THE BATTLES OF THE CHEMIN DES DAMES AND
OF THE ARDRES
May 27-June 2
The rest cure of the Aisne--Attack upon the Fiftieth Division--Upon
the Eighth--Upon the Twenty-first--5th Battery R.F.A.--Glorious
Devons--Adventure of General Rees--Retreat across the Aisne--Over the
Vesle--Arrival of Nineteenth Division--Desperate fighting--Success of
4th Shropshires--General Pellé's tribute--General prospect of the
Allies midway through 1918.
It had been determined to rest four of the crippled British divisions
which had been heavily engaged first on the Somme and then in the
battle of the Lys. These divisions were the Twenty-fifth
(Bainbridge), Twenty-first (Campbell), Eighth (Heneker), and Fiftieth
(Jackson), all forming the Ninth Corps (Hamilton-Gordon). Each of
them had been cut to pieces twice in the course of little more than a
month, and should by every pre-war precept have been incapable of
exertion for a long time to come. They were reconstituted with
numbers of recruits under fresh officers, both leaders and men with
slight experience of actual warfare. They were then sent, via the
outskirts of Paris, the direct route being under fire from the German
guns in front of Amiens, and they were thrust into the French line
just north {313} of the Aisne in the region of the Chemin des Dames.
The intention was to give them repose, but the change was looked upon
with misgiving by the divisional generals, one of whom wrote to the
present chronicler at the time saying, "They think it will be a rest
cure, but to my mind it is more likely to be a fresh centre of storm."
As a matter of fact the Germans, who had now made two colossal
thrusts, the one on March 21 on the Somme, the other at the Lys on
April 9, were planning a third desperate attack at this very point.
The competent military historian of the future with all the records
before him will no doubt be able to pronounce how far it was wise for
the German high command to leave two unfinished tasks in order to
undertake a third one. On the face of it, it seemed an unlikely
thing to do, and that perhaps is why they did it. The line at this
position had few natural advantages and was not strongly held. In
the opinion of British generals it would have been wise if it could
have been drawn south of the Aisne, since a broad river is a good
friend in one's front, but a treacherous enemy in one's rear. There
were reasons, however, why it was not easy for the French to abandon
the north bank, for they had spent much time, labour, and human life
in capturing Craonne, the California Plateau, and other positions
within that area, and it was a dreadful thing to give them up unless
they were beaten out of them. They held on, therefore--and the
British divisions, now acting as part of the French army, were
compelled to hold on as well. The Fiftieth Northern Territorial
Division had a frontage of 7000 yards from near Craonne to
Ville-aux-Bois, including the famous California {314} Plateau; on
their immediate right was the Regular Eighth Division, and to the
right of that in the Berry-au-Bac sector, where the lines cross the
Aisne, was the Twenty-first Division, this British contingent forming
the Ninth Corps, and having French troops upon either side of them.
The Twenty-fifth Division was in reserve at Fismes to the south of
the river. The total attack from Crecy-au-Mont to Berry was about
thirty miles, a quarter of which--the eastern quarter--was held by
the British.
Confining our attention to the experience of the British troops,
which is the theme of these volumes, we shall take the northern unit
and follow its fortunes on the first day with some detail, remarking
in advance that the difficulties and the results were much the same
in the case of each of the three front divisions, so that a fuller
account of one may justify a more condensed one of the others. The
position along the whole line consisted of rolling grass plains where
the white gashes in the chalk showed out the systems of defence. The
Germans, on the other hand, were shrouded to some extent in woodland,
which aided them in the concentration of their troops. The defences
of the British were of course inherited, not made, but possessed some
elements of strength, especially in the profusion of the barbed wire.
On the other hand, there were more trenches than could possibly be
occupied, which is a serious danger when the enemy comes to close
grips. The main position ran about 5000 yards north of the Aisne,
and was divided into an outpost line, a main line of battle, and a
weak system of supports. The artillery was not strong, consisting of
the divisional guns with some backing of French 75's and heavies.
{315}
The Fiftieth Division, like the others, had all three brigades in the
line. To the north the 150th Brigade (Rees) defended Craonne and the
slab-sided California Plateau. On their right, stretching across a
flat treeless plain, lay the 151st Brigade (Martin). To the right of
them again was the 149th Brigade (Riddell), which joined on near
Ville-aux-Bois to the 24th Brigade (Grogan) of the Eighth Division.
It may give some idea of the severity with which the storm broke upon
the Fiftieth Division, when it is stated that of the three brigadiers
mentioned one was killed, one was desperately wounded, and a third
was taken before ten o'clock on the first morning of the attack.
The German onslaught, though very cleverly carried out, was not a
complete surprise, for the experienced soldiers in the British lines,
having already had two experiences of the new methods, saw many
danger signals in the week before the battle. There was abnormal
aircraft activity, abnormal efforts also to blind our own air
service, occasional registering of guns upon wire, and suspicious
movements on the roads. Finally with the capture of prisoners in a
raid the suspicions became certainties, especially when on the
evening of May 26 the Germans were seen pouring down to their front
lines. No help arrived, however, for none seems to have been
immediately available. The thin line faced its doom with a courage
which was already tinged with despair. Each British brigade brought
its reserve battalion to the north bank of the Aisne, and each front
division had the call upon one brigade of the Twenty-fifth Division.
Otherwise no help was in sight.
The bombardment began early in the morning of {316} May 27, and was
said by the British veterans to be the heaviest of the war. Such an
opinion meant something, coming from such men. The whole area from
Soissons to Rheims was soaked with gas and shattered with high
explosives, so that masks had to be worn ten kilometres behind the
lines. A German officer declared that 6000 guns were employed. Life
was absolutely impossible in large areas. The wire was blown to
shreds, and the trenches levelled. The men stuck it, however, with
great fortitude, and the counter-barrage was sufficiently good to
hold up the early attempts at an infantry advance. The experiences
of the 149th Infantry Brigade may be taken as typical. The front
battalion was the 4th Northumberland Fusiliers under Colonel Gibson.
