LA BASSÉE
(_December 1917—March 1918_)
The front of the La Bassée Sector ran north and south for nearly 5000
yards, and was intersected in the centre by the Béthune—La Bassée Canal,
at a point roughly three kilometres west of the town of La Bassée. The
left, or Givenchy, sub-sector contained the ruins of Givenchy, once a
mining village, now an important tactical point on a spur of the Aubers
ridge. The right sub-sector, which included the canal and the village
of Cuinchy to the south, was known as the Canal Sector. The opposing
lines had been practically stationary since 1915, and here could be
traced the history of trench warfare from its early and crude forms to
its latest developments, as the story of the earth’s surface is revealed
in strata and fossils to the geologist. The trenches and landmarks bore
names familiar to very many battalions and units of the B.E.F., as,
for instance, _Windy Corner_, _Harley Street_, _Orchard Keep_, _Moat
Keep_, _Poppy and Marie Redoubts_, _Death or Glory Sap_, _Red Dragon
Crater_, _Mill Sap_, and many others. In the reserve line—part of the
“Village Line” which ran as far south as Lens—stood Cambrin, Pont Fixe,
Le Plantin, Festubert, and Cailloux, all in ruins, though in Cambrin,
within 2000 yards of the front line, a few civilians still clung to their
homes and strove to subsist by providing light lunches and selling eggs,
chocolates, and oranges to the troops. This sector was popularly known as
“Egg and Chips Front.”
D.H.Q. was at Locon. One infantry brigade held each sub-sector and the
third was in Divisional Reserve, with a system of reliefs described by
an appreciative officer as “beautiful and soothing in its clockwork
regularity.” The villages of Beuvry, Le Preol, Essars, Le Quesnoy,
Gorre, and Oblinghem provided some of the best billets the Division
experienced in France or Belgium, and the comparatively large town of
Béthune was near enough to offer its considerable attractions to the
troops in reserve. Béthune and its inhabitants had always enjoyed an
admirable reputation among officers and men of the B.E.F., and when the
Division first entered this area the town was not seriously damaged. At a
later date, however, it suffered so severely from aircraft bombing and a
long-range gun that many of its inhabitants were forced to leave; and a
company of the 8th Manchesters on its way from the front to its billets
in the vicinity of the town was surprised by a low-flying plane, which
dropped a bomb that killed or wounded nearly half the company. By the end
of the year 1917 Béthune was like a city of the dead.
[Illustration: LA BASSÉE CANAL, LOOKING TOWARDS PONT FIXE.]
[Illustration: HARLEY STREET AND WINDY CORNER.]
[Illustration: LA BASSÉE SECTOR. THE BRICK STACKS.]
[Illustration: LA BASSÉE SECTOR. SITE OF GIVENCHY CHURCH.]
[Illustration: GIVENCHY. “J” SAP.]
[Illustration: GIVENCHY. MOAT FARM.]
Though the phrase “nothing to report” occurred with unvarying monotony
during the Division’s sojourn in this region, and though the experiences
here seem to have had little in common with those of the closing stages
of the war, it was in the Béthune—La Bassée area that the 42nd Division
was raised to its highest standard of efficiency, _esprit-de-corps_, and
enthusiasm, and that it received training and inspiration to accomplish
the deeds by which it won distinction in the great battles of 1918, and
helped to break the iron might of the German armies and bring about the
final triumph.
[Sidenote: _The Trenches in Winter_]
The trench system here was “Bairnsfather-land” pure and simple. The very
names conjure up vivid pictures—the trenches deep in melting snow; No
Man’s Land, with its almost continuous line of craters, full of stagnant,
green, stinking water, the sides of crumbling earth and slimy mud
converting them into death-traps for night-patrols; the front line with
its saps—eerie and lonely posts for the sentries who kept watch. As in
the leading case of the Curate’s Egg, some parts were better than others.
South of the Brickstacks, and south of the La Bassée—Béthune road, for
instance, the accommodation in dugouts and tunnels was quite comfortable.
Company Headquarters there were sometimes mistaken by delighted visiting
Brigadiers for public picture-galleries, so elaborately were they
decorated with illustrations from _La Vie Parisienne_ and kindred works.
