destroyed the resistance of the last of the great
organised defences of the Hindenburg system to which the enemy had
trusted as being impregnable. Officers who went over these works
immediately after the fighting were amazed at the breadth and
strength of the wire and the depth of the dug-outs and trenches.
Their final destruction was due to the action of many forces,
British, American, and Australian, all equally heroic, but the
historian of the future surveying the whole field with the detailed
facts before him, will probably agree that the outflanking forces at
either end, the New Zealanders in the north and the Englishmen of the
Midland Division in the south, stand pre-eminently out in this
wonderful achievement. Sir Douglas Haig visited the Ninth Corps on
October 4 and congratulated it upon the vital work which it had
accomplished.
{167}
October 3 had been a day of desperate fighting for the Second
Australian Division on the left of the Ninth Corps, which had taken
the place of the Fifth Australians, while the Eighteenth British had
relieved the Third. Their attack was upon the Beaurevoir line,
including the village of Beaurevoir, and though the latter was not
taken considerable progress was made. The advance was made with
Martin's 5th Brigade on the right, while the 7th Brigade (Wisdom) was
in touch with the Fiftieth British Division on the left. Sixteen
tanks lumbered in front of the line of infantry. The honours of the
day rested with the 18th, 19th, and 25th Battalions, in that order
from the right, who swept forward against the formidable German
position. So terrible was the fire and the wire that the two
right-hand battalions drew back and lay down while the guns were
again turned on. They then rushed the line almost before the flying
fragments of splintered wire had reached the ground. Two hundred
prisoners and eighteen machine-guns were the fruits, while the 25th
on the left got the village of Lormisset. The first phase of the
action ended with the possession of the German line from this village
to the divisional boundary on the right, and the formation of a
defensive flank by the 7th Brigade, facing north. The 17th and 20th
Battalions then pushed in and got Wiancourt. Altogether 11
battalions, with an average strength of 200, were concerned in this
operation, and they took 6500 yards of double-trenched system. They
lost roughly 1000 men, but killed as many Germans, besides taking
1200 prisoners, 11 guns, and 163 machine-guns. A German officer
summed up the enemy view by saying, "You Australians are all {168}
bluff. You attack with practically no men and are on the top of us
before we know where we are."
[Sidenote: Oct. 3-6.]
The total effect of the fighting on October 3 in this section of the
line had been extraordinarily good, though all objectives had not
been taken. As the net result the British held the line for 10,000
yards from Sequehart to the west of Beaurevoir. At one time the
gains had been greater but the enemy had countered with great valour,
the Twenty-first Reserve Division, Twenty-fifth, and One hundred and
nineteenth all making very strong attacks, so that the advanced line
was retaken all along. On October 5, however, the division in the
north got Beaurevoir while the 6th Australian Brigade carried out a
very dashing attack by which the village of Montbrehain, which had
already been taken and lost, was now permanently occupied. This hard
struggle was begun by the 21st and 24th Battalions, but both were
very worn, and there was not sufficient weight and impetus to drive
the attack home. It was at this crisis that the 2nd Australian
Pioneer Battalion, which had never been in action, made a fine
advance, losing 400 of its number but saving the situation and
capturing the village with 600 prisoners.
Immediately after this battle the Second American Corps took over the
whole line from the Australians, who retired for a rest which proved
to be a final one. So exit from the world's drama one of its most
picturesque figures, the lithe, hawk-faced, dare-devil man of the
South. His record had always been fine, and twice on a day of doom
his firm ranks stood between the Empire and absolute disaster. The
end of March on the Somme, and the middle of April in Flanders, are
two crises in which every man who speaks {169} the English tongue the
whole world over owes a deep debt of gratitude to the men who stemmed
the rush of German barbarism which might have submerged the world.