Twice the enemy was driven back in his attempt to cross the shattered
wire. At 4 A.M. he won his way into the line of outposts, and by
4.30 was heavily pressing the battle line. His tactics were good,
his courage high, and his numbers great. The 6th Northumberland
Fusiliers, under Colonel Temperley, held the main line, and with the
remains of the 4th made a heroic resistance. At this hour the
Germans had reached the main lines both of the 151st Brigade on the
left and of the 24th on the right. About five o'clock the German
tanks were reported to have got through on the front of the Eighth
Division and to be working round the rear of the 149th Brigade. Once
again we were destined to suffer from the terror which we had
ourselves evolved. The main line was now in great confusion and
breaking fast. The 5th Northumberland Fusiliers were pushed up as
the last reserve. There was deep shadow everywhere save on the
California Plateau, where General Rees, with his {317} three
Yorkshire battalions, had repulsed repeated assaults. The French
line had gone upon his left, however, and the tanks, with German
infantry behind them, had swarmed round to his rear, so that in the
end he and his men were all either casualties or captives.
Colonel Gibson meanwhile had held on most tenaciously with a nucleus
of his Fusiliers at a post called Centre Marceau. The telephone was
still intact, and he notified at 5.45 that he was surrounded. He
beat off a succession of attacks with heavy loss to the stormers,
while Temperley was also putting up a hopeless but desperate fight.
Every man available was pushed up to their help, and they were
ordered to hold on. A senior officer reporting from Brigade
Headquarters says: "I could hear Gibson's brave, firm voice say in
reply to my injunctions to fight it out, 'Very good, sir.
Good-bye!'" Shortly afterwards this gallant man was shot through the
head while cheering his men to a final effort.
The experience of the Durhams of the 151st had been exactly the same
as that of the Northumberlands of the 149th. Now the enemy were
almost up to the last line. The two brigadiers, Generals Martin and
Riddell, together with Major Tweedy of the reserve battalion, rushed
out to organise a local defence, drawing in a few scattered platoons
for the purpose. As they did so they could see the grey figures of
the Germans all round them. It was now past six o'clock, and a
clear, sunny morning. As these officers ran forward, a shell burst
over them, and General Martin fell dead, while Riddell received a
terrible wound in the face. In spite of this, he most heroically
continued to rally the men and form a centre of resistance {318} so
as to cover Pontavert as long as possible. The 5th Northumberland
Fusiliers with a splendid counter-attack had regained the position of
Centre d'Evreux, and for the moment the pressure was relieved. It
was clear, however, both to General Jackson and to General Heneker
that both flanks were exposed, and that their general position was an
acute salient far ahead of the Allied line. The Twenty-first
Division was less affected, since it already lay astride of the
river, but the French line on the left was back before mid-day as far
as Fismes, so that it was absolutely necessary if a man were to be
saved to get the remains of the two British divisions across the
Aisne at once.
Pontavert, with its bridges over river and canal, was in the hands of
the Germans about 7 A.M., but the bridge-heads at Concevreux and
other places were firmly held, and as the men got across, sometimes
as small organised units, sometimes as a drove of stragglers, they
were rallied and lined up on the south bank. The field-guns had all
been lost but the heavies and machine-guns were still available to
hold the new line. Some of the 5th Northumberland Fusiliers were
entirely cut off, but fought their way through the Germans, and
eventually under Major Leatheart reported themselves at the bridges.
So rapid had been the hostile advance that the dressing-stations were
captured, and many of our doctors and wounded fell into the hands of
the Germans to endure the hard fate which these savages so often
reserved for the brave but helpless men who fell into their power.
It is a terrible fact which should not be forgotten, that among these
torturers the nurses and the doctors held in many cases a prominent
position.
The 150th Brigade, under General Rees, which {319} was defending the
Craonne position, had endured an even heavier ordeal than the others.
It was on the extreme left of the British line, on the right of the
French 118th Regiment. This latter seems to have been entirely
destroyed or taken early in the attack. The British brigade lay in
front of Craonne upon the edge of the California Plateau, with the
5th Yorks on the right and the 4th East Yorks on the left. The 4th
Yorks were in brigade reserve in Craonelle, immediately behind the
fighting line. The Germans got through the French on the left, also
through a gap down the Corbeny railroad on the right of the 150th and
left of the 151st Brigade. Colonel Thomson of the 5th Yorks, a very
brave and experienced soldier who was said by those who knew him best
to be worth half a battalion in his own person upon the day of
battle, was in charge on the right, and hung on with tooth and claw
to every inch of ground, but his little force, already greatly
weakened by the cannonade, was unable to resist the terrible
onslaught of the German infantry. Two counter-attacks were attempted
by reserve companies, but each was swept away. The Germans were on
the flank in Craonne and enfiladed the line with a machine-gun.
Colonel Thomson's last words over the telephone to Headquarters were,
"Good-bye, General, I'm afraid I shall not see you again." He was
killed shortly afterwards. Major Haslett of the East Yorks made an
equally desperate resistance on the other flank, and finally he and a
wounded sergeant-major were captured with their empty pistols in
their hands. Meanwhile the Brigade Headquarters at La Hutte were
practically surrounded and under a terrible fire. General Rees
endeavoured to get into touch with his only {320} remaining
battalion, the 4th Yorks, but they had already been overrun by the
enemy. Colonel Kent, with sixteen men, had thrown himself into a
house in Craonelle, and had fought until the whole party were killed
or wounded. The enemy was now several miles to the rear of the few
survivors of the 150th Brigade, who endeavoured to make their way
back as best they might. It gives some idea of how completely they
were cut off that General Rees, after many adventures and escapes,
was finally stopped and taken by encountering the main line of the
German traffic coming down the road which he had to cross. This was
late in the day of May 27, when the enemy was well across the Aisne.
It may be of interest to add that General Rees was taken before the
Kaiser next morning, whom he found upon the California Plateau. The
emperor behaved with courtesy to his prisoner, though he could not
refrain from delivering a monologue of the usual type upon the causes
of the war and the iniquity of Great Britain in fulfilling her treaty
obligations.
Some account must now be given of the experiences of Heneker's Eighth
Division which occupied the centre of the British line. This
division, like the others, had been sent to the Aisne for a rest cure
after its terrific exertions upon the Somme. Full of raw soldiers
and inexperienced officers it would have seemed to be entirely unfit
for battle, but it had the two solid assets of experienced leading in
the senior officers and great regimental traditions, that ever
present stand-by of the British Army. Young as were the troops they
took General Heneker's orders literally when he issued the command
that the posts were to be held at all costs, and, as a consequence,
{321} hardly a single battalion existed as a fighting unit after the
engagement.
The British field-batteries were mostly to the north of the river,
and were greatly damaged by the preliminary German fire. They were
accurately located by the enemy, and were smothered in poison and
steel. So were the Gernicourt defences, which formed an important
tactical position with a permanent garrison on the right of the
division. All three brigades were in the line, the 25th on the
right, the 24th in the centre, and the 23rd on the left. The outpost
line was utterly overwhelmed in the first rush, the experience being
much the same as on March 21, for each small body of men found itself
isolated, and could only do its best to hold its own patch of ground.
