the 145th Infantry Brigade was widely exploited. Mont Mosciagh was
in the hands of the 48th Division by 7.30 a.m. and the Interrotto
position was thus outflanked. The advance then became more rapid,
and by dark the advanced guards had reached Vezzena, and thus set
foot on Austrian soil. This Division was therefore the first British
division to enter enemy territory on the western front.” The 4th
Berkshire was part of the 145th Brigade.
“On the morning of 3rd November the advance was again resumed and by
dark both Caldonazzo and Levico had been occupied.
“At 3 p.m. on 4th November when the Armistice (with Austria) came
into force, the leading troops were on the line Miola-eastern
outskirts of Trent.
“The captures in prisoners and guns made by the 48th Division cannot
be accurately ascertained: they amounted to at least 20,000 prisoners
and 500 guns. Included amongst the prisoners were the Commander of
the III. Corps and three Divisional Commanders.
“It must be remembered that this division was attacking very
formidable mountain positions with only a fifth part of the artillery
that would have been at its disposal had the initial attack started
on the Altipiano. Its performance therefore in driving in the enemy’s
rearguards so resolutely while climbing up to heights of 5000 feet,
is all the more praiseworthy.
“During these operations the leadership of Brigadier-General G. C.
Sladen, C.M.G., D.S.O., M.C., commanding the 143rd Infantry Brigade,
was particularly noticeable.
“31. The infantry had been waiting for an opportunity to show that
they could worthily emulate the performances of their comrades
in France. When the opportunity came they fulfilled my highest
anticipations.”
Lord Cavan’s despatch of 15th November, 1918, paragraph 2, shows
that three battalions of the 48th Division were taken to France
on 13th/14th September of that year. These were the 1/8th Royal
Warwickshire Regiment, 1/5th Gloucestershire Regiment, and 1/8th
Worcestershire Regiment. They formed the reconstituted 75th Brigade
in the 25th Division, which, after being sadly battered in the
March Retreat, the Lys Battle of April and the German offensive on
the Aisne at the end of May, had been withdrawn from the line and
formed anew. The Division was concentrated in front of Combles on 3rd
October and on the 4th commenced a hard struggle for the capture of
Beaurevoir. This was completed by the 75th Brigade on the 5th after
two previous attempts had failed. Sir A. Conan Doyle, vol. vi. p.
174, speaking of this achievement, says: “Fryell’s 75th Brigade was
now assembled in the dead ground west of Beaurevoir, and at 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.” Another account of
the operation will be found at pp. 187 and 188 of _The Story of the
Fourth Army_, and it is there remarked: “Perhaps the outstanding
feature of the operations was the daylight attack of the 1/5th
Gloucestershire and the 1/8th Worcestershire, which finally captured
Beaurevoir village.” At p. 198 of that work it is stated that the
same brigade and a brigade of the 66th captured Maretz on the 9th.
At p. 227 there is an account of a battle on 18th October when the
75th Brigade, which was temporarily attached to the 50th Division,
again got credit by its capture of La Roux Farm and Bazuel and some
heavy guns. P. 234 shows that the Brigade did fine work on the 23rd
when the 1/8th Worcestershire captured Tilleuls Farm and a battery of
howitzers.
On 4th November, the day on which the last battle of the war
commenced, the Brigade gained great distinction by its capture of
Landrecies, which involved the crossing of an unfordable canal. A
detailed account will be found at p. 252 of _The Story of the Fourth
Army_, and, regarding it, Major-General Montgomery says: “The capture
of Landrecies was an operation beset with many difficulties, but,
thanks to good leadership, the bravery of the troops, and the skill
and devotion of the divisional engineers and pioneers, the 75th
Brigade met with the success and good fortune which such a well
planned and boldly executed operation deserved.”
_The History of the 25th Division_ (Harrison) also gives details of
the splendid work of the 75th Brigade between 5th October and the
close. See also the despatch of 21st December, 1918, paragraphs 37,
42, 47 and 50.
It is rather remarkable that in the short space of five weeks two men
of the Brigade won the Victoria Cross.
The 1/7th Royal Warwickshire Regiment and 1/6th Gloucestershire
Regiment were selected for the Army of Occupation, Egypt.
