THE SOMME BATTLE, 1916.
We now received definite orders that we were to leave the area and to
move in a southerly direction. We were not told where we were going,
but as we knew the Battle of the Somme had started, it was not
difficult to guess. The only point which might have raised any doubt
in our minds was the fact that the men had been worked almost to a
standstill in the sector which we were leaving, and they had been
encouraged to do so by being informed on more than one occasion by the
Higher Command that this activity was the part they were called upon
to play in order to assist in the great attack which was going on
further south. However, we had all become old soldiers by this time,
and therefore quite expected to learn that, in spite of such promises,
it had become necessary to employ us in the battle line, and we set
off cheerfully southwards with the full intention of once more proving
to the Boches what we could do in the lighting line. In fact, many
would have been sorry, in their hearts, had a big battle taken place
without our Battalion having a hand in it. It would have been looked
upon as a reflection on the Battalion that a big fight could possibly
be carried through without our aid!
We started this march on the 23rd July, and proceeded to Dievel, where
we had two days' rest. From there we continued the march through Gouy,
Occoches, Autheux, Maours, Mirvaux and Lahoussoue, arriving near
Albert on the 8th August. This march was one of the most enjoyable
periods which the Battalion spent in France. The weather was extremely
hot, and the marching was done in the early morning, generally
starting an hour or so before dawn, and completing the march by 9 or
10 a.m. This saved us trudging along in the burning heat, and also
allowed the men the remainder of the day for rest or amusement. The
route was well behind the line, through villages which had not been
destroyed. As a rule we were not billeted in the houses, but bivouaced
in fields, if possible beside a river, where the men were able to
bathe and play games. It was noticeable how physique and spirits
improved as the march went on, and by the time we reached Albert we
were all on the top of our form.
At Albert we once more bivouaced in a field on the south side of the
main road, about one mile west of the town. By this time we were quite
experienced at making shelters out of all kinds of odds and ends. When
at Albert we adopted the plan of wearing the smoke-helmet as a
sporran. This was not only a very convenient way of carrying it behind
the lines, but when the satchel was properly washed it also looked
very smart. It was soon possible to realise the severity of the
fighting, as there was abundant evidence of the action which had taken
place over the area. There was hardly a square yard of ground that was
not ploughed up by shell, the whole area being composed of holes of
different sizes. On the 17th we moved forward. As we marched through
Albert we saw that wonderful sight of the statue of the Virgin and
Child which had been on the top of the cathedral tower originally,
but, having been hit by a shell, now stood out at right angles
overlooking the square. The Child, held out at arms length over the
head of the blessed Virgin, appeared to be gazing at and invoking a
blessing on the troops passing below. We were now to take the
switch-line, which formed part of the German system of trenches in
front of Contalmaison. We had previously prepared our jumping-off
trenches, which we left at 8.55 a.m., following strong artillery
barrage. The German front-line was taken without much difficulty, many
of the enemy surrendering. We reached our objective and started
digging in, but the enemy developed a bombing attack from a trench on
our right, and Captain MacRae, along with Lieut. Orr, started
counter-bombing. Our supply of bombs began to give out, but happily
there were large numbers of German bombs lying about, and with these
we were able to do good execution, especially as we found that we
could get a longer range with these than with our own. Luckily, when
we were getting short handed from casualties, we were able to get the
assistance of two platoons of the 9th Gordons to carry bombs from the
rear up to our bombers.
In the meantime it was apparent that, owing to casualties, we were not
sufficiently strong to hold the elbow and force the trench where the
Germans had formed a block. Unfortunately, the Stokes Gun Team had
been put out of action. Lieut. Anderson, who was in charge of the
guns, did magnificent work for a time, feeding and firing the guns
himself while the team were sent away to fetch more ammunition. Our
casualties had now been severe, and it was evidently necessary to form
a further attack to clear the remainder of the trenches if we were to
maintain the ground already won. This was organised with the
assistance of a party of the Seaforth Highlanders who had arrived as a
carrying party. About this time it was noticed that the Germans were
massing near the Martinpuich-Pozieres road, but our artillery soon
brought their fire on to them and broke them up. Our counter-attack
was launched at 5.50 p.m., and was entirely successful.