But north of the canal the water-level was only a few feet below the
surface, and the “trenches” were little more than parapets of turf and
sandbag breastworks. They had been made at a time when little thought was
given to “batter” and “berm,” and, under the influence of rain, frost,
and thaw, shell fire and trench-mortar fire, duckboards had disappeared
under pits of mud, and walls had collapsed and blocked the trenches in a
tangle of wood, rabbit-netting, and mud. It seemed enough to ask a man
merely to keep alive in the awful discomfort of the trenches in winter,
and under such conditions to carry on the offensive and defensive work
of the garrison. But far more than this was demanded, for there was no
end to the work of maintaining existing defences and constructing a new
system. Give the infantryman a rifle and bombs, and point out where
and how he can use them, and his inevitable grouse is no more than the
Englishman’s traditional method of disguising his real cheerfulness. But
hand him a spade or barbed wire and stakes, and ask him to dig, or erect
“apron” fences, and he ceases to be his old cheerful self. However nicely
the detested term “working party” may be camouflaged, nothing will ever
reconcile him to fatigues, and it must be remembered that he was attired
for war, not for manual labour. The impedimenta he carried, including
the box respirator strapped across his chest in the “alert” position,
placed him under a heavy handicap. Yet he does the work—no soldier
better! He loathed it, but he put his back into it, and found matter for
facetious comment in his own and his chum’s personal appearance. For
the leather jerkin which had been issued when the frost came had now
been supplemented by a pair of “boots, gum, thigh,” and he looked like a
Yarmouth fisherman in a tin hat.
In this sector sick and wounded were generally conveyed to the Base
Hospitals by the Inland Water Transport’s comfortable hospital barges.
This was a mode of transport much preferred to the alternative of
conveyance over bumpy roads. One badly-wounded man, on being put aboard
one of the barges, expressed the hope that there were no shell-holes in
La Bassée Canal, as he would hate to be bumped. The men in the trenches
regarded the “bargees” with some envy, and inquiries were made as to the
qualifications necessary to obtain this coveted job.
An extensive scheme of concrete shelter construction was taken in
hand by the engineers, especially in the support line, known as the
Village Line. Owing to the presence of water a few feet below the
ground level, tunnelled dug-outs were seldom practicable, so a system
of 5·9-shell-proof, ferro-concrete structures was begun. The Brigade in
rest-billets supplied working-parties, and some idea of the amount of
labour required is shown in the records of the 428 Field Company, where
the number of man-loads of material used in the making of these shelters
for one brigade front alone is given as follows—
Cement 5,036 sandbags
Shingle 19,384 ”
Sand 9,692 ”
------
Total 34,112 sandbags,
each averaging 60 lb. in weight, a quite sufficient load for a man to
carry over a mile of trench duckboards on a slippery day in winter. A
pioneer battalion (three companies) was lent by the 55th Division, one
pioneer company and one field company being with each infantry brigade
in line, the remaining pioneer company working in back areas under the
orders of the C.R.E. By some men duty in the line was preferred to any
other form of employment. A batman from rear headquarters was returned
to duty for some misdemeanour. Being seen in the line a few days later
looking particularly fit and cheerful, he was asked how he liked the
change. “It’s a cinch!” he replied. “Keep your buttons clean and call the
C.S.M. ‘Sir,’ and it’s a soft job.”
[Illustration: PTE. W. MILLS, V.C., 1/10 BN. MANCHESTER REGT. DIED OF
WOUNDS]
[Illustration: BETHUNE—LA BASSÉE CANAL, SHOWING NO MAN’S LAND, THE
CRATERS, ORCHARD KEEP, ETC.]
[Sidenote: _Red Dragon Crater, December 10, 1917_]
Though there were no infantry operations beyond occasional raids, the
trench warfare was not lacking in incident, and snipers and patrols were
active. Here the enemy snipers gave little trouble, and our patrols, of
which several went out nightly from each front-line battalion, rarely
encountered the enemy in No Man’s Land, where British mastery was tacitly
admitted. Particular attention was paid to the systematic collection
of intelligence by patrols, and a standard form of patrol report was
introduced, and was incorporated later in the 42nd Division Pocket
Book. Gas projectiles were freely used by the enemy, and on the first
occasion these caused heavy casualties. But this incident gave the 10th
Manchesters the opportunity to show their grit and tenacity. They seized
the chance with both hands, and grievous as was the loss sustained, the
story of the night of December 10 is one that Oldham men look back upon
with pride. The battalion had only been in the front line for an hour or
two when the enemy, knowing that a relief had just taken place, bombarded
their trenches with gas-drums preliminary to an attack. Practically every
man in Red Dragon Crater, occupied by men of “C” Company, was affected by
the poison-gas, and most were out of action when the Germans attacked.
