THE ADVANCE TO FINAL VICTORY (II): OCTOBER 18TH TO NOVEMBER 11TH, 1918
In the forcing of the Lys the 36th Division was to have the honour
of the "left of the line," a real honour, because in an attack only
a good Division was employed on the flank of an Allied Army. The
reputation of the 9th Division, which had hitherto occupied that
position, is too high to stand in need of glorification. But the
36th Division was not only to move on the flank of the British Army;
it was to be its left flank-guard across the Lys, which was to be
crossed by it first of any British Division, and considerably before
its Allies on the left.
On the afternoon of the 18th of October General Coffin's headquarters
were established in Lendelede, a town of upwards of four thousand
inhabitants. Here the Germans had left behind perhaps the most
valuable gift they could at this juncture have bestowed--excellent
baths, where three hundred men could be bathed within an hour.
Accommodation generally was now very good in a country so thickly
populated, but there were still some unpleasant surprises. One
such was the discovery by one unit, that in an excellent stable,
recommended to it by a civilian, there was in each of ten stalls
a dead horse, killed a week earlier by a single burst of Belgian
shrapnel. That evening the relief of the 3rd Belgian Division, along
the left bank of the Lys, from Bavichove to the point of junction
between the river and the Canal de Roulers à la Lys, was carried out
by the 109th Brigade. Heavy bombing of the roads by enemy aeroplanes
made it an affair of great difficulty. A French Division, the 164th,
was coming in on the left of the 36th, but there was no prospect of
its being ready to cross till the night of the 20th. As every moment
was of importance, the 36th Division had orders to effect a passage
more than twenty-four hours earlier.
General Coffin's scheme was in itself a scathing commentary upon
the decadence of German moral. It was one which would not have been
contemplated in the heroic age of the German infantry. In those days
an isolated battalion, pushed across to form a bridgehead, would have
been flung back into the river almost before it had had time to draw
breath. But times had changed, and methods changed with them. Extreme
boldness now paid as it had never paid in the previous course of the
war. With adequate artillery support great risks could be taken, for
the German machine-gunners frequently left their positions under
heavy shell-fire. Moreover, there were no more "pill-boxes."
The Germans, it must be explained, appeared to be holding the
opposite bank of the Lys in some strength. At several points they
had put up wire fences to defend it. Opposite Oyghem, near the 36th
Division's left flank, was one very large moated farm, round which
they had dug a trench. The plan was that one battalion of the 109th
Brigade should be ferried across at dusk on the 19th, should push
forward to the main Courtrai-Ghent Road, from east of Beveren to
Dries, on a front of a thousand yards. That accomplished, a second
battalion was to cross, to form flank from the Oyghem-Desselghem
Road to the left of the leading battalion. Two machine-gun companies
were allotted to the operation, "B" to fire a barrage, "C" with
its sections attached to the battalions of the 109th Brigade. The
original intention had been for the 121st and 150th Field Companies
to effect crossings for the infantry opposite both Oyghem and
Beveren. A daring daylight reconnaissance of the river-bank by
Lieutenant W. Brunyate, of the latter company, caused the Oyghem
crossing to be abandoned, and the construction of a bridge at that
point postponed till the first part of the programme was complete.
The bank here was very steep, was heavily wired, and commanded by
machine-guns. The farm of which mention has been made would have been
in itself a formidable obstacle. Three bridging wagons with full
bridging equipment had been brought up the previous night and hidden
in farm buildings beside the river bank, north-west of Beveren, by
the 121st Field Company. The pontoons of the 150th Field Company were
hidden slightly further north.
At dusk two pontoons were launched, and at 7-25 p.m. the passage of
the 9th Inniskillings began. Two trips were actually made before
the enemy fired a shot; then machine-gun fire burst out, followed a
little later by that of artillery. Nevertheless, by 8 p.m. the whole
battalion and its attached section of machine-guns[62] were across,
with one casualty only. Hastily in the darkness the battalion formed
up. Then the British barrage dropped, and it began its advance over
open country. The night was cloud-veiled, but the full moon was of
great assistance to subsequent operations. Capturing such machine-gun
detachments as did not fly, the 9th Inniskillings worked its way
steadily forward, and crossed the Beveren-Dries Road, four hundred
yards short of its objective, the main road from Courtrai to Ghent.
Almost immediately afterwards, however, it was held up by heavy
machine-gun fire. It had not accomplished quite all that had been
hoped, but it had done enough. The still more complicated task of
bringing across a second battalion to guard the left flank remained.