Thus at 5.15 A.M. a pigeon message was sent, "H.Q. 2nd Berks,
consisting of Colonel Griffin, Captain Clare, and staff, are
surrounded. Germans threw bombs down dug-out and passed on.
Appeared to approach from right rear in considerable strength. No
idea what has happened elsewhere. Holding on in hopes of relief."
Their position was typical of many similar groups along the front,
marooned in the fog, and soon buried in the heart of the advancing
German army. The right of the 25th Brigade had been thrust back, but
on the left the 2nd Berkshires made a desperate resistance. The
whole front was intersected by a maze of abandoned trenches, and it
was along these that the enemy, shrouded in the mist, first gained
their fatal footing upon the flank. The 2nd East Lancashires were
brought up in support, and a determined resistance was made by the
whole brigade within the main zone of battle. The German tanks were
up, however, and {322} they proved as formidable in their hands as
they have often done in our own. Their construction was cumbrous and
their pace slow, but they were heavily armed and very dangerous when
once in action. Eight of them, however, were destroyed by the French
anti-tank artillery. At 6.30 the 25th Brigade, in shattered
remnants, was back on the river at Gernicourt.
The attack on this front was developing from the right, so that it
came upon the 24th Brigade an hour later than upon its eastern
neighbour. The 2nd Northamptons were in front, and they were driven
in, but rallied on the battle zone and made a very fine fight, until
the German turning movement from the south-east, which crossed the
Miette south of the battle zone, took the line in flank and rear. In
the end hardly a man of the two battalions engaged got away, and
Haig, the brigadier, with his staff, had to cut their way out at the
muzzle of their revolvers, shooting many Germans who tried to
intercept them. The 23rd Brigade was attacked at about the same
time, and the 2nd West Yorkshires managed to hold even the outpost
line for a time. Then falling back on the battle position this
battalion, with the 2nd Devons and 2nd Middlesex near the Bois des
Buttes, beat off every attack for a long time. The fatal turning
movement threatened to cut them off entirely, but about 7.30 General
Grogan, who had set his men a grand example of valour, threw out a
defensive flank. He fell back eventually across the Aisne south of
Pontavert, while the enemy, following closely upon his heels,
occupied that place.
Many outstanding deeds of valour are recorded in all the British
divisions during this truly terrible {323} experience, but two have
been immortalised by their inclusion in the orders of the day of
General Berthelot, the French general in command. The first
concerned the magnificent conduct of the 5th Battery R.F.A., which,
under its commander, Captain Massey, stuck to its work while piece
after piece was knocked out by an overwhelming shower of German
shells. When all the guns were gone Captain Massey, with Lieutenants
Large and Bution and a handful of survivors, fought literally to the
death with Lewis guns and rifles. One man with a rifle, who fought
his way back, and three unarmed gunners who were ordered to retire,
were all who escaped to tell the heroic tale. The other record was
that of the 2nd Devons, who went on fighting when all resistance
round them was over, and were only anxious, under their gallant
Colonel Anderson-Morshead, to sell their lives at the price of
covering the retreat of their comrades. Their final stand was on a
small hill which covered the river crossing, and while they remained
and died themselves they entreated their retiring comrades to hurry
through their ranks. Machine-guns ringed them round and shot them to
pieces, but they fought while a cartridge was left, and then went
down stabbing to the last. They were well avenged, however, by one
post of the Devons which was south of the river and included many
Lewis guns under Major Cope. These men killed great numbers of
Germans crossing the stream, and eventually made good their own
retreat. The main body of the battalion was destroyed, however, and
the episode was heroic. In the words of the French document: "The
whole battalion, Colonel, 38 officers, and 552 in the ranks, offered
their lives in ungrudging sacrifice to the sacred cause of the {324}
Allies." A word as to the valour of the enemy would also seem to be
called for. They came on with great fire and ardour. "The Germans
seemed mad," says one spectator, "they came rushing over the ground
with leaps and bounds. The slaughter was frightful. We could not
help shooting them down."
Whilst this smashing attack had been delivered upon the Fiftieth and
Eighth Divisions, Campbell's Twenty-first Division on the extreme
right of the British line had also endured a hard day of battle.
They covered a position from Loivre to Berry-au-Bac, and had all
three brigades in action, six battalions in the line, and three in
reserve. Their experience was much the same as that of the other
divisions, save that they were on the edge of the storm and escaped
its full fury. The greatest pressure in the morning was upon the
62nd Brigade on the left, which was in close liaison with the 25th
Brigade of the Eighth Division. By eight o'clock the posts at Moscou
and the Massif de la Marine had been overrun by the overpowering
advance of the enemy. About nine o'clock the 7th Brigade from the
Twenty-fifth Division came up to the St. Aubœf Wood within the
divisional area and supported the weakening line, which had lost some
of the outer posts and was holding on staunchly to others. The
Germans were driving down upon the west and getting behind the
position of the Twenty-first Division, for by one o'clock they had
pushed the 1st Sherwood Foresters of the Eighth Division, still
fighting most manfully, out of the Gernicourt Wood, so that the
remains of this division with the 75th Brigade were on a line west of
Bouffignereux. This involved the whole left of the Twenty-first
Division, which had to swing back the 62nd {325} Brigade from a point
south of Cormicy, keeping in touch with the 7th Brigade which formed
the connecting link. At 3.20 Cormicy had been almost surrounded and
the garrison driven out, while the 64th Brigade on the extreme right
was closely pressed at Cauroy. At six in the evening the 7th Brigade
had been driven in at Bouffignereux, and the German infantry, beneath
a line of balloons and aeroplanes, was swarming up the valley between
Guyencourt and Chalons le Vergeur, which latter village they reached
about eight, thus placing themselves on the left rear of the
Twenty-first Division. Night fell upon as anxious a situation as
ever a harassed general and weary troops were called upon to face.
The Twenty-first had lost few prisoners and only six guns during the
long day of battle, but its left had been continually turned, its
position was strategically impossible, and its losses in casualties
were very heavy. It was idle to deny that the army of General von
Boehm had made a very brilliant attack and gained a complete victory
with, in the end, such solid trophies as 45,000 Allied prisoners and
at least 400 guns. It was the third great blow of the kind within
nine weeks, and Foch showed himself to be a man of iron in being able
to face it, and not disclose those hidden resources which could not
yet be used to the full advantage.