Our casualties were heavy, 5 officers being killed and 9 wounded,
while among the rank and file 44 were killed, 16 were missing believed
killed, and 167 wounded. For this action we received several
congratulations, that from the G.O.C. 4th Army stating:--
"Please convey the Army Commander's congratulations to the 15th and
1st Divisions on their successes and the enterprise they are
displaying, which is invaluable at this stage of the battle."
We carried on in this area up till the 19th September, when we were
relieved by the 8th Yorks of the 23rd Division, and went back into
Divisional reserve at Framvillers.
Here we remained carrying out training until the 5th October, when we
once more marched up and bivouaced at Beaucourt, going into the front
line on the 11th, which by this time had been advanced as far as Le
Sars. On the 13th October the Regimental Sergeant-Major, A. K. Scott,
D.C.M., was killed. He had joined the Battalion early in 1914, and had
been with it ever since. He was an exceptionally good R.S.M., a strict
disciplinarian, handling those under him with tact, a splendid
organiser for whom no amount of work seemed too much. A brave man and
a born soldier, he was respected and beloved by all who came in
contact with him. The weather now was broken and the ground was
becoming a quagmire, owing to the innumerable shell-holes being full
of water. Our front line consisted of a series of these shell-holes,
which made all movements by day impossible, and at night, owing to the
lack of any sort of landmarks, it was the simplest thing possible to
lose one's way. The reserve positions were at Contal-maison. It was a
long weary march from the front line back to this point, threading
one's way in the dark between the shell-holes. Afterwards there was a
duckboard track, but as it was well known to the enemy it was often
shelled. It was especially hard upon Lewis Gun Teams and Bombers, who
had to carry their supplies of drums and ammunition and bags of bombs.
We tried once or twice leaving our ammunition and taking over the
relieving Battalion's so as to save carrying, but the men always
complained that the ammunition, etc., handed over to them was dirty,
and they would prefer to stick to their own.
It was exhausting enough walking through the mud in ordinary kit, but
the physical exertion became almost unendurable at the end of two or
three hours when a man, in addition to his rifle and 120 rounds, had
to carry a heavy load which caused him to sink deep in the mud at
every step. One was filled with admiration at the pluck and endurance
of the young lads who did it.
It was intended that we should carry out another attack, but, although
the Battalion moved twice up to the line for this purpose, on each
occasion it had to be postponed, as the weather had rendered the
ground impassable. Jumping-off trenches, however, were prepared. On
one occasion, when the attack looked imminent, the Battalion was
brought back into the line, the Brigadier stating that the parties who
had been put on to the work had not been able to make much progress,
and that he felt sure that if we took it on it would be completed.
This nice compliment compensated us for being brought back into the
line before our time, and spurred on the men to finish the task--which
they did.
On the 4th November we once more went into Divisional Reserve at
Bresle. Here we took over a camp which had been kept in splendid
order. Even the tent boards had been thoroughly scrubbed by those
before us, which created in our minds a very favourable impression of
the outgoing Battalion. The camp stood on high ground outside the
village. We were given the choice of being billeted in the village or
occupying the camp, but the advantages of all being together in a
clean place more than compensated for not going into billets which at
the best appeared very dirty. The cold, however, was intense, the
water being frozen solid inside the tent every morning. The officers
rather envied the men sleeping in a crowded tent, as they had a better
chance of being warm. So far, unfortunately, we had only been able to
get one blanket per man. The cold did not, however, affect the men's
health. The way in which health improved even in the trenches when the
frost came was remarkable. No doubt it must have saved the spreading
of infection, as in the line there were still a great many dead lying
unburied, and every shell-hole was full of stagnant water.