But though choking, blinded, and reeling—and well aware from lectures
on the subject that exertion under such circumstances is likely to be
fatal—every man who could stand made for the parapet, and with bombs,
rifles, and Lewis guns put up a memorable fight, one after another
sinking back into the trench to die from the poison. But they held their
post and beat the Boche, and every man who took part merited recognition.
Private Walter Mills, realizing the deadly nature of the gas and the
danger of the post being lost, sprang at once to the top of the trench,
and fought magnificently to save the situation. Though suffering acutely
from the gassing, he remained there, throwing bombs and beating off the
attack, and fell back to die just as victory was assured. He was selected
for the posthumous award of the V.C., and four other men of the company
received the Military Medal.
A snowstorm in December was followed by a frost of more than a
fortnight’s duration. When the sudden thaw came, with torrents of rain,
the old trenches collapsed in many cases and were almost waist-deep in
mud and water. Huge craters, due to former mining and counter-mining
activity, abounded in the sector, and these were waterlogged, as was most
of this marshy region, and the work of the night patrols was rendered
still more difficult and exciting. Every available man was put to work,
and the 55th Division lent their pioneer battalion and a field company.
Christmas arrived before the thaw, and, with twenty degrees of frost,
the weather was appropriate to the occasion, and the blood tingled as it
ought to do. The festival was celebrated by each unit on the date most
convenient to itself, so the festivities continued well into January.
Quartermasters had become expert in buying pigs “on the hoof” and
fattening them. Béthune yielded oranges, apples, and nuts, and even beer
at a price. Rations were supplemented lavishly from canteen funds, and
there was no lack of cash, for it was intended that the men should have
a good time. Mess-rooms were gay with garlands and bunting; dangers
and hardships were forgotten, and the troops gave themselves over to
merriment and good-fellowship. During the entertainment that followed
one of the Christmas dinners an officer, much impressed by the radiant
happiness, physical fitness, and morale, remarked: “I wonder what the
parents would think if miraculously transported into this room? They
would imagine that being at the front is regarded as the most glorious
fun in the world, and that their boys are having the time of their lives.”
The pantomime, _Cinderella_, given by _Th’ Lads_, under the direction
of Major Maude, D.A.A.G., Captain Webster, R.A.M.C., and Captain Makin,
9th Manchesters, drew large and enthusiastic houses, and richly deserved
its popularity, the acting, staging and dresses being remarkably good.
It was held at Le Quesnoy, within range of the enemy’s field-guns,
and parties of officers and men were taken by motor-lorry from their
billets in adjacent villages. In addition, each unit organized concerts
and entertainments, and the 7th Manchesters were specially prominent
in this respect, Major Hurst’s delightfully funny sketch “_Gwendolen
de Vere of Greenheys Lane_” being hugely enjoyed. Each Brigade or unit
had its favourite songs and its own peculiar jokes, many of which were
incomprehensible to the outsider. Perhaps none was quite so esoteric as
the weird Lament of the 10th Manchesters, known in three continents and
many countries as “_On Owdham Edge beaut ’at_” (sung to an old Methodist
tune combining swing and solemnity), wherein the gruesome fate of the
lad who, without head-covering, courts Mary Jane upon that eminence is
foreseen by the fond parent in a way that vies with Darwin’s logic in
tracing the super-excellence of the roast beef of Old England (pre-war)
to the prevalence of old maids in rural districts, _via_ cats, mice,
honey-bees, and clover. First a cold, then death, burial, eaten by
worms, worms devoured by ducks, which in turn appear upon the family
dinner-table. “Then we’s soon be ettin’ thee,” begins the last verse
of this lugubrious but fascinating lyric. No doubt it recalled the
loved, if unlovely, streets and mills of Chadderton, Mumps, Glodwick and
Hollinwood, and visions of home and of potato-pie. A young “roughyed”
who had taken a Blighty one at Nieuport got home-leave from a South of
England hospital just after Christmas. “Eh, lad, but aw’m glad to see thi
agen,” was his mother’s greeting. “Did they feed thi well?” “Feed me,
mother! I’ve never ’ad such feedin’ in aw me life as this Christmas. ’am
an’ eggs for breekfast, turkey an’ sossidges, plum-puddin’ an’ mince-pies
for dinner. Cakes an’ grapes an’ apples an’ oranges as much as we could
put away. Then yesterday we wur taken to a big house for dinner, and ’ad
it all o’er agen, an’ other things too.” “Eh, lad, but they’ve done thi
well!” “Aye, everything we could want—except one thing, mother, as I’m
fair longin’ for, and that’s a gradely tater-pie.” “That’s aw reet, lad!