Directly the 9th was over, the 121st Field Company set about throwing
across a "half-pontoon" bridge. It was found, however, that the river
was here actually over a hundred feet wide, considerably more than
was anticipated from the information in our possession, and that
two pontoons in halves would not reach across. Since pontoons were
infinitely precious--some having been sunk at Courtrai--as many as
possible being required for a subsequent heavy bridge, an attempt was
made to assemble a trestle-bridge instead. But under the very heavy
shell-fire now falling upon the river this had to be abandoned for
want of time, and eventually a pontoon was borrowed from the 150th
Field Company to complete the bridge. It was ready at ten o'clock,
just as the leading platoon of the 1st Inniskillings appeared on the
bank. The battalion had four hours for its crossing and assembly on
the further bank.
On the left flank of the attack were four villages, Desselghem,
Spriete, Straete, and Dries. Of these the first was considerable, the
others tiny hamlets which were really part of it.[63] Desselghem and
Spriete were to be attacked by the two leading companies; Straete
and Dries by the supporting companies, which were to pass through
them. The operation of bringing the battalion across, forming it up
and attacking north-eastward, at right angles to the line of attack
of the 9th Inniskillings, of supporting the new attack by barrage
fire, would have been considered of the greatest difficulty in the
mimic warfare of manœuvres, and would almost certainly have been
characterized as impossible by the umpires. In this case the whole
programme, owing to good staff work, intelligent local leadership,
and the dash of the private soldier, was carried through without
a hitch. Spriete and Desselghem were cleared; then the supporting
companies went through. Their task was a sterner one, since the
Germans had had time to make some preparation for resistance.
Straete was captured after fierce close fighting, the Inniskillings
frequently using the bayonet. On the right the other company reached
the outskirts of Dries, but was unable to make further headway, and
there consolidated its position. Here again, though not quite all
was won, elbow-room sufficient had been gained. Eighty prisoners had
been taken, and passed back over the pontoon bridge.
[Illustration: (Map of battle area)]
It was now the turn of the 107th Brigade. The sappers passed a busy
and disturbed night. The shelling of the Lys continued, and there was
a direct hit on the bridge, a pontoon being damaged and a length of
the superstructure destroyed. By desperately hard work all repairs
were completed for the leading battalion of the 107th Brigade, the
15th Rifles, to cross at 2 a.m. This battalion, followed by the 1st,
moved forward, the former forming up west of the Courtrai-Ghent
Road, in relief of the 9th Inniskillings, which withdrew through its
ranks. Troops of the 9th Division had crossed about midnight, but, as
may easily be imagined, it was not without considerable difficulty
that touch was obtained with them. This, however, was at last
accomplished, but the line at the point of junction was perilously
close to the river, owing to the fact that German machine-gunners
still held out in Beveren.
At 6 a.m. on the 20th the new attack began. Beveren was quickly
taken, with some aid from the Scots Fusiliers of the 9th Division.
Machine-gun fire was very heavy, and the 15th Rifles had considerable
casualties. The commanding officer, Lieut.-Colonel B. Y. Jones,
D.S.O., was killed. But the advance continued at a great pace. The
main Courtrai-Ghent-Antwerp Railway was crossed before eight o'clock.
An hour later the line was astride the road from Deerlyck--already in
the hands of the 9th Division--to Waereghem. A mill on that road gave
considerable trouble, but was eventually taken by a platoon of the
1st Rifles. Further progress for the time being was found impossible.
The advance had reached a point two and a half miles from the Lys,
and could no longer be supported by artillery fire. At 12-30 p.m. the
1st Inniskillings made another attempt to clear Dries, and reached
the centre of the hamlet. Resistance was now quite determined, and it
was decided to await the crossing of the French before attempting any
move on the left flank. About two hundred prisoners had been captured
in the day's operations.
The Engineers had continued their good work. By evening a pontoon
bridge for first-line transport had been thrown across by the 150th
Field Company. The 121st had completed a good permanent foot-bridge,
and, returning to the abandoned trestle, for which all materials
had been collected locally, had finished that also. At night the
108th Brigade and a French regiment on the left made the crossing.
Artillery, however, could not cross yet awhile. The 108th Brigade was
to relieve the 109th, and the advance was to be continued for another
twenty-four hours without it.