We carried out a varied programme of training, being lucky enough to
have a rifle-range close at hand. By this time the Army was once more
realising the advantages of the rifle, which had for some time been
sadly neglected in favour of the bomb, an instrument which is
exceedingly useful in trench warfare where the sap-heads and trenches
are a few yards from each other, but perfectly useless in more or less
open warfare. The average man could not throw a bomb more than 20/30
yards, and at that range it was almost as dangerous to the thrower as
to the enemy. It was extraordinary, however, what a hold it got of the
troops, a large part of even the home training evidently being devoted
to it. Our main object now was to make the men realise that their best
friend was their rifle. There is a story told of one instance where a
man was seen chasing a Boche within 30/40 yards of him in order to try
and get within easy bombing distance! It apparently never struck him
that with his rifle the Boche was a certain target at this distance.
We also had good ground at Bresle for practice in the construction of
strong points. At this time plenty of amusement could always be got by
visiting the officer's riding school, carried on from 7 to 8 in the
morning. The whole day, however, was not devoted merely to
instructional training, part of every afternoon being devoted to
sports, especially football. Even in the hottest weather or after a
long march the men would hardly be in their billets before somebody
had the football out.
The Brigade Games were held here, and everyone went in for all sorts
of training with the object of trying to win the Championship. The
sports were held in the field below our camp on the 21st November, the
Championship events being the 100 yards, the mile, the cross country
race, the long and high jumps, the tug-of-war, putting the weight,
tossing the caber, and football. The points scored were:--
Gordons, 14
Black Watch, 14
Seaforths, 23
Camerons, 25
So that we, for the third time, won the silver bugle, as the Champions
of the Brigade. The tug-of-war was a most tremendous affair, the final
of which was an all over pull, lasting about 25 minutes. The Camerons'
team in the first period of the pull were over with the exception of
three men, but by degrees they slowly recovered themselves, and
finally, by a sort of cross between a war dance and a quick march,
they pulled the other team over the line. The excitement was intense!
The training for this event was very amusing. On both sides the
trainers were old soldiers who had competed with each other many times
before in India and elsewhere. If either Sergt.-Major while training
his team saw the other approaching, it did not matter how far off, the
training would promptly cease, as they were certain that the opponent
was out to gain tips! Sergt.-Major Vass was responsible for the
splendid training of the winning Cameron team.
While at Bresle we had the honour of being inspected by the G.O.C. in
C., Field Marshal Sir Douglas Haig. He complimented us highly on the
part we had taken in the Battle of the Somme, and expressed himself as
greatly pleased with the appearance of the Battalion.
On the 1st December we moved back once more into Albert, via Laviville
and Millencourt, preparatory to going into the line. While behind the
line we had a strenuous time cleaning and repairing the roads. The
Corps Commander issued a special Order, stating that "He wished to
place on record his great appreciation of the work done by the troops
on the roads, railways, and tramlines during our last six weeks in the
Corps area, and that with the adverse conditions he fully realised the
great amount of extra work which it involved, but trusted that all
ranks would realise how essential the work was in view of future
operations, and, further, for their own welfare."
Moving into "Scots Redoubt," on the 16th, we once more took up our
duty in the front line. By this time trench feet began to appear--a
trouble which always existed during the mud, cold and wet of winter.
It was a satisfaction to know, however, that the Highland Brigade
suffered less in this respect than any other brigade in the Division,
the possible reason being the wearing of hose tops instead of puttees.
When the puttee gets wet it is very apt to shrink and press upon the
leg, interfering with the circulation. The Highlanders, however, were
able to wear two pairs of hose tops, thereby keeping the men's legs
warm without interfering with the circulation, by pressing the feet
into boots when wearing two pairs of socks. They acted the same way as
mittens do for the hands. It is pleasing to realise that the Highland
garb once more proved of value as a fighting kit. In order to prevent
trench feet all men had to rub their feet and legs with whale oil.
This order had to be carried out most strictly, fault always being
found if it was not done.
On one occasion, when some men were in the outpost line for 12
hours--which consisted of a small shell-hole full of water--one of
them developed trench feet on his return. Fault was found because he
had gone 12 hours without oiling his feet, even although he had done
so immediately before going on and coming off duty. On it being
pointed out that it was impossible for a man to go through this
performance while standing in water in an exposed shell-hole, the
reply came back that there was no reason why he should not stand on
one foot, lift the other out of the water, oil it and put it back
again! A performance which no doubt seemed simple to those behind the
lines, but was not so easily carried out in practice. Another point
which was insisted on was trying to get the men to put on dry socks.