The capture of Pontavert might have been a shattering blow to the
retreating force, but it would seem that the Germans who had pushed
through so rapidly were strong enough to hold it but not, in the
first instance, strong enough to extend their operations. By the
afternoon of May 27 they were over at Maizy also, and the force at
Concevreux, which {326} consisted of the remains of the Fiftieth and
part of the Eighth and Twenty-fifty Divisions, was in danger of
capture. At 2 P.M. the Germans had Muscourt. The mixed and
disorganised British force then fell back to near Ventelay, where
they fought back once more at the German advance, the Fiftieth
Division being in the centre, with the 75th and 7th Brigades on its
right. This latter brigade had been under the orders of the
Twenty-first Division and had helped to hold the extreme right of the
position, but was now involved in the general retreat. Already,
however, news came from the west that the Germans had not got merely
to the Aisne but to the Vesle, and the left flank and rear of the
Ninth Corps was hopelessly compromised. Under continuous pressure,
turning ever to hold up their pursuers, the remains of the three
divisions, with hardly any artillery support, fell back to the south.
On the western wing of the battle Soissons had fallen, and Rheims was
in a most perilous position, though by some miracle she succeeded in
preserving her shattered streets and desecrated cathedral from the
presence of the invaders.
The Eighth Division had withdrawn during the night to Montigny, and,
in consequence, the Twenty-first Division took the general line,
Hermonville-Montigny Ridge, the 64th Brigade on the right, with the
62nd and 7th in succession on the left. Every position was
outflanked, however, touch was lost with the Eighth on the left, and
the attack increased continually in its fury. Prouilly fell, and the
orders arrived that the next line would be the River Vesle, Jonchery
marking the left of the Eighth Division. On the right the
Twenty-first continued {327} to be in close touch with the French
Forty-fifth Division. All units were by this time very intermingled,
tired, and disorganised. The 15th Durhams, who had fought a
desperate rearguard action all the morning upon the ridge north of
Hervelon Château, had almost ceased to exist. The one gleam of light
was the rumoured approach of the One hundred and thirty-fourth French
Division from the south. It had been hoped to hold the line of the
River Vesle, but by the evening of May 28 it was known that the
Germans had forced a passage at Jonchery, where the bridge would have
been destroyed but for the wounding of the sapper officer and the
explosion of the wagon containing the charges. On the other hand,
the Forty-fifth French Division on the right was fighting splendidly,
and completely repulsed a heavy German attack. When night fell the
British were still for the most part along the line of the Vesle, but
it was clear that it was already turned upon the west. Some idea of
the truly frightful losses incurred by the troops in these operations
may be formed from the fact that the Eighth Division alone had lost
7000 men out of a total force of about 9000 infantry.
About eight in the morning of May 29 the enemy renewed his attack,
pushing in here and there along the line in search of a gap. One
attempt was made upon the Twenty-first Division, from Branscourt to
Sapicourt, which was met and defeated by the 1st Lincolns and 6th
Leicesters. Great activity and movement could be seen among the
German troops north of the river, but the country is wooded and
hilly, so that observation is difficult. Towards evening, the right
flank of the fighting line was greatly comforted by the arrival of
the French Division already {328} mentioned, and the hearts of the
British were warmed by the news that one of their own divisions had
come within the zone of battle, as will now be described.
When the Ninth Corps was sent to the Aisne, another very weary
British division, the Nineteenth (Jeffreys), had also been told off
for the French front with the same object of rest, and the same
actual result of desperate service. So strenuous had the work of
this division been upon the Somme and in Flanders, that the ranks
were almost entirely composed of new drafts from England and Wales.
Their destination was the Chalons front, where they remained for
exactly twelve days before the urgent summons arrived from the
breaking line on the Aisne, and they were hurried westwards to
endeavour to retrieve or at least to minimise the disaster. They
arrived on the morning of May 29, and found things in a most critical
condition. The Germans had pushed far south of the Aisne, despite
the continued resistance of the survivors of the Eighth,
Twenty-fifth, and Fiftieth British Divisions, and of several French
divisions, these débris of units being mixed up and confused, with a
good deal of mutual recrimination, as is natural enough when men in
overwrought conditions meet with misfortunes, the origin of which
they cannot understand. When troops are actually mixed in this
fashion, the difference in language becomes a very serious matter.
Already the Allied line had been pushed far south of Fismes, and the
position of the units engaged was very obscure to the Higher Command,
but the British line, such as it was, was north of Savigny on the
evening of May 28. Soissons had fallen, Rheims was in danger, and it
was doubtful whether even the line of the Marne could {329} be held.
Amid much chaos it must, indeed, have been with a sense of relief
that the Allied generals found a disciplined and complete division
come into the front, however young the material of which it was
composed.
A gap had opened in the line between the Thirteenth French Division
at Lhery and the One hundred and fifty-fourth near Faverolles, and
into this the 57th and 58th Brigades were thrust. The artillery had
not yet come up, and the rest of the Allied artillery was already
either lost or destroyed, so there was little support from the guns.
It was a tough ordeal for boys fresh from the English and Welsh
training camps. On the left were the 10th Worcesters and 8th
Gloucesters. On the right the 9th Welsh Fusiliers and 9th Welsh. It
was hoped to occupy Savigny and Brouillet, but both villages were
found to be swarming with the enemy. Remains of the Eighth and
Twenty-fifth Divisions were still, after three days of battle, with
their faces to the foe on the right of the Nineteenth Division. They
were very weary, however, and the 2nd Wiltshires were brought up to
thicken the line and cover the divisional flank north of Bouleuse.
This was the situation at 2 P.M. of May 29.
The tide of battle was still rolling to the south, and first Savigny
and then Faverolles were announced as being in German hands. A mixed
force of odd units had been formed and placed under General
Craigie-Hackett, but this now came back through the ranks of the
Nineteenth Division. On the right also the hard-pressed and
exhausted troops in front, both French and British, passed through
the 2nd Wiltshires, and endeavoured to reform behind them. The
Nineteenth Division from flank to flank became the {330} fighting
front, and the Germans were seen pouring down in extended order from
the high ground north of Lhery and of Treslon. On the right the
remains of the Eighth Division had rallied, and it was now reinforced
by the 2nd Wilts, the 4th Shropshire Light Infantry, and the 8th
Staffords, the latter battalions from the 56th Brigade. With this
welcome addition General Heneker, who had fought such a long uphill
fight, was able in the evening of May 29 to form a stable line on the
Bouleuse Ridge. By this time the guns of the Nineteenth Division,
the 87th and 88th Brigades Royal Field Artillery, had roared into
action--a welcome sound to the hard-pressed infantry in front. There
was a solid British line now from Lhery on the left to the eastern
end of the Bouleuse Ridge, save that one battalion of Senegal
Tirailleurs was sandwiched in near Faverolles. Liaison had been
established with the Thirteenth and One hundred and fifty-fourth
French Divisions to left and right.