49TH (WEST RIDING) DIVISION
FIRST LINE
The Division sailed for France in April 1915, and before the end of
that month entered the line about Fleurbaix as part of the IV. Corps,
First Army.
In the Battle of Aubers Ridge, 9th and other days of May 1915, the
Division held most of the Corps line while the 7th and 8th Divisions
attacked.
About the end of June the Division was transferred to the VI. Corps,
Second Army, and thereafter did six months’ arduous work in the Ypres
salient.
In January 1916 the Division marched to Calais, whence, in February,
they were railed to near Amiens. During the ensuing five months they
held trenches in the Authuille-Thiepval district and did much work in
preparation for the great battle. They were now in the Fifth Army, at
first in the X. Corps, afterwards in the II.
From 1st July, 1916, when the Battle of the Somme opened, to nearly
the end of September, they were almost constantly engaged, the
task of the Fifth Army being to maintain vigorous pressure, and
so facilitate the advance of the Fourth Army on its right. On the
Division leaving the Fifth Army the Corps Commander expressed himself
as gratified by their spirit and work.
The despatch from Sir Douglas Haig of 23rd December, 1916, paragraph
8, deals with the attack on Thiepval and other strongly fortified
positions on 1st July, a phase of the “Battle of Albert, 1916,” and
in Messrs. Dent’s edition, p. 26, there is a note in the following
terms: “In the course of this fighting a brigade of the 49th
Division, Major-General E. M. Percival, made a gallant attempt to
force Thiepval from the north.” The Division or one or other of the
brigades was engaged in several subsequent actions in the Somme
campaign of 1916.
The Division was taken north again in October to the Ypres area where
it was to be employed for nearly two years. In July 1917 the Division
moved from the Merville district to Nieuport where they experienced
a particularly bad month. The hostile bombardment was ceaseless, and
the troops in the line crowded in a very circumscribed space north
of the Canal suffered very heavily. In the beginning of October
the Division entered the main battle in the Ypres salient and took
part in several attacks under most trying conditions; these were
characteristic of the Third Battle of Ypres. A quotation as to the
attack of 9th October, the Battle of Poelcappelle, has already been
given under the 48th Division, who were on the left of the 49th, the
66th being on their right.
In November the Division was in the line in the Menin Road area, and
although the great battle had died down losses from the unceasing
shell fire kept high, while the physical sufferings from mud and cold
were almost beyond the endurance of the strongest.
In January 1918, when brigades were cut down from four to three
battalions, the 1/8th West Yorkshire Regiment, 1/5th West Riding
Regiment and the 1/5th The King’s Own Yorkshire Light Infantry were
taken from the 49th and sent to the 62nd, the second line West Riding
Division.
The 49th was still in the Ypres salient in the beginning of April
1918. Few divisions had a more intimate acquaintance with its
shell-fire and mud.
The Division gained great distinction in the battles about the Lys
river in April when the British were “fighting with their backs to
the wall.”[2] From 10th April till the end of that month one or other
of the three brigades was almost daily engaged, on the northern
side of the salient, which the enemy had made after overwhelming
the Portuguese division on the 9th. The task of the 49th and other
divisions near them was to stem his rush and prevent him spreading
out to the north and west. If he had succeeded in gaining more ground
to the north, Ypres would have gone.
In his written despatch of 20th July, 1918, as to these events Sir
Douglas Haig said, paragraph 59, 12th April: “Troops of the 25th,
34th and 49th Divisions although heavily attacked maintained their
positions to south and south-east of Bailleul.”
Paragraph 60, 13th April: German troops had entered Neuve Église,
“but before noon were driven out by troops of the 33rd and 49th
Divisions in a most successful counter-attack in which a number of
prisoners were taken.”
Paragraph 64: “At different times on the 16th April a number of
strong local attacks were made by the enemy on the Meteren-Wytschaete
front, which were for the most part repulsed with heavy loss by the
25th, 34th and 49th Divisions.... The enemy’s attacks in the Kemmel
sector (17th April) were pressed with great determination, but ended
in his complete repulse at all points by troops of the 34th, 49th
and 19th Divisions, his infantry being driven out by counter-attacks
wherever they had gained a temporary footing in our line.”