Of course it was quite impossible to dry the socks in the line, but
some genius behind the lines was struck with the brilliant idea that
the men should carry a sock in each trouser pocket, which would be an
effective way of drying them. This order was circulated around the
whole of the Highland Brigade, without anybody realising the
difficulty that a man in the kilt would have in finding his trouser
pockets!
No movement could take place near the outpost lines in daylight, which
necessitated the C.O. and others, if they wished to see the outpost
and forward lines, making a tour just before sunrise. Hardly was there
a day that the Brigadier and his staff did not go round these posts,
no matter whether they were deep in mud or snow. There being no
continuous line of trenches, it was the simplest thing to lose one's
way. One morning an officer who had just relieved one of the posts,
bringing with him the rum ration, set out to walk over to the next
post in order to give them their ration. It was a foggy morning with
snow on the ground, and, unfortunately, he missed the post and
wandered on into the German lines, the Battalion thereby losing a very
capable officer and also the rum ration, which from the men in the
post's point of view, was possibly the more serious. The enemy,
however, were apt to do the same, and on more than one occasion we got
German prisoners who had wandered from their own line.
We were unfortunate enough to have to spend Christmas in the front
line, but were relieved on Christmas night, and moved back to Shelter
Wood. It was quite impossible to hold our Christmas and New Year
dinner there, as the camps were hardly more comfortable than the front
line. The mud was indescribable, and it was with the greatest
difficulty that ordinary rations could be got. Thanks to the sea of
mud, it was not possible to distinguish between the points where the
road was solid and where there was a shell hole. It was no uncommon
sight to see a mule team up to their necks in water. Sometimes it even
necessitated the wretched animals being destroyed. One of the senior
officers took it upon himself to try and cope with the mud in the
camp, and was promptly appointed "O.C. Mud!" His system was to cut
trenches into which the mud was pushed by means of a kind of shovel,
then everybody stood along the trench armed with more of these shovels
and kept the mud on the move till it reached the edge of the camp. The
idea was good, but unfortunately mud seemed to be created as quickly
as it was removed, and for those moving about at night these trenches
with their slimy contents were regular traps.
In consequence of the difficulties of transport all stores were very
short, especially coal. One had, therefore, to resort to all kinds of
means in order to get fuel. Luckily, what once had been beautiful
woods were situated near the camp, but now all the trees were smashed
and torn up by artillery. There were strict orders, however, that no
wood should be cut without permission being received from the French
Woods and Forests Department, Paris. The acting C.O. used, therefore,
to sally forth into the wood with a party of men to collect fuel, much
to the fear of the Adjutant, who always expected to see him arrested
for doing so. He, however, calmed his conscience (if that was
necessary) by only removing the fallen timber.
It was our fate to spend Hogmanay of this year once again in the front
line. It was generally expected that the Boches would do something to
celebrate the occasion, but luckily our prophecies proved wrong.
We could look back on the old year 1916, with pride. We had done a lot
of hard work and strenuous fighting. In spite of heavy casualties, the
Battalion was as keen and efficient as ever. Our successes had added
to our _esprit de corps_. We were no longer a new Battalion without a
history. We could now draw inspiration from the feats of arms we had
ourselves accomplished, as well as from that of the old Regiment to
which we were all so proud to belong.
Sometimes one wonders if the ardour of the work, apart from its
discomfort and danger, is fully realised by those who never
experienced it. How often has one heard those at home remark: "Oh,
yes, while you fellows are fighting, we are doing our bit at home--we
have curtailed our holidays, and we don't get away from our work till
6 and 7 at night." Even Staff Officers would impress on you the long
hours they worked, and without doubt most of them did work hard: an
officer at G.H.Q. would be in his office by 9 a.m., and, with the
exception of meal hours and an hour for necessary exercise, he would
not leave his duties till after 10 p.m. While all this is admitted,
yet it would be wrong to imagine that the Regimental Officer did not
also have long hours. Moreover, when his work was done he had no
comfortable bed in which to rest. Even to take one's clothes off was
looked upon as a luxury. It might be of interest, therefore, to put on
record an ordinary day's work of a Company Commander in the line.