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[Illustration: British Line on Chemin des Dames]
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The early morning of May 30 witnessed a very violent attack along all
this portion of the line. By 6 A.M. the enemy had worked round the
left flank of the 10th Worcesters at Lhery, driving before them some
of the troops, French and British, who were exhausted from the long
battle. It is difficult for either writer or reader to imagine the
condition of men who have fought a losing battle for three days
without cessation. If Foch saved up his reserves during these weeks
of agony, it was surely at a precious cost to the men who bore the
weight. The left company of the 10th Worcesters lost all its
officers and 60 per cent of its men, and Lhery had to be left to the
enemy. Meanwhile, the Senegalese, who, like all tropical troops, are
more formidable in attack than in defence, were {331} driven in near
Faverolles, the Germans making a frontal attack in eight lines. They
pushed through the gap, outflanked the 9th Welsh Fusiliers on the
left and the 2nd Wiltshires on the right, cutting off a platoon of
the former battalion. Both these battalions suffered very heavily,
the Welsh Fusiliers especially being cut to pieces. At both ends of
the line the remains of the front battalions had to fall back upon
their supports. The 74th Composite Brigade, already referred to as
being under General Craigie-Hackett, fought on the left of the
Nineteenth Division, and was ordered to hold the Lhery-Rohigny Road.
The pressure, however, upon these tired troops and upon the remains
of the 10th Worcesters continued to be very great, and by 11 A.M. the
situation was critical on the left of the line, the flank having been
driven in, and the 8th Gloucesters enfiladed so that the D'Aulnay
Wood could no longer be held. These changes enabled the Germans to
close in upon the 9th Welsh and the remains of the 9th Welsh
Fusiliers, attacking them in front and flank. The troops on their
right gave way, and the assailants were then able to get round the
other flank of these two devoted battalions, and practically to
surround them, so that very few won their way back. The whole front
line had gone with the exception of the 10th Warwicks on the left.
For a time it seemed as if there was nothing to limit this powerful
thrust of the enemy, but in the usual miraculous fashion a composite
party of odds and ends, drawn from stragglers and details, hastily
swept together by General Jeffreys, were hurried up to the high
ground south of Ville-en-Tardenois. With the aid of four
machine-guns from the Nineteenth Division this force {332} held the
victorious enemy from coming further, covered the left flank of the
10th Warwicks, and formed a bastion from which a new wall could be
built. A second bastion had been made by the 5th South Wales
Borderers, pioneers of the Nineteenth Division, who had dug in south
of Rohigny and absolutely refused to shift. Up to 2 P.M. the 2nd
Wilts also held their ground north of Bouleuse. Between these fixed
points the 57th and 58th Brigades were able to reorganise, the 15th
Warwicks and 9th Cheshires covering the respective fronts. On the
right the Twenty-eighth French Division had relieved the One hundred
and fifty-fourth, while the 4th Shropshires and 8th North Staffords,
both still intact, formed a link between the two Allies. Touch had
been lost on the left, and patrols were sent out to endeavour to
bridge the gap. At this period General Jeffreys of the Nineteenth
Division commanded the whole British line. A serious loss had been
caused by the wounding of General Glasgow, the experienced leader of
the 58th Brigade. General Heath of the 56th Brigade took over the
command of both units.
The Germans had reached their limit for the day, though some attempt
at an attack was made in the afternoon from the wood of Aulnay, which
was beaten back by the British fire. It was rumoured, however, that
on the left, outside the British area, he was making progress south
of Rohigny, which made General Jeffreys uneasy for his left wing. Up
to now the British had been under the general command of the Ninth
British Corps, but this was now withdrawn from the line, and the
Nineteenth Division passed to the Fifth French Corps under General
Pellé, an who left a most pleasant impression upon the {333} minds of
all who had to deal with him. On May 31 the front consisted of the
French Fortieth on the left, the French Twenty-eighth on the right,
and the British Nineteenth between them, the latter covering 12,000
yards. The weary men of the original divisions were drawn out into
reserve after as severe an ordeal as any have endured during the
whole war. The 74th Composite Brigade was also relieved. Some idea
of the losses on the day before may be gathered from the fact that
the two Welsh battalions were now formed into a single composite
company, which was added to the 9th Cheshires.
The morning of the 31st was occupied in a severe duel of artillery,
in which serious losses were sustained from the German fire, but upon
the other hand a threatened attack to the south-west of
Ville-en-Tardenois was dispersed by the British guns. About two
o'clock the enemy closed once more upon the left, striking hard at
the 6th Cheshires, who had been left behind in this quarter when the
rest of the 74th Composite Brigade had been relieved. The 10th
Warwicks were also attacked, and the whole wing was pushed back, the
enemy entering the village of Ville-en-Tardenois. The Warwicks
formed up again on high ground south-east of the village, the line
being continued by the remains of the 10th Worcesters and 8th
Gloucesters. Whilst the left wing was driven in, the right was also
fiercely attacked, the enemy swarming down in great numbers upon the
French, and the 9th Cheshires. The former were driven off the
Aubilly Ridge, and the latter had to give ground before the rush.
General Jeffreys, who was on the spot, ordered an immediate
counter-attack of the 2nd Wilts to retrieve {334} the situation.
Before it could develop, however, the French were again advancing on
the right, together with the 4th Shropshires. A local counter-attack
had also been delivered by the 9th Cheshires, led on horseback with
extreme gallantry by Colonel Cunninghame. His horse was shot under
him, but he continued to lead the troops on foot, and his Cheshire
infantry followed him with grim determination into their old
positions. The ground was regained though the losses were heavy,
Colonel Cunninghame being among the wounded.
The attack of the 2nd Wiltshires had meanwhile been developed, and
was launched under heavy fire about seven in the evening, moving up
to the north of Chambrecy. The position was gained, the Wiltshires
connecting up with the Cheshires on their right and the Gloucesters
on their left. Meanwhile, advances of the enemy on the flank were
broken up by artillery fire, the 87th and 88th Brigades of guns doing
splendid work, and sweeping the heads of every advance from the
Tardenois-Chambrecy Road. So ended another very severe day of
battle. The buffer was acting and the advance was slowing. Already
its limit seemed to be marked.