The advance of the 21st was timed for 7-30 a.m. It was to be carried
out by the 1st Rifles of the 107th Brigade, and the 1st Irish
Fusiliers of the 108th. It was, however, important to be rid of the
hornet's nest in Dries upon the flank, and this village was cleared
by a company of the 12th Rifles before the attack began. Without
artillery this attack was of the greatest difficulty. There were no
hedges, and it was the custom in this part of the country to lop the
lower branches off the trees. Consequently, the attacking force was
constantly exposed to long-range machine-gun fire. Moreover, the
133rd French Regiment, since it had to fight its way from the river
bank, was always in rear. In all the circumstances the advance of the
day, which found the right of the 107th Brigade at Knock, north of
Vichte, and the left of the 108th at Spitael, on the Ghent Railway,
was highly creditable to the troops concerned. The advance of the
107th Brigade, with the 9th Division on its right, was to be resumed
on the morrow, but it was decided that the 108th Brigade should not
move till the French had come up into line.
By the morning of the 22nd the Lys was crossed by bridge after bridge
in the area of the 36th Division; there being, besides numerous
foot-bridges, three medium bridges for first-line transport, and a
trestle which was subsequently used by French motor-lorries. On the
night of the 21st the four batteries of the 153rd Brigade R.F.A.
crossed the river, to fire a barrage in support of the 107th Brigade
next day. On the right, upwards of half the distance between the
parallel rivers, the Lys and the Escaut, had now been covered. From
the Gaverbeek onwards the advance was now faced by rising ground,
which culminated in a general ridge before the drop down, over some
two miles, to the valley of the latter river. The various little
crests of this chain afforded excellent positions to the enemy, and
it was evident that, if so disposed, he could make a very effective
stand before falling back across the Escaut. The first of them had
to be attacked on this morning. It was taken by the 2nd Rifles. The
barrage, small though it would have been reckoned in old days,
and as it was in comparison with the German barrage which had to
be faced, nevertheless made a wonderful difference to the attack.
The little rise, about a mile north-east of Vichte and topped by
a windmill, was carried. But there followed the most resolute
counter-attack experienced for a long time by the 36th Division. It
was made by a Prussian Assault Battalion, and succeeded in driving
our men off the crest and back for almost eight hundred yards.
Colonel Becher, commanding the 2nd Rifles, organized a new attack
by two companies, which, going forward with the greatest gallantry,
once more drove the Germans off the crest and re-established the
position. The left flank swung sharply back, the junction with the
108th Brigade being on the Deerlyck-Waereghem Road. On the left of
the 108th Brigade the French, after heavy fighting, were established
in Spitael.
On the 23rd, as the enemy appeared to be withdrawing, the advance was
continued all along the line behind a screen of scouts. A squadron of
French dragoons, attached to the Division, made a spirited dash for
the Escaut crossing at Berchen, but came under heavy machine-gun fire
from the second line of hills, which it was evident the enemy held in
force. He had, in fact, withdrawn a mile or so during the previous
night. On the extreme left a company of the 1st Irish Fusiliers,
entering Heirweg, was vigorously counter-attacked and driven out
with the loss of several prisoners. Eventually a liaison post was
established by British and French at the station, just west of the
hamlet. On the right the 1st Rifles had captured Vossenhoek and
Hutteghem. The advance had been well maintained. The men of the 107th
Brigade were now, however, weary, and the battalions very weak. It
was decided to relieve the Brigade that night by the 109th. This was
carried out without event.
The following day was given to reorganization. Two batteries of the
173rd Brigade had crossed the river on the 22nd, the remainder were
now brought over in readiness to support an attack upon the ridge.
This took place at 9 a.m. on the 25th. The 109th Brigade on the right
had two battalions, the 1st and 2nd Inniskillings, in line; the
108th one only, the 12th Rifles. The advance was covered by a barrage
moving at the rate of a hundred yards in three minutes. On the right
not much progress was made, in face of heavy machine-gun fire. Loss
of direction, due to fog and the smoke-screen of the enemy barrage,
caused considerable difficulty. Eventually a line east of Hutsbosch
was consolidated. On the left the 12th Rifles made an advance of
half a mile, in face of the most determined opposition encountered
since the fighting at Hill 41. Every house was held, and the Germans
fought their machine-guns desperately. No less than ten were counted
in ten separate houses at the day's end. The advance would have been
greater had the French supported it on the left, but their line had
not moved beyond Heirweg. The work of the 12th Rifles on this day was
probably the best performed by that battalion, amid much good work
accomplished since the beginning of offensive operations. Repeatedly
the men had charged in upon houses defended by machine-guns, and
bayoneted the detachments.