During the day he was kept busy with inspecting his line, visits from
Staff Officer, making up returns, answering correspondence, organising
night working parties, indenting for material, and the many other
matters of the daily routine. At night again, when the rations came
up, the C.Q.M.S. would arrive for instructions regarding pay, rations,
detailing of men for leave, courses, etc. After that he had working
parties to visit, sentries to be inspected, examining localities which
could not be visited in daylight, officers coming from patrols to
interview, prepare and write out patrol and other reports which had to
be at Brigade Headquarters before 6 a.m. These are some of the duties
which occupied him during the night. From this it can be realised that
the officer in the line generally got two or three hours sleep at odd
intervals during the night, and with luck another two hours during the
day. And remember that he had to sleep often in a damp shelter or
draughty dug-out in his wet clothes without even a valise to lie on,
many a time with not so much as a blanket to roll round him. When
behind the line in "rest billets" he was more comfortable, as he would
have his "flea-bag" on the floor of a Nissen hut, but still he was
hard worked. His day was occupied with training, clothing, etc., and
his evening with preparing training programmes and the many other
details of running a Company. There were also night working parties of
which he would have to take his turn every third or fourth night, when
he would be up until 3 or 4 in the morning. From this the civilian who
thinks he was hard worked by doing eight hours a day without any days
off (on big pay) can realise that the soldier was doing as much, if
not more, with all the discomforts and risks over and above.
On the 18th January Lieut.-Colonel D. E. M. M. Crichton took over
command of the Battalion, Colonel Marsh having gone down the line
sick. We were all sorry to part with Colonel Marsh, who was a good
soldier, and who had been with us through all the fighting in the
Somme. He was suffering from fever, the result of many years service
in India, and which had been aggravated by the exposure of wintering
in the Somme. Life under the best circumstances was most miserable,
but to have all the depression of fever on the top of it must have
been exceedingly trying, although many of us at the time did not know
what he had to endure.
One of our experiences about this time was a dug-out fire, some
brilliant genius putting a brazier on the top of a box of
Verey-lights, which after a time went off and started shooting about
the dug-out. The dug-out was situated in the front line in the Le Sars
sunken road, which was generally a sea of mud, often overflowing down
into the dug-out. One would have thought that it was impossible for
any of the timber saturated with mud and water to burn. This soon
proved to be wrong, as the fire worked its way up one of the stairs,
getting a splendid down-draught from the others. The place was soon a
roaring furnace. The officers and men set about building up a
barricade with sandbags. This was an exciting experience, for the
Verey-lights kept shooting about as the fire increased in intensity,
and might at any moment have set fire to the boxes of bombs, etc. One
of the men actually ordered an officer out with the remark, "it was no
place for him," when he began to realise the danger. Perhaps this was
not strictly in accordance with the idea of army discipline, but at
any rate it shewed the good spirit and affection that existed between
the officers and men.
At the beginning of February we were relieved by the 5th Australian
Brigade, the 18th Australian Battalion relieving the Camerons. We went
back through Becourt to Contay, where we went into corps reserve,
nominally for a rest, but practically for intensive training. In this
little village we at last got the opportunity of holding our
long-delayed Christmas and New Year dinner, which took place by
Companies. The 2nd in Command and the Padre proceeded to Amiens to
purchase provisions for the revels--pigs, wine, beer, etc. The first
had to be bought alive in the Pig Market, where acquaintance was
struck up with the most villainous looking Frenchman. The porkers were
chosen from the fat ones that squealed the loudest when poked in the
ribs by the Padre's stick. The dinners were a great success. The
Parish Priest was a guest at the Officer's dinner, and appeared to be
a good judge of wine, and thoroughly to enjoy his meal, besides being
a very jolly old gentleman.