Paragraph 67 describes the fierce fighting on 25th and 26th April
when the enemy captured Kemmel Hill. Speaking of the 25th, Sir
Douglas Haig said the enemy’s attacks were renewed in great strength,
and after a violent bombardment. “The weight of the attack in the
British sector fell on the 9th Division and attached troops of the
49th Division, who at 7 a.m. were still holding their positions about
Wytschaete intact, though heavily engaged. Fierce fighting continued
in this neighbourhood for some hours later, and great numbers of
Germans were killed by rifle and machine-gun fire at short range.
Later in the morning the right of the 9th Division was forced to fall
back fighting stubbornly to Vierstraat, but at 1 p.m. our troops
still held the Grand Bois north of Wytschaete.”
The 49th was heavily engaged on the 26th. “A very gallant
counter-attack by the 25th Division with attached troops of the
21st and 49th Divisions, undertaken in conjunction with the French,
penetrated into Kemmel village, taking over 300 prisoners. Our troops
then found themselves exposed to heavy machine-gun fire from the
flanks and were unable to maintain their positions. Later in the
morning the enemy renewed his attacks in strength but in spite of
repeated efforts was only able to make small progress at certain
points. Troops of the 21st, 30th, 39th and 49th Divisions and the
South African Brigade of the 9th Division had heavy fighting and made
several gallant counter-attacks.”
Paragraph 68, 29th April: “The enemy’s advance stayed.” “On the
British front the positions held by the 21st, 49th and 25th Divisions
were strongly attacked between 5 a.m. and 5.30 a.m. On the failure of
these attacks bodies of German infantry advanced at 6 a.m. in mass
formation with bayonets fixed against the 49th Division and were
repulsed with the heaviest losses....
“During the morning repeated attacks were made without result against
the 25th and the 49th.... At all points the attack was pressed
vigorously with massed bodies of troops and the losses suffered by
the German infantry were very great. Throughout the whole of the
fighting our infantry and artillery fought magnificently, and in more
than one instance our troops went out to meet the German attack and
drove back the enemy with the bayonet. At the end of the day except
for a small loss of ground at Voormezeele our line was intact and the
enemy had undergone a severe and decided check.” The French retook
Locre on the 30th, and the enemy’s great offensive was ended.
On 2nd May telegrams, sent by Sir Douglas Haig to the G.O.C. Second
Army, congratulating certain divisions, were published. One of
these referred to the 49th Division and was as follows: “I desire
to express my appreciation of the very valuable and gallant service
performed by troops of the 49th Division since its entry into the
battle north of Armentières. The courage and determination shown
by this Division have played no small part in checking the enemy’s
advance, and I wish you to convey to the General Officer Commanding,
and to all officers and men under his command, my thanks for all that
they have done.”
Sir Douglas Haig several times, in the course of his written
despatch, refers to the splendid conduct of the troops engaged
in the Lys battle. The enemy employed 42 divisions of which 33
were “fresh,” while 9 had come from the Somme. The British had 25
divisions of which only 8 had not been in the furnace of the Somme.
Further it has to be kept in view that, as many divisions were sent
from the northern to the southern area during the March retreat, the
work of and strain upon those left in the north, such as the 49th,
were greatly increased: these were thus not “fresh” in the sense
that the enemy’s forces were “fresh.” French assistance was of the
utmost value in finally convincing the enemy that his offensive was
a failure, but that assistance could not come until after the battle
had raged for a full week.
In paragraph 70 Sir Douglas Haig remarked: “Both by them (the
divisions brought from the Somme) and by the divisions freshly
engaged every yard of ground was fiercely disputed, until troops were
overwhelmed or ordered to withdraw. Such withdrawals as were deemed
necessary in the course of the battle were carried out successfully
and in good order.
“At no time, either on the Somme or on the Lys, was there anything
approaching a breakdown of command or a failure of morale. Under
conditions that made rest and sleep impossible for days together, and
called incessantly for the greatest physical exertion and quickness
of thought, officers and men remained undismayed, realising that for
the time being they must play a waiting game, and determined to make
the enemy pay the full price for the success which for the moment was
his.”