But their supreme effort lay in those last hundred days when,
starting from the Abbé Wood, west of Villers-Bretonneux and close to
Amiens, they carried their line forward in an almost constant
succession of battles until they were through the last barrier of the
desperate and redoubtable enemy. The men were great; the officers,
chosen only by merit, were also great; but greatest of all, perhaps,
was their commander, Sir John Monash, a rare and compelling
personality, whose dark, flashing eyes and swarthy face might have
seemed more in keeping with some Asiatic conqueror than with the
prosaic associations of a British Army. He believed in his men, and
his men believed in him, and their glorious joint history showed that
neither was deceived in the other. So exit Australia. _Ave et vale!_
It has been already stated that Morland's Thirteenth Corps took over
the sector which formed the left of Rawlinson's Fourth Army, after
the Third Corps which had occupied this position was drawn out for a
rest and reorganisation. The same relative positions were
maintained, so that from October 1 when they first came into action
till the end of the war the Thirteenth Corps had the Fifth Corps of
the Third Army on their left, and the Australians and their
successors on their right. They came into line at that very critical
moment when the great Hindenburg Line had been broken on their south
by the Americans and Australians, but when the situation was
difficult on account of a large body of the former, the remains of
the Twenty-seventh Division, {170} being embedded in the German
lines, having advanced with such speed that the trenches had not been
cleared, so that they found themselves with as many enemies on their
rear as in their front. That under these circumstances there was no
great surrender speaks volumes for the spirit and constancy of the
men.
The Thirteenth Corps took over Lee's seasoned Eighteenth Division
from the Third Corps. It contained also the Twenty-fifth Division
(Charles), which had been practically annihilated in the three
desperate battles described in the previous volume, but had now been
rebuilt largely of men from the Italian front where the reduction of
brigades to the three-battalion scale had liberated a number of
trained and veteran soldiers. It was now commanded by General
Charles, an officer who had signalised his professional youth by
riding round the rear of the Boer army in the company of young
Captain Hunter-Weston. There was also the Fiftieth Division
(Jackson) which has so often been described in the van of the battle.
It had also been reconstituted after its practical destruction, and
now contained no less than six Regular battalions from the East, full
of experience and also, unfortunately, of malaria. Finally there was
Bethell's Sixty-sixth Division, a Lancashire Territorial unit which
had played a fine part on several historic occasions. The South
African Brigade now formed part of this Division. Altogether General
Morland had a sound hard-working team under his hand, with a strong
backing of artillery.
[Sidenote: Oct. 3.]
The Fourth Army was now across the line of the Canal de l'Escaut, but
it was necessary to clear a way for General Byng's Third Army to
cross on the north. With this object it was wise to push the {171}
attack in the south and so to outflank the Germans that they would
have to abandon the whole position. It was with this object that the
Ninth Corps and the Australians were ordered to attack on October 3
as already described in order to secure the high ground east and
north of Beaurevoir and the villages of Montbrehain and Sequehart,
while the Thirteenth Corps conformed, pivoting on its left, and
capturing, as will be shown, the villages of Gouy and Le Catelet and
the rising ground known as Prospect Hill. The two villages which lie
in a basin surrounded by hills were powerfully held and fortified.
To the west of Le Catelet the St. Quentin Canal runs between steep
banks, which rise 50 feet above the water at that part, but come down
to the normal at Vandhuile.
On the front of Morland's Corps only one division, the 50th, was in
line, the others being arranged in depth behind it. Sugden's 151st
Brigade was on the right in close touch with the Australians, the
149th on the left. The latter was to hold its ground and form a
hinge round which everything in the south should swing.
Early on October 3 the attack started in a thick mist, which made
observation impossible--not an unmixed evil when a strong defensive
position is to be stormed. The troops went forward with splendid
dash, meeting with varied experiences as they encountered the strong
posts of the enemy, but continually getting forward, though they had
not attained the level of the Australians when about 9 A.M. the
latter had occupied the Masnières-Beaurevoir line. The 6th
Inniskilling Fusiliers who had been told off to take Prospect Hill
had been drawn {172} into the fighting in the village of Gouy, but
the 1st Yorkshire Light Infantry pushed in on their right and
sweeping past the village, caught up the barrage and captured the
hill which it at once consolidated. By 10 o'clock the whole of the
original objective, including both villages, had been occupied, while
the Australians were in Estrées to the south. The rest of the day
was spent, however, in holding the new line against very vigorous
counter-attacks which drove down from the north-east and pushed the
4th King's Royal Rifles of the 150th Brigade (Rollo), who had already
lost heavily, out of Gouy. They rallied, however, and reinforced by
the 2nd Northumberland Fusiliers they restored the situation after
some heavy fighting which came to close grips among the houses. The
Second Australian Division on the right had also lost its hold of
Beaurevoir and been driven by a heavy counter-attack to Beaurevoir
Mill. The night closed down upon these lines, the British having
failed to hold all their furthest points, but having greatly enlarged
their foothold on the far side of the St. Quentin Canal, which had
now been crossed and held from a point 400 yards south-east of
Vandhuile. The Fiftieth Division had used seven battalions and
incurred heavy losses, but it had won Gouy, Le Catelet, and Prospect
Hill, with some 300 prisoners. The tactical success was complete,
but the strategic aim was not yet attained, as the Germans still held
the Canal in front of the Third Army to the left. It was decided,
therefore, to renew the operations at once, bringing in the
Twenty-fifth Division on the right. There was a marked salient in
the German line which included the villages of Beaurevoir and
Ponchaux. The plan was to cut in to the north {173} and south of
this salient and pinch it out. The 151st Brigade came into line on
the left and Hickie's 7th Brigade of the Twenty-fifth Division on the
right, while it was arranged with General Shute on the left that the
Thirty-eighth Welsh Division should support the attack of the 151st
Brigade. There were nests of trenches upon the high ground north of
Gouy and Le Catelet and these were the main obstacles in front.