On the morning of May 31 the British position extended from a line on
the left connecting Ville-en-Tardenois and Champlat. Thence the 57th
Brigade covered the ground up to the stream which runs from Sarcy to
Chambrecy. Then the 56th Brigade began, and carried on to 1000 yards
east of the river Ardres. The line of battalions (pitiful remnants
for the most part) was from the left, 10th Warwicks, 10th Worcesters,
8th Gloucesters, 2nd Wilts, 9th Cheshires, 8th Staffords, and 4th
Shropshires. {335} Neither brigade could muster 1000 rifles, while
the 58th Brigade in reserve was reduced to 350. The three sapper
field companies, the personnel of the trench-mortar batteries, and
every straggler who could be scraped up was thrust forward to thicken
the line.
The German attack was launched once more at 4 P.M. on June 1,
striking up against the Fortieth French Division and the left of the
British line. Under the weight of the assault the French were pushed
back, and the enemy penetrated the Bonval Wood, crossed the
Tardenois-Jonchery Road, and thrust their way into the woods of
Courmont and La Cohette. Here, however, the attack was held, and the
junction between the French and the Warwicks remained firm. The
front of the 57th Brigade was attacked at the same time, the 8th
Gloucesters and the 2nd Wilts on their right being very hard pressed.
The enemy had got Sarcy village, which enabled them to get on the
flank of the Gloucesters, and to penetrate between them and the
Wiltshires. It was a very critical situation. The right company of
the Gloucesters was enfiladed and rolled up, while the centre was in
deadly danger. The left flank and the Worcesters held tight, but the
rest of the line was being driven down the hill towards Chambrecy. A
splendid rally was effected, however, by Captain Pope of B Company,
who led his west countrymen up the hill once more, driving the enemy
back to his original line. For this feat he received the D.S.O. At
this most critical period of the action, great help was given to the
British by the 2nd Battalion of the 22nd French Regiment, led in
person by Commandant de Lasbourde, which joined in Pope's
counter-attack, {336} afterwards relieving the remains of the
Gloucester's. Lasbourde also received the D.S.O. The success of the
attack was due partly to the steadiness of the 10th Worcesters on the
left, who faced right and poured a cross-fire into the German
stormers. It was a complete, dramatic little victory, by which the
high ground north of Chambrecy was completely regained.
A withdrawal of the whole line was, however, necessary on account of
the German penetration into the left, which had brought them complete
possession of the Wood of Courmont on the British left rear. The
movement was commenced at seven in the evening, and was completed in
most excellent order before midnight. This new line, stretching from
Quisles to Eligny, included one very important position, the hill of
Bligny, which was a prominence from which the enemy could gain
observation and command over the whole valley of the Ardres, making
all communications and battery positions precarious.
The general order of units in the line on June 2 was much the same as
before, the 5th South Wales Borderers being held in reserve on the
left, and the 2/22nd French on the right of the Nineteenth Division.
These positions were held unbroken from this date for a fortnight,
when the division was eventually relieved after its most glorious
term of service. The British Ninth Corps was busily engaged during
this time in reorganising into composite battalions the worn and
mixed fragments of the Eighth, Twenty-fifth, and Fiftieth Divisions,
which were dribbled up as occasion served to the new battle-line. A
composite machine-gun company was also organised and sent up.
Several days of comparative quiet followed, during {337} which the
sappers were strengthening the new positions, and the Germans were
gathering fresh forces for a renewed attack. Congratulatory messages
from General Franchet d'Esperey, the French Army Commander, and from
their own Corps General put fresh heart into the overtaxed men.
There was no fresh attack until June 6. On that date the line of
defence from the left consisted of the Fortieth French Division, the
Eighth Division Composite Battalion (could a phrase mean more than
that?), the 10th Warwicks, 10th Worcesters, 8th Gloucesters, 58th
Brigade Composite Battalion, 9th Cheshires, 8th North Staffords, 4th
Shropshires, and Twenty-eighth French Division. At 3 A.M. there
began a tremendous bombardment, mostly of gas-shell, which gave way
to the infantry advance at 4 A.M., the attack striking the right and
centre of the British line, in the section of the all-important
Bligny Hill. As the enemy advanced upon the front of the 58th
Composite Battalion, the men who were the survivors of the 2nd Wilts,
9th Welsh Fusiliers, and 9th Welsh, fired a volley, and then, in a
fashion which would have delighted the old Duke, sprang from their
cover and charged with the bayonet, hurling the Germans down the
slope. It was a complete repulse, as was a second attack upon the
front of the Gloucesters and Worcesters who, with a similar
suggestion of the legendary Peninsula tactics, waited till they could
see their foemen's eyes before firing, with the result that the
storming column simply vanished, flinging itself down in the long
grass and hiding there till nightfall. There was no attack on the
left of the line, but the 9th Cheshires and the North Staffords both
had their share in the victory. The Twenty-eighth French {338}
Division on the right had given a little before the storm, and the
British line was bent back to keep touch. Otherwise it was
absolutely intact, and the whole terrain in front of it was covered
with German dead.
The German is a determined fighter, however, and his generals well
knew that without the command of Bligny Hill no further progress was
possible for him in the general advance. Therefore they drew
together all their strength and renewed the attack at 11 A.M. with
such energy and determination that they gained the summit. An
immediate counter by the 9th Cheshires, though most gallantly urged,
was unable to restore the situation, but fortunately a battalion was
at hand which had not lost so grievously in the previous fighting.
This was the 4th Shropshires, which now charged up the hill,
accompanied by the remains of the undefeated 9th Cheshires. The
attack was delivered with magnificent dash and spirit, and it ended
by the complete reconquest of the hill. For this feat the 4th
Shropshires received as a battalion the rare and coveted distinction
of the Croix de Guerre with the palm. This local success
strengthened the hands of the French on the right, who were able in
the late afternoon to come forward and to retake the village of
Bligny. June 6 was a most successful day, and gave fresh assurance
that the German advance was spent.