When one reads the detailed accounts of the work done by any of the
divisions on the Lys one is filled with wonder and amazement at the
power of endurance, the unbending and self-sacrificing spirit and
technical efficiency of units, many of which had suffered a 50 per
cent. loss a fortnight or less before the 9th April, and were to the
extent of a full half composed of lads sent to France after 22nd
March.
The 49th Division was moved to the south and joined the XXII. Corps
at the end of August 1918. On 12th September they relieved the 51st
in the Plouvain sector, east of Arras. They took part in the last
great advance. Along with the Canadian Corps they were engaged in
an attack on 11th October, north-east of Cambrai. On that date the
fighting was stiff and the losses were severe, but on the 12th good
progress was made. The advance continued on 20th October and the
XXII. Corps drove the enemy across the Selle and the Écaillon rivers
and in the last week of October were up against the Rhonelle position.
In Sir Douglas Haig’s despatch of 21st December, 1918, paragraph 49,
the Battle of the Sambre, 1st to 11th November, he says: “During
these two days, 1st and 2nd November, the 61st, 49th (Major-General
N. J. G. Cameron) and 4th Divisions crossed the Rhonelle river,
capturing Maresches and Preseau after a stubborn struggle, and
established themselves on the high ground two miles to the east of
it. On their left the 4th Canadian Division captured Valenciennes and
made progress beyond the town. As a consequence of this defeat the
enemy on the 3rd November withdrew on the Le Quesnoy-Valenciennes
front.”
The following battalions were chosen for the Army of the Rhine: 1/5th
and 1/6th West Yorkshire Regiment, 1/5th Yorkshire Light Infantry and
1/4th York and Lancaster Regiment.[3]
FOOTNOTES:
[2] As to the Lys battles see also 50th, 51st, 55th and 61st
Divisions.
[3] An account of some of the more important features in the history
of the 49th Division and of its younger sister the 62nd will be found
in _The West Riding Territorials in the Great War_, by Major L.
Magnus (Kegan Paul and Co., 15s.). Some most impressive pictures of
life in the Ypres salient and at Nieuport in 1917 are to be found in
_Happy Days with the 47th and 49th Divisions_, by Benedict Williams
(Harding and More, 1921, 7s. 6d.).
50TH (NORTHUMBRIAN) DIVISION
FIRST LINE
The 50th Division will always be associated with the Second Battle
of Ypres, now designated “The Battles of Ypres, 1915,” which began
on 22nd April, 1915, by a great discharge of gas, then seen and felt
for the first time in warfare, and which lasted till 25th May. Their
presence was of the utmost value when the British and French only
held on with the very greatest difficulty and at tremendous cost.
Some battalions of the Division had only arrived in France a few days
before the commencement of the battle.
In his despatch of 31st May, 1915, Sir John French “mentioned”
officers and men of the following battalions of the 50th Division:
4th, 5th and 6th Northumberland Fusiliers and 5th, 6th and 8th Durham
Light Infantry.
In his despatch of 15th June which deals with the Second Battle of
Ypres Sir John French said, paragraph 4: “During the night” (of
the 22nd April) “I directed the Cavalry Corps and the Northumbrian
Division, which was then in general reserve, to move to the west of
Ypres, and placed these troops at the disposal of the General Officer
commanding the Second Army.”
The fighting on 22nd-23rd April is now the “Battle of Gravenstafel
Ridge.”
On the 24th April the 9th Durham Light Infantry and other battalions
of the Division had very heavy fighting. Several had been detached
to assist the old Regular brigades to hold the line, and all the
battalions of the 50th were in the thick of the struggle during the
ensuing four weeks, either in their own brigades or attached to
others. The pressure was so great and so continuous, and reserves
so scanty, that even the Regular Divisions had constantly to detach
units to help neighbours in distress. On 24th May when the enemy made
his final big effort the 151st (Durham Light Infantry) Brigade were
near Hooge and did most valuable and gallant service.
After describing the heavy and often “hand-to-hand” fighting on
the 23rd, 24th and 25th April, when the enemy put forth his utmost
strength to break the line, while it was yet dazed by the gas,
Sir John French said, as to the 26th: “On the right of the Lahore
Division the Northumberland Infantry Brigade” (the 149th) “advanced
against St. Julien and actually succeeded in entering, and for a time
occupying, the southern portion of the village. They were, however,
eventually driven back, largely owing to gas, and finally occupied a
line a short way to the south. This attack was most successfully and
gallantly led by Brigadier-General Riddell, who, I regret to say, was
killed during the progress of the operation.”