There’s one a-waitin’ for thi i’ th’ oven, Aw knowed as they wouldna be
feedin’ thi proper.”
[Illustration: LA BASSÉE SECTOR. THE MILL.]
[Illustration: LA BASSÉE SECTOR. GIVENCHY CRATERS.]
[Illustration: LA BASSÉE SECTOR. GORRE CHÂTEAU.]
[Sidenote: _Festivities and Social Life_]
The social life played an important part in developing and stimulating
the morale of the Division. New drafts to replace casualties had first to
acquire the _esprit de corps_ of the Unit, and then of the Brigade and
Division; and the hearty fellowship and jollity shown by all ranks at
Christmastide had a distinct military value. The 42nd had again become
one of the happiest of divisions, and good comradeship prevailed from top
to bottom, whether in the line, where danger and hardship were cheerfully
accepted as part of the day’s work, or in billets, where care was cast
aside. To take one instance, who can forget “Harley Street” after dusk?
Within rifle range of the enemy, and under observation in the daytime, it
would hardly seem the place in which to congregate. With divisional baths
and a reading and recreation room in full swing, the street was a crowded
thoroughfare, and when night fell limbers and wagons passed through in an
unending stream. Men lounged in the doorways of ruined houses, smoking,
passing remarks on things in general and critical comments on drivers
and animals. The air hummed with the buzz of conversation, broken now
and again by snatches of popular ditties from gatherings of convivial
souls. The spirit of good-humour was passed on to the folk at home. A
machine-gunner had been punished by his officer, and, knowing that the
same officer would have to read the letter in his capacity as censor,
he wrote to his mother: “We have got a new Section Officer, such a nice
fellow. We get on splendidly together, and he thinks me so capable that
he has got me the job of cleaning pack-saddles this week.”
The strength of the Division on January 1, 1918, was 732 officers and
14,314 other ranks. On January 14 Major-General Townsley, of the American
Army, with his Chief of Staff and A.D.C., was attached to the Division
for ten days. On the 22nd the campaign on behalf of St. Dunstan’s Hostel
for blinded soldiers was closed. £775 had been raised in the Division,
this amount being £130 more than had been raised by any other division of
the 1st Corps.
The Divisional Artillery, which covered the whole of the front,
had far more fighting than the infantry. The policy was one
of “Offensive-Defensive.” The enemy’s guns, and above all his
trench-mortars, were very active, and long acquaintance with this sector
enabled him accurately to register the targets he periodically engaged.
His “minnies” were the pet aversion of the men in the trenches. But
here the Germans had not the advantage they possessed at Lombartzyde,
and punishment was meted out to them. As a counter-measure a standing
order was issued that for every T.M. shell fired by the enemy he must
receive five in return, and with the exception of the few occasions
when prevented by limitation of ammunition, all T.M. crews loyally and
gladly carried out the order. Good use was made of the Punishment Fire
scheme inaugurated in the Nieuport sector. A selection, carefully based
on all available intelligence, was made of those targets which would
cause the enemy the most immediate damage and inconvenience. These were
registered, and when the enemy shell fire exceeded what was considered
the limit of normal harassing, prompt and effective retribution was dealt
out to him by guns of all calibres from the 15-inch howitzers to the
18-pounder field-guns.