There was no further close fighting in this neighbourhood up to June
19, when the young soldiers of the Nineteenth and other divisions
were withdrawn after a sustained effort which no veterans could have
beaten. In the official report of General Pellé to his own Higher
Command, there occurs the generous {339} sentence: "L'impression
produite sur le moral des troupes françaises par la belle attitude de
leurs alliés a ét très bonne." Both Allies experienced the
difficulty of harmonising troops who act under different traditions
and by different methods. At first these hindrances were very great,
but with fuller knowledge they tended to disappear, and ended in
complete mutual confidence, founded upon a long experience of loyalty
and devotion to the common end.
From this date until the end of June no event of importance affecting
the British forces occurred upon the Western front. The German
attack extended gradually in the Aisne district, until it had reached
Montdidier, and it penetrated upon the front as far south as the
forest of Villers-Cotteret, where it threatened the town of
Compiègne. In the middle of June the German front was within forty
miles of Paris, and a great gun specially constructed for the
diabolical work was tossing huge shells at regular intervals into the
crowded city. The bursting of one of these projectiles amidst the
congregation of a church on a Sunday, with an appalling result in
killed and wounded, was one of those incidents which Germans of the
future will, we hope, regard with the same horror as the rest of the
world did at the time.
The cause of the Allies seemed at this hour to be at the very lowest.
They had received severe if glorious defeats on the Somme, in
Flanders, and on the Aisne. Their only success lay in putting limits
to German victories. And yet with that deep prophetic instinct which
is latent in the human mind, there was never a moment when they felt
more assured of the ultimate victory, nor when the language of {340}
their leaders was prouder and more firm. This general confidence was
all the stranger, since we can see as we look back that the situation
was on the face of it most desperate, and that those factors which
were to alter it--the genius of Foch, the strength of his reserves,
and the numbers and power of the American Army--were largely
concealed from the public. In the midst of the gloom the one bright
light shone from Italy, where, on June 17, a strong attack of the
Austrians across the Piave was first held and then thrown back to the
other bank. In this most timely victory Lord Cavan's force, which
now consisted of three British Divisions, the Seventh, Twenty-third,
and Forty-eighth, played a glorious part. So, at the close of the
half year Fate's curtain rang down, to rise again upon the most
dramatic change in history.
{341}
INDEX
Ablainzeville, 32, 34, 35
Acklom, Colonel, 112
Aisne, British on the, 312-338
Albert, 64, 65, 66, 69, 70, 73, 76, 199, 204, 205, 206, 207, 210
Allenby, General Sir Edmund, 1
Allgood, Brigadier-General, 43
America, preparations by, 5
Amiens, 65, 114, 135, 152, 213, 312
Anderson, Colonel, V.C., 126
Anderson-Morshead, Colonel, 323
Anstey, Colonel, 135
Armentières, 226, 227, 235, 238, 240, 248, 260
Armin, General von, 249, 261, 303, 309
Armitage, Colonel, 299
Armstrong, Captain, 231
Arras, 6, 42, 44, 199, 204
Aveluy Wood, 204, 206, 207, 208, 209, 212
Ayette, 34, 35, 36
Bac St. Maur, 236, 238, 239, 241, 248, 249
Bailey, Brigadier-General, 78, 203
Bailleul, 44, 45, 257, 258, 259, 260, 262, 273, 278, 281, 282, 283,
293
Bainbridge, General Sir E., 50, 249, 273, 302, 312
Baird, Brigadier-General, 273, 277
Bambridge, Captain, 266
Banham, Major, 132
Bapaume, 56, 59, 60, 62
Barisis, 80, 81, 105
Barrett, Colonel Moulton, 40
Beal, Lieutenant, 25
Beaumetz, 50, 51, 55
Beaumont Hamel, 64, 65, 67, 74, 141, 144, 153
Beauvais, 156, 157, 158
Bellingham, Brigadier-General, 139, 203
Bell-Smyth, General, 195
Below, General Otto von, 9
Belton, Colonel, 143
Bennett, Brigadier-General, 210, 272
Bennett, Major (Cornwalls), 163
Bennett, Major (Oxfords), 141
Bernafoy Wood, 62, 122, 123, 124
Berney, Dr., 45
Berthelot, General, 323
Bertie, Major, 163
Bertincourt, 56, 58
Bethell, Brigadier-General, 302
Bethencourt, 122, 129, 159, 162, 163, 166, 187
Biddle, Sergeant-Major, 297
Bilton, Colonel, 162
Blackall, Colonel, 52
Blacklock, General, 148
Bligny, 336, 337, 338
Boehm, General von, 325
Bois d'Aquenne, 214, 216, 218
Boyd-Moss, Brigadier-General, 231
Boyelles, 24, 37
Braithwaite, General, 63, 64
Bridgford, General, 26, 245
British Armies, general disposition of, in March 1918, 5-7
Buchoir, 171, 173
Bucquoy, 63, 71, 74, 204, 212
Bullecourt, 10, 16, 19
Burt, Colonel, 182
Bushell, Colonel, 185
Bution, Lieutenant, 323
Butler, General, 10, 81, 104, 106, 153, 177, 183, 189, 192, 212, 215
Butler, Brigadier-General Leslie, 264
Buverchy, 165, 166, 167, 168
Byng, General Sir Julian, 6, 13, 41, 61
Cachy, 213, 214, 215
Cade, Colonel, 302
Cailloux, 230, 233, 234
California Plateau, 313, 315, 316, 319, 320
Cambrai, 6, 10, 47, 48, 63, 80, 221
Cameron, General, 254, 282, 302
Campbell, General, 86, 88, 123, 249, 306, 312, 324
Campbell, Brigadier-General, 31
Canizy, 159, 161, 163, 164
Cape, General, 148