[Sidenote: Oct. 4.]
At 6 o'clock on October 4 the attack went forward in thick fog, so
thick that it was not until 11 that the position of the Divisions
could be defined. At that hour it was learned that the right of the
7th Brigade was in the high ground west of Ponchaux and in touch with
the Australians on the Torrens Canal. They were also holding the
line of railway near the cemetery, but were under very heavy fire
from the villages which raked their position. Neither of the
villages had fallen, so that the attack on the left seemed to have
miscarried. The reports from the Fiftieth Division were that some
progress had been made towards La Pannerie, but that the left was
held up by heavy fire. At 1 o'clock La Pannerie was reported as
taken, but the situation was still unsatisfactory, and the troops
were under the guns of the Germans to the north, especially from
Hargival Farm, which, however, was taken in the late afternoon.
About 6 o'clock the glad news came in from General Jackson that the
enemy appeared to be weakening, and he suggested a farther advance.
This was held over until the Welsh Division should be available,
while all preparations were made for a fresh attack upon the salient
and the villages next morning.
{174}
[Sidenote: Oct 5.]
At 6 A.M. on October 5 the untiring infantry were off once more,
through the usual dense obscurity which shrouds that region of
marshes and canals. At 9 it cleared. The 7th Brigade had been held
on the right, but the 74th Brigade of the Twenty-fifth Division under
Craigie-Hackett, had fought its way past Beaurevoir Mill, and its
left-hand battalion, the 11th Sherwood Foresters, had reached its
objective in a sunken road north-east of Guisancourt Farm. Some
small parties were reported by the aeroplanes to be on the east side
of Beaurevoir, but the Germans were still in the village. They were
fighting with fine resolution, and a heavy counter-attack once more
re-established their line, save that Bellevue Farm remained in the
hands of the 74th Brigade. Further British efforts met with no
better success, so it was decided to reorganise and attack again at
dusk. The glad news had arrived that in the north the Welsh Division
had found all clear in front of it and that the Fifth Corps was
streaming across the Canal. The Fiftieth Division then fell into
line, with the Welsh sharing in their advance. Fryell's 75th Brigade
was now assembled in the dead ground west of Beaurevoir, and about
6.30 dashed at it with levelled bayonets and a determination which
would take no denial. The enemy were swept out of it and the line
carried forward 500 yards to the east of it, while junction was
established with the Australians upon the Estrées-Le Cateau Road.
Nearly 600 prisoners were taken during this day. That night the
Second American Corps took over from the Australians on the right of
the Thirteenth Corps.
There was now in front of General Morland a high waterless plateau
extending from the St. Quentin {175} Canal to the Selle River. As it
is a country of large, open spaces intersected with sunken roads, it
offers great facilities for the use of machine-guns. It is dotted
with villages nestling in their orchards, but the wide stretches
between are given over to beet-root cultivation. As the German
rearguards were still hanging on to their position, a big attack was
arranged for October 8 which would entail an advance of the
Thirteenth Corps to the Fremont-Serain-Walincourt Road, meaning a
depth of 6000 yards on a 4000-yard frontage. The Twenty-fifth
Division had one brigade on the right in touch with the Americans,
the Sixty-sixth were in front of Serain with two brigades, while the
Fiftieth Division with one brigade was on the left.
[Sidenote: Oct. 8.]
The general fight was preceded by a local attack by units of the
Fiftieth Division, at 1 o'clock in the morning of October 8, upon the
strong German post called Villers Farm which overlooked their line.