Of the three machine-gun companies of the Division—the fourth arrived in
February—two and a half companies were in action covering the front. A
few of their guns fired indirect S.O.S. barrages, and the remainder were
sighted for direct fire in carefully chosen positions distributed in
depth. Every inch of ground over which the enemy must advance was swept
by machine-gun fire, direct or indirect, frontal or flanking. To take two
examples only—the ground from the canal at Death or Glory Sap up to and
beyond Red Dragon Crater was swept by the direct flanking fire of two
guns cunningly emplaced in the railway embankment on the south side of
the canal; and the northern face of the bastion of Givenchy was swept by
the indirect fire of four guns near Festubert Keep. In addition to their
defensive duties the machine-gun companies carried out day and night
harassing programmes.
A brief reference must be made to the work of the 179th Tunnelling
Company, R.E., in the right sector. Most of their heavy work, such as the
construction of tunnelled dug-outs and emplacements, and the maintenance
of infantry sub-ways, proceeded unseen by the men of other arms, for
the entrances to the deep-mining system were closed to the curious. The
strata in which mining operations were possible had become so honeycombed
with galleries and listening-saps that no new offensive mining could be
undertaken without instant detection. The methods of keeping touch with
enemy activities were full of interest. In a little chamber off the main
gallery a man sat in front of a board on which was a plan of the mine
system. A telephone receiver was fixed over his ears. By inserting a plug
into the board at any of the sapheads he could listen by a microphone to
the enemy’s subterranean activities in the vicinity of this particular
sap. A pump at work in an adjacent trench, an enemy miner patrolling the
gallery or tiptoeing to an adjacent saphead—even such sounds as these
could be detected with uncanny distinctness.
The system of holding the line by tactical localities and immediate
counter-attack, which afterwards proved so successful as compared
with continuous line, was made the subject of strenuous training. The
reorganization was planned with the double object of reducing the
number of men required to garrison the trenches, and at the same time
of strengthening the defence by a series of self-contained, mutually
supporting localities, disposed in depth and connected, so far as
possible, by underground, shell-proof passages, with wire-entanglements
so sited as to bring an approaching enemy under the fire of these
localities. The term “locality” is used to denote an area of ground of
tactical importance which is organized for defence in depth to form a
centre of resistance. The guiding principle is that its front and flanks
should be held by infantry posts and machine-guns while reserves are
kept in hand ready for counter-attack within the locality. A large
number of concrete machine-gun emplacements, command posts, etc., were
constructed, and as there was no adequate system of light railways or
tramways serving the front, a heavy strain was thrown upon the transport
in bringing up R.E. material alone. The value of this work was seen
later during the German offensive on the Lys in April, 1918, the sector
being then held by the 55th (West Lancashire Territorial) Division.
Major-General Jeudwine, commanding the 55th Division, in a letter to
Major-General Solly-Flood, stated that the work of the East Lancashires
had greatly assisted the West Lancashires to defeat the onslaughts of
the enemy—and thus hold inviolate that most important tactical feature,
Givenchy—and that he had pleasure in acknowledging the debt they owed to
their predecessors.
[Sidenote: _Raids_]
There were raids on both sides, but while those of the enemy revealed a
lack of determination and of the true offensive spirit, ours were entered
upon and carried through with zest. In the southern sector the Germans
were particularly inactive, but the Division opposite Givenchy showed
rather more enterprise.[11] Twice they attempted to raid “J” and “K”
saps, and on the first occasion succeeded in entering our trenches, only
to be promptly ejected. Other attempts further north were equally futile.
On the British side the raids provided welcome breaks in the monotony
of trench routine. The most important raid by our troops took place
on February 11 in the left sector, opposite Festubert. The artillery
put down a “box” barrage, enclosing an area by three walls of bursting
shells, and Captain D. B. Stephenson, with two other officers and
ninety-seven men of the 9th Manchesters and an officer and six sappers
of the 429 Field Company, went “over the top” in two waves. In places
the wire had been imperfectly cut, so men lay flat on the “concertinas”
to keep the wire down while their comrades scrambled across. As the
barrage enclosed the enemy within the “box,” they could not get away nor
could reinforcements reach them, so they had no choice but to fight man
to man, and at this the Germans were no match for the Ashton men. At
least twenty-five were killed, seven prisoners and two machine-guns were
secured, and the sappers blew up three enemy dug-outs with gun-cotton. It
was a good night’s work, carried out with great dash.