Unfortunately the 151st Brigade was unable to support the attack
as, at the time, they were engaged in assisting the 28th Division
to repel an attack by the enemy further south, and the 150th were
also fighting elsewhere. The fighting 24th April-4th May is now the
“Battle of St. Julien.”
The losses of the Division were very heavy, exceeding 2500 in the
first five days alone.
Towards the close of his despatch Sir John French mentioned that
several Territorial Divisions had in the period under review been
employed as divisional units and had “all borne an active and
distinguished part, and had proved themselves thoroughly reliable and
efficient.”
Sir Douglas Haig’s despatch of 23rd December, 1916, as to the Somme
battle, paragraph 27 (Dent’s edition, note and map, p. 41), shows
that the 50th Division was employed in the attack of 15th September,
officially the Battle of Flers-Courcelette, it being then in the
III. Corps, Fourth Army. The attack was successful and a big gain of
ground was made. The map opposite p. 43 shows that the Division was
again in the attack of 25th and 26th September, the Battle of Morval,
when another section of the German defensive system was bitten off.
During October the Division had, frequently, bitter fighting in
the Eaucourt-Le Sars area, the Battle of the Transloy Ridges, when
further ground was gained and made secure. Winter’s arrival found
them still in the mud of that much fought-for region.
The despatch of 25th December, 1917, dealing with the Battle of
Arras, 1917, paragraph 18 (Dent’s edition) as to 13th and 14th April,
states: “In the centre a Northumberland Brigade of the 50th Division
(Major-General P. S. Wilkinson), advancing in open order, carried
the high ground east of Héninel and captured Wancourt Tower. Three
counter-attacks against this position were successfully driven off
and further ground was gained on the ridge south-east of Héninel.”
Officially this is the First Battle of the Scarpe, 1917.
Paragraph 21, as to the attack on 23rd April, the Second Battle of
the Scarpe, 1917: “On the main front of attack good progress was
made at first at almost all points. By 10 a.m. the remainder of
the high ground west of Chérisy had been captured by the attacking
English brigades (30th and 50th Divisions).” The enemy made many
counter-attacks “in great force ... and with the utmost determination
regardless of the heavy losses inflicted by our fire.” Part of the
ground gained in the morning was lost in the afternoon but all was
made good in another assault on the 24th after very fierce fighting.
In the Arras battle the Division operated with the XVIII. and VII.
Corps.
The Division was brought north in October and entered the line on
the north side of the Ypres salient, where, as part of the XIV.
Corps, they had an indescribably bad time amidst lakes of mud and
water. Movement at the best could only be very slow, often it was
impossible, and thus the losses of the attacking troops were rendered
very heavy.
The despatch of 25th December, 1917, makes frequent reference to
the adverse conditions. In paragraph 55 there is the following
sentence: “The year was far spent. The weather had been consistently
unpropitious, and the state of the ground, in consequence of the
rain and shelling combined, made movement inconceivably difficult.”
After considering the various factors “affecting the problem, among
them the desirability of assisting our Allies in the operations to
be carried out by them on the 23rd October, in the neighbourhood of
Malmaison, I decided to continue the offensive further and to renew
the advance at the earliest possible moment consistent with adequate
preparation.” The Division formed part of the assaulting line on 26th
October when ground was gained. This is officially designated the
Second Battle of Passchendaele.
Much rain fell in October and it was only on ground above the general
level that progress could be made in the various attacks undertaken.
The Division remained in the salient, chiefly between Houthulst
Forest and Passchendaele, for the next three months.
The despatch of 20th July, 1918, deals with the German attack in
the St. Quentin district which began on 21st March. Regarding the
position west of St. Quentin, in the centre of the Fifth Army, on
the 22nd, paragraph 22, Sir Douglas Haig said: “Our troops, fighting
fiercely and continuously, were gradually forced out of the battle
zone on the whole of this front and fell back through the 20th and
50th Divisions holding the third defensive zone ... in the hope of
re-organising behind them.”