This was successfully taken, but a simultaneous attack by the
Thirty-eighth Division upon the village of Villers-Outreaux to the
north was held up, with the unfortunate sequel that a heavy German
barrage fell upon the troops as they assembled for the main attack.
They endured tragic casualties with silent patience, carrying through
their preparations with absolute disregard of the shower of
projectiles. The attack was launched at 5.20, the order of brigades
from the right being the 7th, the South Africans, the 198th, and the
151st.
This attack was a complete success. There was a stiff fight at
Ponchaux, but the village was soon carried. The whippet tanks moved
up with great daring in front of the infantry but suffered severely
{176} from shells and anti-tank rifles. The 2nd Cavalry Brigade, who
were eagerly awaiting a chance to be unleashed, found no opening
during the day. The infantry got forward finely, however, and by 11
A.M. all objectives were held save on the front of Hunter's 198th
Brigade, which was badly handicapped by the fact that
Villers-Outreaux was still in German hands. By 3 P.M. the Fifth
Corps had taken this village and the left of the Thirteenth Corps got
forward to its extreme point. The Twenty-fifth and Sixty-sixth
Divisions were at once ordered to push forward and improve the
success in every way, and the final line was from the eastern
outskirts of Fremont and Serain up to the distillery on the
Elincourt-Malincourt Road. Some 800 prisoners had been taken.
[Sidenote: Oct. 9.]
The battle was continued on the morning of October 9 with a prompt
vigour which was amazing considering the continual exertions of the
troops. It was speedily evident that these attacks had shaken the
enemy and that he had been unable to get his roots down in his new
positions. Much ground was gained with little loss, Elincourt,
Avelu, and Maretz all passing into British hands. It was hoped at
one time that the passages of the Selle River might be seized that
day, but the infantry were too exhausted and the distances too great.
The Canadian Cavalry Brigade, pressing forward in small parties, got
past Reumont and cut off some of the Germans, but larger bodies of
cavalry were faced always with murderous machine-gun fire from
scattered positions. The Sixty-sixth Division had overtaken the
Canadian Cavalry before evening, and the line of the Corps was west
of Escaufort but clear of the eastern edge of Honnechy towards Bertry
Station. They were {177} coming at last into the old battle-ground
of 1914. The wheel had swung full circle.
[Sidenote: Oct. 10.]
At 5.30 on October 10 these indefatigable soldiers were off again.
They made good progress until the western slopes of the Selle valley
were reached. Here the Twenty-fifth Division was checked by the fire
from St. Benin, which appeared to be strongly held. At noon the
Sixty-sixth Division was in Le Cateau, but under heavy fire from the
south-west of Forest. About 2 P.M. the 74th Brigade, consisting of
the 9th Yorkshires, 11th Sherwood Foresters, and 13th Durhams, made a
very dashing assault upon the village of St. Benin, and drove the
enemy at the point of the bayonet across the river. It was a fine
achievement but led to no immediate advance, as the stream was
unbridged and strongly defended. The Sixty-sixth Division meanwhile
attacked the ridge to the east of Le Cateau, going forward with the
6th Connaught Rangers on the left and the 18th King's Liverpools on
the right. The Irishmen rushed the town with great gallantry and got
through to the railway cutting on the far side. The latter battalion
got as far as Montay, but found the banks of the river heavily wired
and were unable to cross. The Connaught men were ordered back,
therefore, after dusk, as both their flanks were in the air. They
continued to hold the western bank of the Selle, where it passes
through the town of Le Cateau.
There we may leave them preparing for the important battle of the
Selle River, while we bring up the Second American and Ninth British
Corps on the right until they also are in line upon the Selle. These
two Corps worked in close liaison, {178} forming the extreme right of
the whole line of the British Armies, which was now rolling forward
in an unbroken wave more than a hundred miles in length, gathering
speed and volume as it went. Some half-cynical Italian critic had
remarked early in the war that the British may only win one battle in
a war but it is always the final one. The hour had now struck and
the line was irresistible in its cold and purposeful determination.
[Sidenote: Oct. 8.]