On the following night, Lieutenant A. Elliott, 7th L.F., with Sergeant
T. Gerrard, Corporal J. Phipps, and two men, reconnoitred a mineshaft
situated well within the enemy’s lines, near the Brickstacks. After
exploring the tunnel he left a guard over it and went back for a
demolition party, returning with an officer and three men of a tunnelling
company and seven Fusiliers carrying explosive. Elliott helped the
tunnellers to lay the charge, and then sent back all the men except
Phipps, who remained with him to guard the entrance while the tunnelling
officer lit the fuse. The mineshaft was completely destroyed and the
whole party returned in safety. Elliott and the two N.C.O.s had been
associated in two night adventures on February 1-3, in the course of
which they discovered the mineshaft and explored the tunnelling system
for 150 yards. Afterwards they located and bombed an enemy post,
inflicting casualties.
On February 15 the Division was relieved by the 55th Division and
withdrawn to 1st Corps Reserve in the Busnes—Burbure—Fouquieres area,
with D.H.G. first at Hinges and later at Labouvriere. The divisional
artillery were relieved a few days later, but the pioneers and the
sappers remained at work in the line during the whole of the Division’s
period of rest. The billets in the rest-area were good, sports were
encouraged, and concerts held in the local halls. Training was carried on
vigorously. Suitable ground for musketry and field work existed in the
divisional area, and full use was made of it. The training always had in
view open and semi-open warfare, and it included the hasty occupation of
defensive positions in depth, counter-attacks on small and large scales,
the use of ground for manœuvre, and of different weapons in attacks on
strong points. This training proved most valuable in the operations
following upon the enemy offensive in March. The Division also provided
large working parties for work on the rear lines of defence within the
Corps area.
Shortly before the Division was relieved it had received its pioneer
battalion, the 1/7th Northumberland Fusiliers, transferred from the
50th Division. This battalion, commanded by Lieut.-Colonel Liddell,
D.S.O., had been given little time to carry out its reorganization from
a four-company infantry battalion to a three-company pioneer battalion
before being set to work on the 1st Corps defences. The territorial
spirit is strong, and the Northumberland men did not conceal their
chagrin at having to leave the division in which they had won renown at
High Wood and elsewhere, but they soon threw themselves into the work
and play of their new division with such zeal that they rapidly won
popularity and a reputation for great courage and efficiency. Their work
was of the greatest value to the Division, both when resisting the German
onrush, and no less when the tide turned. They also showed much prowess
in all games and sports.
[Sidenote: _Reorganization_]
A more extensive reorganization had now to be made. So great had been
the drain upon the man-power of the empire that it had become necessary
to reduce the establishment of infantry brigades from four to three
battalions. A number of officers and men of the 6th Lancashire Fusiliers,
the 4th East Lancashires, and the 9th Manchesters were posted to other
battalions of the Division, and the remainder transferred to the 66th
Division. As the 126th Brigade thereby lost two battalions, the 8th
Manchesters were transferred to it from the 127th Brigade. The brigades
were then made up as follows—
The 125th Brigade—
1/5th Battalion Lancashire Fusiliers
1/7th ” ” ”
1/8th ” ” ”
The 126th Brigade—
1/5th Battalion East Lancashire Regiment
1/8th ” Manchester Regiment
1/10th ” ” ”
The 127th Brigade—
1/5th Battalion Manchester Regiment
1/6th ” ” ”
1/7th ” ” ”
As most of the battalions were all considerably below strength
they received as reinforcements three battalions (less Commanding
Officers, Adjutants, and Quartermasters) from the 66th Division—the
3/5th Lancashire Fusiliers, the 2/8th Manchesters, and the 2/10th
Manchesters—which were divided among the nine battalions. The departure
of three battalions which for three and a half years had shared in
the labours, dangers, and honours of the Division was a matter of
deep regret both for those who left and those who remained, but there
was some consolation in the thought that they now formed part of the
sister-division, and would thenceforward fight side by side with the
second-line battalions of their own units. The four separate machine-gun
companies were now reorganized as a machine-gun battalion, one company
being with each infantry brigade, and one in Divisional Reserve. There
were also changes in the trench-mortar batteries. V/42, 9·2-inch T.M.
