ARRAS.
_First Phase._
From Morcourt the Battalion moved by motor 'buses through Amiens to
Talmas preparatory to a long trek on foot. The first two nights were
spent at Wargnies and Havernas. Here a famous Church Parade was held, at
which the Commanding Officer, in the absence of a Chaplain, preached his
first and, as it proved, his last sermon. From there the Battalion
marched to Longuevillette and then to Vacquerie-le-Bourcq, spending a
night at each place. About this time Lieut. Arnott left the Battalion and
Lieut. G.D.R. Dobson (7th Durham Light Infantry) became Adjutant. The
next day Blangerval and Blangermont were reached and a short stay made,
half the Battalion being accommodated in each village. From here Major
Hunt went up by car to see the forward area and died of heart failure on
the journey. He was brought back to St. Pol, where he was buried in the
cemetery, representatives of several battalions forming the funeral
procession. Major A. Ebsworth, M.C., took over command.
When the march was resumed the direction was changed, and, moving
eastwards, billets were reached at Neuville-au-Cornet. Rumours were now
spreading of the forthcoming battle and a further march to
Villers-sur-Simon left no doubt that the Battalion would be involved.
These were the last billets occupied by the men, the next portion of the
trek bringing them to huts at Montenescourt, about six miles due west of
Arras. Here Lieut.-Col. F.W. Robson, D.S.O. (5th Yorkshire Regiment)
arrived to take over the command, which he held for nearly a year.
On the evening of the 11th April, in a blinding snowstorm, the Battalion
moved forward to the fight. Marching through Arras, they came to the
caves at Ronville. These caves were like nothing seen before. Excavated
by Spanish prisoners in the middle ages to provide stone for the building
of the city, they extended over an enormous area, and were capable of
holding thousands of men. The sensation of finding oneself in this huge
underground town, complete with electric light and water supply, after
stumbling down a long, uneven stairway, will not be forgotten by those
who survive.
After one night here, the caves had to be evacuated next morning to make
room for more troops coming up. The Germans had now been driven back as
far as Wancourt, which was captured the previous day. On leaving the
caves, cellars in Ronville village were occupied. No sooner were the men
in, however, than orders were received to move further forward. The
Battalion paraded on the road leading to Beaurains, which was crowded
with vehicles and men, and marched off in the afternoon. After their
experiences of trench warfare the sight of open, rolling country, the
scene of yesterday's fighting, was very strange and, to some,
invigorating. Passing through the ruins of Beaurains and Neuville
Vitasse, the route turned across country towards Wancourt, and about dusk
the Battalion reached a sunken road, where it halted. Owing to a delay in
the arrival of the Lewis gun limbers, the Lewis gunners were behind the
rest of the Battalion, and some difficulty was experienced by them in
locating the sunken road. Up to this point there had been no firing or
signs of activity. After a conference of Commanding Officers a relief of
the 14th Division was arranged. W, X and Y Companies moved a little
further up and occupied Niger and Nepal trenches, which were some
distance behind the front line, and Z Company were sent to dig a trench a
little further forward near Wancourt cemetery. Here they remained for the
day. At night detailed orders were received for an attack at dawn, the
Battalion's frontage being near Wancourt Tower.
At 1 a.m. on the 14th April the men moved to the assembly position in the
dry bed of the Cojeul River, with the 8th Battalion in support and 5th
Border Regiment in reserve, the 9th Battalion being already in a line
just south of Guemappe. The original orders had now been considerably
altered, and zero hour arrived before fresh orders had been circulated to
the Companies. The result was that at 4.30 a.m., after moving in file
from the assembly position to a bank, some 200 yards in front, the
Battalion advanced under a barrage in four waves of Companies, W being
front and Z in rear, with no orders except a rough indication of the
direction.
As they advanced they were met by very heavy machine-gun fire from the
front and from Guemappe in their left rear. W and X Companies reached the
ridge 500 yards from the starting point, and passing down the other side,
were not seen again during the day. Y and Z Companies also reached the
ridge, but could get no further. Later they were joined by the 8th
Battalion, which was also held up.
The fighting then died down, but apart from one brief message from X
Company no trace could be found of the two front Companies, and the
casualties in the remaining two were very heavy. To add to the confusion,
the 56th Division on the right had lost direction, and men of the London
Regiment were everywhere mixed with those of the 50th Division.
At dusk orders were received that the line on the ridge would be taken
over by the London Rifle Brigade. As soon as the light permitted search
was made for W and X Companies. Eventually the remnants consisting of 4
officers and about 20 men were discovered. Having reached a small system
of trenches, they had organised their defence and successfully beaten off
determined attempts to surround them. About 80 men were finally assembled
after the relief, and more joined the Battalion during the next few days,
but the casualties amounted to over 200, or more than 50 per cent, of the
total fighting strength. The officers killed were Capt. Brock, Lieut.
Richardson, and 2nd Lieuts. Greener, Payne and Newton, whilst many were
wounded. Capts. R.S. Johnson and H. Walton, commanding W and X Companies,
were subsequently awarded the Military Cross, and Corporal Betts the
D.C.M. and Croix de Guerre.
After burying as many bodies as could be recovered, the remnants of the
Battalion moved back to dug-outs in the Hindenburg Line on Telegraph
Hill, which were reached, after a roundabout march, at dawn.