October the 8th was a great day of battle, in which the Second
Americans on the left, the Ninth British in the centre, and the
Fifteenth French on the right were all heavily engaged, the men
advancing with ardour from the knowledge that at last the open land
of France lay before them, and that the nightmares of barbed wire and
permanent lines were behind. Taking the line from the north, the
immediate object of the Americans was to capture Brancourt and
Fremont, including a total advance of 6000 yards. The attack was
made by the 59th Brigade of the Thirtieth Division, with the 60th
Brigade in support. The advance was supported by a number of heavy
tanks and of whippets. The machine-guns were numerous and deadly,
but the Americans would take no denial, fighting with that grim
earnestness which is as much their national characteristic in battle,
as is the debonnaire light-heartedness of the British, or the exalted
abandonment of the French. By evening both villages had fallen and
all objectives attained. Early next morning the 59th American
Brigade advanced once more, maintaining the fight until the early
afternoon when the 60th American Brigade passed through their thin
ranks, taking the towns of Busigny and Becquigny. To carry on a
{179} connected narrative of the American Corps it may be added that
they were still attacking on October 10, endeavouring to secure the
command of the Selle River and the high ground beyond. The 119th
American Regiment in the north captured Escaufort and St. Souplet,
and in collaboration with Morland's Corps got possession of St. Benin
in face of a very hot fire. Finally the 119th Regiment forced its
way to the western bank of the Selle. The 120th American Regiment on
the right had been checked by enfilade fire near Vaux Andigny, and
had to throw out a defensive line to the south, being for the moment
ahead of the general line. This regiment had suffered very heavily
in its fine advance, and it was relieved on the early morning of
October 11 by the 118th Regiment, who found their comrades so
stretched out that they were covering a front of 5000 yards. The
left American sector then remained stationary, but the 118th Regiment
swept forward and took at the point of the bayonet the villages of
Vaux Andigny and La Haie Manneresse, making an advance of 1000 yards.
That night the Twenty-seventh Division came forward and relieved the
Thirtieth. We shall now return and follow the movements of the Ninth
Corps on the right during these five days of battle.
This Corps had joined vigorously in the attack on October 8,
advancing with the 71st Brigade of the Sixth Division on the left,
the 16th Brigade in the centre, and the 139th Sherwood Foresters
Brigade on the right, the function of the latter being to keep in
touch with the French. The line sped forward without a check for
2000 yards, a squadron of whippets leading them gallantly on. The
16th Brigade had {180} the hardest task, but they forced their way
eastwards, and by midday Mannequin and Doon Hills with Beauregard
Farm were all within the British lines. The cavalry tried to get
through, but the machine-guns were still their masters, and it could
only have been done at the cost of unjustifiable losses. Cerise Wood
was a serious obstacle, but the resistance there suddenly collapsed
before the stern insistence of the 16th Brigade, and 190 prisoners
gave themselves up. Mericourt also was taken. Out of Mannequin Wood
200 more Germans were extracted. Altogether it was a very successful
day, as 4 guns, 35 machine-guns, and 1200 prisoners remained with the
victors. The Corps line on the left was well forward on its
objectives, though on the right the advance had not been as far as
was expected.
[Sidenote: Oct. 8-9.]
In order to strengthen the right the Forty-sixth Division was put in
between the Sixth Division on the left and the French. With this
greater weight of attack things went very much better on October 9.
The new-comers captured Fresnoy-le-Grand, while the Sixth Division
took Jonnecourt Farm which had been a lion in the path upon the
previous day. A railway lay across the front and the Germans tried
to build up a fresh line upon it, but in the afternoon they had lost
their grip. The usual organised retreat of the Germans showed signs
now of hurry and demoralisation. Late in the evening the Sixth
Division occupied Bohain, which was found to contain several
thousands of civilians, many of whom had not touched food for three
days, but who forgot their hunger in the joys of liberty.
[Sidenote: Oct. 10.]
The next day, October 10, the whole Corps front was moving forward,
but resistance thickened as it {181} advanced, and finally in the
evening they appeared to be once more faced by an organised line of
battle. The Sixth Division was now in touch with the Thirtieth
Americans at Vaux Andigny. On October 11 a fresh German division,
the Fifth Reserve, had come into line, and it was very difficult to
get forward in face of their fire. The casualties were low, however,
and indeed it may be remarked that the greater tactical skill
acquired by years of practice showed itself now, not merely by the
defeat of the enemy but also by the cheapness of the cost. The iron
front of the tank took many a bullet which in earlier days would have
found the breast of the stormer, for brain work in England had come
to the aid of valour in France. Up to now, in all these momentous
operations from the 18th of September, the total casualties of the
Ninth Corps had only been 6000, less than those of many a futile
trench attack in the early years. On the other hand their prisoners
were 12,000, a most remarkable record.
{182}