Battery had been left in the La Bassée sector. X/42 and Y/42, 6-inch T.M.
batteries were transformed into six-gun batteries, Z/42 being divided
between them. The departure of the C.R.E., Lieut.-Colonel D. S. MacInnes,
C.M.G., D.S.O., to become Deputy Engineer-in-Chief at G.H.Q., caused
general regret. Few men of the Division had so thorough a knowledge of
the front line, and whenever any particularly difficult and dangerous
work was in hand, he would be there by day or by night to assist, and
especially to encourage. Another of the best-known figures in the
Division, the A.D.M.S., Colonel T. P. Jones, C.M.G., had left, and had
been succeeded by Colonel W. R. Matthews, D.S.O., who maintained the
R.A.M.C. in the highly efficient state to which it had been brought by
Colonel Jones and his subordinates, and the Division soon had reason to
congratulate itself upon the appointment. In January, too, Lieut.-Colonel
R. F. Guy, D.S.O., had been appointed G.S.O. 1. A hard worker, he
backed up his chief with loyalty and energy, and soon gained the entire
confidence of the Brigadiers and C.O.s.
The Divisional Reception Camp at Allouagne was proving very valuable as a
training centre, and even casuals passing through from hospital or other
leave were given a brief refresher in musketry and gas training, and a
general smartening up. That instruction in “General Knowledge” was needed
by some of the newer drafts is shown by the following true story, which
is also a tribute to the energy and activity of the A.A. and Q.M.G. of
the Division. An N.C.O., at the close of an hour’s instruction in a barn
at Le Quesnoy, asked one or two general questions—
_Instructor._ “Who commands the battalion?” (Correctly answered.) “Who
commands the battalion when the colonel is away?”
_A Voice_ (after an interval of silence). “Sergeant-Major ⸺”
_Instructor._ “Wrong.”
_Another Voice._ “Colonel Slaughter.”
_Instructor._ “Wrong again. Major X. commands in the colonel’s absence.
Now, who commands the Brigade?”
_Several Voices._ “Colonel Slaughter!”
_Instructor._ “Wrong. It is commanded by General Henley. Now, who
commands the Division?”
_Loud Chorus._ “Solly-Flood.”
_Instructor._ “Right. Who commands the Division if the General is away.”
_Full Chorus._ “COLONEL SLAUGHTER!!”
About this period a violent attack of mange among the R.E. horses carried
off eighty per cent. of one field company’s animals. Stringent orders
were given to prevent its spread, and the drivers were separated into two
lots, one to look after the infected horses, the other to guard those
which had not yet developed symptoms. All the clothing was stoved, and
for one day drivers had to do their best to keep warm in their shirts
and pretend that they were “Jocks.” The Divisional Commander was always
pleased to see the transport men on terms of intimacy and affection with
their animals, and he frequently asked the names of the horses. One day
he heard a driver address his mare as “Phœbe,” and remembered that the
man had recently assured him that its name was “Dolly.” He pointed this
out, whereupon the driver explained that in the meantime he had changed
his girl.
Though it is always gratifying to come across men thoroughly devoted to
duty and conscientious in its performance, enthusiasm may be carried to
extremes. Two worthy men on the pioneer staff of their battalion were
detailed to superintend a foot-bath, and being very conscientious, they
determined that no foot-bath in the B.E.F. should have a better record.
Each day they proudly reported the number of men who had used the bath,
and the average was high. But for some reason numbers began to dwindle,
so the pioneers resorted to the expedient of seizing passers-by and
compelling them to wash their feet. The average went up again until on
one unhappy day they grabbed three of the adjutant’s runners.
The coming event was already casting its threatening shadow before
it. The feeling was in the air that the Germans were preparing for the
mightiest of all their amazing military efforts, and as one could only
conjecture where the heaviest blows would fall, the whole army was on the
alert. The 42nd Division was in a state of readiness to reinforce any
part of the 1st Corps front should the necessity arise. In addition, one
infantry brigade and machine-gun company were warned to move at short
notice by motor-bus and route-march to reinforce the Portuguese[12] on
the immediate left of the Corps. On the night of February 25-26 the
Portuguese trenches were heavily bombarded, and in the early morning
the 126th Brigade moved to its supporting positions in the area around
Vieux Chapelle and La Couture, arriving at 10 a.m. However, nothing more
serious than a raid was attempted, and in the afternoon the Brigade was
withdrawn.
[Sidenote: “_Wits and Guts_”]
The Divisional Artillery came out of action for a period of training
near Choques, and on March 1 the Division passed from Corps into G.H.Q.