The 9th Division had captured the twin crests of Ingoyghem and
Ooteghem, and it was determined that the 109th Brigade should, the
same afternoon, assault that of Kleineberg, to their north-east,
which would have brought the right of the Division, its left drawn
back through circumstances beyond its control, into the van of the
advance. A new barrage, starting at 5 p.m., was hastily planned
and admirably carried out. Unfortunately, however, orders did not
reach the battalions soon enough, and, at the appointed hour, three
companies only, two of the 1st Inniskillings and one of the 2nd, went
forward to the attack. And it must be remembered that companies were
now never more than fifty strong. The crest was actually reached, but
the advance had been on a frontage so narrow that it was impossible
to maintain the position. A farm-house at the foot of the slope was,
however, held and consolidated.
The 26th was a day of calm, broken when night fell by tremendous
shelling, above all with gas, which seemed almost to have superseded
high explosive and shrapnel in the enemy's armoury. Nor was a further
advance contemplated on the 27th, owing to the complete exhaustion
of the troops. A wounded prisoner had, however, reported that it was
the enemy's intention to withdraw at once to the Escaut, and our
outposts were on the _qui vive_ for signs of such a movement. About
2 p.m. that afternoon they were rewarded. Small bodies of the enemy
were seen retiring from the Kleineberg Ridge. Instantly patrols of
the 109th Brigade were pushed forward and occupied it. And so this
last goal of the 36th Division, after three years' campaigning,
was reached without a shot fired. The 108th Brigade, in attempting
to follow suit, met with a certain resistance, but the 9th Irish
Fusiliers had the railway "halt" west of Anseghem before dusk.
Attempts were made to push onward to the river, but it was found that
the Germans still held Bergstraat with machine-guns, and no further
progress could be made. It was quite evident that they were not
going to fall back on the Escaut till forced to do so. Their policy,
directed with great skill--for never did the work of their divisional
and regimental commanders shine more brightly than in these days--was
to give up what could not be held, and no more, thus husbanding till
the last the declining moral of their infantrymen, and delaying the
advance as long as might be. A resistance more rigid, with the German
soldier in his present temper, would inevitably have led to a break
through, somewhere or other, and a consequent rout.
The bolt of the 36th Division was now shot. Weary flesh was at last
proclaiming itself master over spirit unwearied. The only thing that
had kept the men so long on their legs in this winter warfare was the
excellence of the accommodation behind the line. Such a campaign in
devastated country would have been unthinkable. Even as it was, they
had been subjected to great hardship and exposure, while the constant
gas shelling had had some effect on many hundreds who had not left
the ranks. The casualties since the beginning of offensive operations
numbered over three thousand. Of these, six-sevenths were wounded,
and a very large proportion, most fortunately, suffering from light
wounds from machine-gun bullets, or a temporarily disabling whiff of
gas. But not more than a tenth of these casualties, or of a certain
sick wastage, had been replaced by reinforcements. As a consequence
battalions in action had seldom more than two hundred or two hundred
and fifty bayonets. Other arms had suffered in less, but still in
high proportion, while the loss of transport animals was becoming
serious. All preparations were made for a renewal of the attack, but
on the afternoon of the 27th came a wire from the X. Corps to the
effect that the Division would be relieved by the 34th, and would
come under its orders the following day, being withdrawn for rest
and reorganization. Soon after dusk on the 27th the 101st Brigade of
the 34th Division relieved the two weak Brigades of the 36th in the
line, which began their march back to the area about Courtrai. Though
little they knew it, their part in the war was finished.
The Artillery and Medium Trench Mortar Batteries had further work to
perform, when the 34th Division, having pushed up to the banks of
the Escaut, forced its crossing in the first week of November. The
107th, 108th, and 109th Light Trench Mortar Batteries were also lent
to the 34th Division on that occasion. The distinction of having
fired the last shot of any unit of the 36th Division is claimed
by both artillerymen and Stokes gunners of the 108th Light Trench
Mortar Battery, in action after the other two had expended all their
ammunition. Let both divide the crown. No other unit would begrudge
it to either.
In the late operations the 36th Division had inscribed, on these its
final pages, one of the brightest chapters of its career. It had been
a period marked by a brilliant co-operation of every arm, combatant
and non-combatant. Amid many great achievements, perhaps the most
satisfactory of all had been that of the Engineers. For once their
work, always so hard, but generally so obscure and thankless, had
stood out in the foreground. Upon it had hinged the whole attack
across the Lys. They had carried out, with supreme skill, devotion,
and success, what is perhaps the sapper's first task in warfare, of
which he is popularly supposed to dream, that of putting the infantry
across a great river, to be launched to victory from the further
bank. General Jacob's message, a few days before the Division was
finally withdrawn, is the best testimonial to what the troops and
their leaders had accomplished. It ran as follows:
"Major-General C. COFFIN, V.C., D.S.O.,
Commanding 36th Division.