From these dug-outs the Battalion returned next day to the caves at
Ronville, where it was re-organised and re-equipped ready for further
action. After four days' rest it again moved up, on the 21st April, this
time to dug-outs in the trench system known as "The Harp," the Q.M.
Stores remaining in Arras, where on the 22nd April Lieut. Lewis, acting
Q.M., was killed by a shell. In "The Harp" fighting stores were issued,
as the Battalion was to be in reserve for the attack on the 23rd April.
At zero hour, just at dawn on that date, St. George's Day, the
bombardment commenced, and the sight of the gun flashes against the red
sky as the Battalion moved forward will not readily be forgotten. After
two halts in sunken roads orders were received to occupy Niger trench
once more, but by this time the fighting had died down. Although
constantly on the alert, no further orders were received, and after two
nights there, the Battalion was relieved by the 14th Division and
returned to Telegraph Hill. One night was spent there, and the following
day, the 27th, it entrained at Arras for Mondicourt, from where it
marched to billets at Humbercourt, arriving about 3 a.m.
Here a few days were spent resting and training, and on the 1st May a
march was ordered to Berles-au-Bois, which was found to be a village of
ruins without inhabitants. After one night there the Battalion marched to
Riviere-Grosville, where the billets were quite good. Here Lieut. G.D.R.
Dobson went to hospital, and Lieut. R.B. Ainsworth became Adjutant. Two
or three days were spent there, and on the 3rd May a return was made to
Humbercourt. Here very pleasant days were spent in training, particularly
those on the range at Lucheux Forest, where elaborate field firing
schemes were carried out.
After about a fortnight there the Battalion was ordered up in reserve for
an attack by the 33rd Division and marched to Monchy-au-Bois, where the
accommodation was found to consist of an open field in which was a trench
line and much wire. Shelters were erected of ground sheets, and a few
tents obtained, and in these the men lived for five days, training being
continued. Their services were not required in the line, however, and
they marched back to Laherliere. Here a long stay was expected, but the
following day the journey was resumed to Souastre, where the Battalion
spent perhaps the most enjoyable month in its history. The men were
accommodated in a hut camp built round a large parade and sports ground.
As a result of easy training, plenty of recreation and fine weather, the
_moral_ of the men reached a very high level.
_Second Phase._
On the 15th June the Battalion returned to hold the line which it had
helped to gain in April. Leaving Souastre, it marched to support at a
camp near Henin-sur-Cojeul. There was practically no accommodation here
and ground sheets had to be used as shelters. The following day it
relieved the 10th Battalion Essex Regiment in the front line, just south
of the Cojeul River Valley, opposite Cherisy. After four days in this
sector it went out to Divisional reserve near Boisleux-au-Mont, where, on
the 27th June, it was visited by Col. the Hon. W.L. Vane, the Honorary
Colonel of the Battalion. A regular system of reliefs, which lasted for
three months, now commenced. Under this system the Battalion had two
periods of four days in the front line and one in support at Henin or
Neuville Vitasse, followed by eight days in reserve in camp near
Mercatel. The weather was good on the whole, and the trenches in
excellent condition. The enemy was only moderately active and there were
very few casualties. One of the Battalion areas in this sector was the
bank from which the attack started on the 14th April, and whilst there a
cross was erected to the memory of those who fell on that day.
As a result of their long stay here, the men became very familiar with
the whole area, and their experiences in the communication trenches,
Foster Avenue, Shikar Lane, Kestrel Avenue, Avenue Trench and others were
talked of for long after. Neither did they forget Lone Sap, from which
the enemy captured two of their comrades, Cable Trench, which was raided
by a party under 2nd Lieut. B.R. Leatherbarrow, Concrete Trench, the
Hindenburg Line, the caves in Marliere Village, which on one occasion
produced some interesting souvenirs left by the Boches, and many other
localities.
Apart from minor raids and counter-raids, the only outstanding incident
was the double raid of the 15th September. This operation was carried out
by the 9th Durham Light Infantry in the afternoon and repeated by the 8th
Durham Light Infantry in the evening. The Battalion was holding the
sector immediately on the right of the raiders, and its function was to
draw the enemy's attention and fire by the exhibition of dummy figures
and a dummy tank, which were later on view at the United Services Museum
in Whitehall. 2nd Lieut. Leatherbarrow was in charge of these dummies,
assisted by Sergeant P. Finn, who was awarded the Military Medal for his
work.
Other decorations earned during this period were Military Medals awarded
to Corporal Nesbitt and Private Allison of X Company for digging out a
man buried by shell fire, under very dangerous conditions.
Apart from good work in the line not only in patrolling, etc., but also
in improving the trenches till they were probably as good as any on the
whole front, considerable work was done on the erection of reserve camps
and horse standings. It was with some regret therefore that when at
Northumberland Lines, a very comfortable hut camp near Mercatel, the men
heard that they were to leave the area before the winter.
Early in October they marched to a canvas camp at Gomiecourt, just off
the main Bapaume road, and stayed there a short time training. The
arrival of representatives from Divisions in the "Salient," to instruct
in the methods adopted in the recent successful fighting there, left no
doubts as to the next move.