Reserve. The Divisional Commander availed himself of the opportunity
to deliver to officers and N.C.O.s a lecture the purport of which is
expressed with admirable terseness in its title, “Wits and Guts.” The
General gave a vivid picture of the fighting of 1914, and foretold that
it was highly probable that the Division before long might find itself
similarly situated, and would then have the opportunity to emulate
the deeds of the “Old Contemptibles.” The lecture was given to every
officer and N.C.O. of each infantry and artillery brigade, and to other
units in turn, and a précis was afterwards issued in the Foreword to
the Divisional Pocket Book. It was in the course of this address that
Major-General Solly-Flood gave the Division its motto, “GO ONE BETTER,” a
motto adopted with enthusiasm by all ranks as a very real expression of
the spirit that inspired the Division.
The training during February and March included some keenly contested
and most useful competitions. The basis of training and sport was the
platoon. The spirit of the attack was the platoon. There were platoon
efficiency competitions, from guard mounting and clean turn-out to
contests of skill with all weapons; platoon boxing, football, cricket,
sing-songs, and similar rivalries, and also transport competitions.
In this way every individual had to take part, and none looked on all
the time. There were other interests, too. Larks were singing, and
though the wanton lapwing was not in evidence, the fuller “crimson”
was showing on the robin’s breast—in short, spring was in the air, and
more than one young man’s fancy lightly turned to thoughts of love, and
the French maidens were not coy. The rather hazy notions that had been
entertained of the French as a light-hearted, frivolous race had been
turned inside out. True, they had seen little or nothing of French males
under fifty-five years of age, but they had discovered that French women
and girls were the most practical, shrewd, clear-headed, and capable in
the world. Young girls and middle-aged and elderly women were combining
the heavy farm-work of men—and doing it well!—with the house-work of
the capable house-wife, the art and craft of the trained milliner and
dressmaker, and a mastery of finance worthy of a chartered accountant.
The rapid and facile mental arithmetic displayed by girls in “totting
up” the sum total of a complicated series of purchases in one lightning
utterance, apparently composed entirely of sibillants that reminded
the audience of “Sister Susie’s sewing shirts,” took the breath away
and compelled admiration. Nor was the admiration wholly one-sided. The
Lancashire lad was pronounced _gentil_ and _aimable_. He would fetch and
carry, amuse the children, mind the baby, and perform a hundred and one
odd jobs to help the overworked women, and many friendships were formed.
But training, sports, and dallying were rudely interrupted by the call
received on March 21, when, at about 6 p.m., warning orders were received
that the Division might be suddenly called upon to move southwards into
action. The warning was emphasized on the night of the 21st by a terrific
bombardment by German aircraft of all back areas, railheads and junctions.
The great German offensive had begun. On the morning of March 23 the
Division started to join the 6th Corps, Third Army, in the Somme area,
the infantry, R.E., and R.A.M.C. personnel proceeding in motor-lorry and
’bus, the artillery and transport by road.
[Sidenote: _Strength of Division, March 1, 1918_]
Total strength of 42nd Division, March 1, 1918—
Officers. Other ranks.
Divisional Headquarters 33 111
Royal Artillery, H.Q. 5 19
210th Brigade, R.F.A. 35 778
211th ” ” 38 773
Div. Ammunition Column 29 778
Royal Engineers, H.Q. 3 10
427th Field Company 8 208
428th ” ” 6 197
429th ” ” 7 213
42nd Signal Company 9 274
125th Brigade, H.Q. 3 21
5th Lancashire Fusiliers 45 958
7th ” ” 43 907
8th ” ” 42 934
125th T.M. Battery 3 43
126th Brigade, H.Q. 3 22
5th East Lancashires 44 975
8th Manchesters 46 982
10th ” 54 980
126th T.M. Battery 4 46
127th Brigade, H.Q. 3 21
5th Manchesters 43 958
6th ” 49 982
7th ” 41 980
127th T.M. Battery 5 61
Machine-Gun Companies 38 753
1/7th Northumberland Fusiliers (P.) 43 945
Divisional Train, A.S.C. 20 385
” Supply Column 4 220
R.A.M.C.
1st E.L. Field Ambulance 8 239
2nd ” ” ” 9 246
3rd ” ” ” 7 234
19th Mob. Vet. Section 1 26
239th Divn. Employment Coy. 2 312
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Total 773 15,514
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