"The 36th (Ulster) Division has been fighting continuously since
the 28th September in the operations in Flanders. The spirit, dash,
and initiative shown by all ranks have been splendid, and beyond
all praise. The leadership displayed by yourself and your Brigade
and other Commanders could not have been bettered. The conditions
under which the men have had to fight have been, and are still, very
trying, but nothing seems to stop your gallant Division.
"I have also been much struck with the good staff work of the
Division, and it is very creditable to all concerned.
"Will you kindly express to the Commanders, Staffs, and all ranks of
the Division my heartiest congratulations and thanks for their work.
"When the history is written of what the Division has done in
Flanders during the past month, it will prove to be a record of
magnificent fighting and wonderful progress; for, during this period,
an advance has been made of about twenty-five miles over the worst
of country, and under the heaviest machine-gun fire ever experienced
in this war. This advance has entailed constant fighting, but the
36th Division has overcome every obstacle, and has proved itself one
of the best fighting Divisions in the Army, well commanded and well
staffed.
"My best wishes to you all.
"C. N. JACOB, Lieutenant-General,
Commanding II. Corps."
On November the 2nd, Divisional Headquarters and the 107th Brigade
moved to Mouscron, practically a suburb of Tourcoing, but on the
other side of the frontier, in Belgium. Training and reorganization
were carried out. Ranks filled up, and the troops, in splendid
billets, speedily threw off their fatigue. Another turn in the
line was still expected. But that was not required. If the 36th
Division was not actually "in at the death," it had afterwards the
satisfaction of knowing that the war was really won when it left
the firing-line. The very day after, October the 28th, the German
_communiqué_ was signed by the "Chief of the General Staff of the
Field Army"--Hindenburg--instead of the "First Quarter-Master
General"--Ludendorff. The meaning of that was instantly grasped.
Ludendorff, the great gambler, whose final throws had brought him so
near success, had resigned. A day later, and it was announced that
Austria had thrown up the sponge. On the 7th of November the German
_parlementaires_ passed through the French lines at Guise, on their
way to interview Marshal Foch. Then came the news of the Armistice.
It was celebrated by the troops in France without that wild hilarity,
wild almost to hysteria, that greeted it in London. Perhaps the man
who had been trudging forward, week by week, facing the machine-guns,
if in front, sniffing for gas, and, by night, listening anxiously for
the purr of the Gotha, if in rear, hardly realized that it was all
over. The men were, none the less, intensely happy. Everywhere they
were _fêted_ and acclaimed by the civilians whom they had freed from
four long years of bondage. Best of all, after years of discomfort
and exposure, they slept softly, undisturbed by the crash of bombs.
And so, as Lord Fisher afterwards put it, "at the eleventh hour of
the eleventh day of the eleventh month," the war came to its end.
[Illustration: Map VII.
The Final Advances, 1918.]
This History contains few of those Special Orders of the Day which,
long after the events that gave them birth, are inclined to appear
heavy, and sometimes fail to accord with present sentiment. That
of General Jacob has been quoted because it was under his fine
leadership that the men of the 36th Division marched to final
victory. It would not be fitting to conclude this chapter without
recalling that issued at the end of hostilities to all the Allied
Armies by the Marshal in supreme command, who inherits from his
teacher, the greatest soldier his country and the modern world ever
produced, the gift of making a few words majestic and ever-memorable.
Amidst our present discontents some of the glory of these words of
Marshal Foch may appear tarnished, but, like the words of Napoleon
to his troops in Egypt, they will endure, when immediate sorrows and
disappointments are forgotten, perhaps when the very causes for which
men laid down their lives by millions have become obscure.
"Officiers, sous-officiers, soldats des Armées Alliées.
"Après avoir résolument arrêté l'ennemi, vous l'avez, pendant des
mois, avec une foi et une énergie inlassables, attaqué sans répit.
"Vous avez gagné la plus grande bataille de l'Histoire et sauvé la
cause la plus sacrée: la Liberté du Monde.
"Soyez fiers!
"D'une gloire immortelle vous aves paré vos drapeaux.
"La Postérité vous garde sa reconnaissance.
"Le Maréchal de France,
Commandant en Chef les Armées Alliées,
F. FOCH."
FOOTNOTES:
[62] _i.e._, three guns. By this time none of the Machine-Gun
Companies had men enough to man more than twelve guns.
[63] This country is, in reality, one vast garden city. Groups of a
dozen houses have their names. It has not been found possible to show
them all on the small-scale map illustrating this chapter.