Carey, General, 142, 143, 144, 150
Carter-Campbell, General, 47, 241
Cator, General, 105, 111, 213, 214
Cavan, General Lord, 340
Cayley, General, 243
Chalmers, Captain, 70
Chambrecy, 334, 336
Chandler, Captain, 92
Chapel Hill, 86, 87, 88, 89, 92, 116
Charlton, Colonel, 98
Chauny, 182, 183, 188, 190, 192, 196
Chemin des Dames, battle of, 312-338
Clare, Captain, 321
Clark, Major, 133
Clarke, Colonel Stanley, 42
Clemenceau, M., 6, 7, 284
Clery, 118, 125
Combe, Captain, 170
Combles, 59, 120, 121
Congreve, General, V.C., 10, 61, 80, 130, 142
Contalmaison, 61, 62, 63, 123
Contescourt, 103, 104
Cope, Major, 323
Cotton, Colonel, 163
Cotton, Lieutenant, 195
Cowper, General, 104
Craig, ----, 219
Craigie-Hackett, General, 329, 331
Craonelle, 319, 320
Craonne, 313, 315, 319
Croisilles, 17, 18, 23
Croix du Bac, 237, 239
Cronin, Lieutenant, 37
Cross, Lance-Corporal, 28
Crossthwaite, Colonel, 107
Crown Prince, the, 9
Crozat Canal, 110, 111, 112, 177, 189
Crozier, Brigadier-General, 31
Cubbon, Major, 69
Cubitt, Brigadier-General, 249, 253
Cunningham, Lieutenant, 85
Cunninghame, Colonel, 334
Curling, Colonel, 191
Currie, Brigadier-General, 307
Da Costa, General, 227, 229
Daly, General, 93, 131
Dann, Colonel, 112
Dawes, Colonel, 59
Dawson, General, 120, 203
Debeney, General, 214
De Lisle, General, 227, 270, 311
De Mitry, General, 299
Demuin, 141, 142, 143, 144, 146, 148, 150
Dennis, Captain, 108
Dent, Lieutenant, 266
Dernacourt, 75, 126, 204, 205, 210
Dervicke-Jones, Colonel, 180, 181
Deverell, General, 14, 293
Diebold, General, 180
Dimmer, Colonel, V.C., 99, 141
Doignies, 49, 50
Dougall, Captain, V.C., 251
Downie, Colonel M'Alpine, 100
Duchesne, General, 190
Dudbridge, Lieutenant, 159
Dugan, Brigadier-General, 132
Duncan, Brigadier-General, 161
Eardley-Wilmot, Colonel, 26
Ecoust, 17, 19, 20
Elstob, Colonel, 102
Epehy, 88, 92
Ervillers, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 59, 63
Esmery-Hallon, 160, 161, 176
Esperey, General Franchet d', 337
Essigny, 80, 103, 104, 105, 106, 114, 116, 177
Estaires, 229, 236, 240, 241, 242, 243, 244, 278
Evans, Captain, 257
Failes, Captain, 49
Fanshawe, General Sir E. A., 10, 47
Fayolle, General, 131
Feetham, General, 118, 138, 147, 148, 203
Fergusson, General Sir Charles, 10
Festubert, 233, 234, 246, 293, 294, 296, 299
Fins, 55, 57
Fismes, 314, 318, 328
Flesquières, 47, 49
Fleurbaix, 226, 236, 238
Foch, Marshal, 135, 203, 224, 325, 330, 340
Forbes, Brigadier-General, 31
Franks, General, 123, 125, 126
Frelinghien, 238, 239
Freyberg, Brigadier-General, 286
Frières Wood, 178, 185, 186
Frise, 130; 132
Gauche Wood, 86, 87, 88
Gavrelle, 41, 44
German East Africa, operations in, 2
Gibson, Colonel, 316, 317
Girdwood, Brigadier-General, 36
Givenchy, 226, 227, 228, 230, 246, 247, 258, 293, 294, 295
Glasgow, Brigadier-General, 215, 249, 251, 332
Goodman, Brigadier-General, 100
Gore, Brigadier-General, 284
Gorringe, General, 47, 53, 206, 209
Gosling, Lieutenant, 297
Gosset, Colonel, 148
Gough, General Sir Hubert, 6, 9, 12, 80, 81, 114, 115, 142, 151, 200,
202
Grant, General, 115, 142
Grant, ----, 133
Green, Captain, 255
Greenly, General, 106, 184, 192
Gribble, Captain, V.C., 56
Griffin, Brigadier-General, 50, 302
Griffin, Colonel, 321
Griffiths, Brigadier-General, 102, 253
Grogan, Brigadier-General, 315, 322
Gunner, Major F., 139
Gunning, Captain, 183
Haig, Field-Marshal Sir Douglas, 6, 122, 200, 203, 224, 261, 310, 311
Haig, Brigadier-General, 322
Haking, General, 227
Haldane, General Sir Aylmer, 10, 13, 18, 22
Hall, Lieutenant, 297
Ham, 82, 101, 157, 159, 160, 161, 162, 163, 183, 203
Hamilton-Gordon, General, 249, 312
Hancock, Colonel, 140
Handford, Captain, 297
Hangard Wood, 210, 211, 213, 215, 219, 220
Hangest, 173, 174
Hargicourt, 93, 94
Harman, General, 184, 190, 191
Harper, General, 10, 47
Harrop, Lieutenant, 165
Harston, Brigade-Major, 299
Hartigan, Major, 91, 92
Harvey, Colonel, 142
Haslett, Major, 319
Havrincourt, 50, 54
Haybittle, Captain, 110
Hazebrouck, 237, 258, 263, 264, 270, 271
Headlam, General, 123
Heane, Brigadier-General, 271
Heath, Brigadier-General, 250, 332
Heneker, General, 98, 128, 135, 213, 312, 318, 320, 330
Henin, 37, 40
Henin Hill, 18, 22, 23, 24, 26, 52
Hermies, 50, 51, 54
Heudicourt, 88, 116
Higginson, Brigadier-General, 107
Hill, Colonel, 132
Hilliard, Brigadier-General, 43
Hindenburg Line, the, 6, 10
Hoath, Colonel, 56
Hodgson, Lieutenant, 256
Hollebeke, 248, 249, 250
Holnon Wood, 157
Horn, Colonel, 73
Hornby, General, 118
Horne, General Sir H., 41, 227, 311
Houthulst Forest, 6, 7, 227
Howitt, Major, 158, 168
Hull, General, 86, 90
Humbert, General, 189
Hunt, Colonel, 123
Hurd, Corporal, 280
Hutchinson, Colonel, 278
Hutier, General von, 9
Impey, Colonel, 68
Ireland, Colonel, 91
Italy, operations in, 4, 340
Jackson, General, 227, 240, 312, 318
Jackson, Brigadier-General, 140
Jacob, General Sir C., 8
Jacotin, Private, 268
James, Colonel, 38
Jeffreys, General, 53, 249, 250, 255, 274, 286, 290, 328, 331, 332,
333
Jeudwine, General Sir Hugh, 227
Johnson, Major, 147
Jones, Captain, V.C., 56
Jussy, 178, 179, 181, 183, 184, 185
Kelly, Captain, 183
Kemmel, Mount, 283, 292, 299, 300, 301, 302, 304, 305
Kemmel, village, 302, 306
Kemp-Welch, Colonel, 280
Kent, Colonel, 320
Kerensky, 3
Kidd, Lieutenant, 92
La Bassée, 6
La Fère, 8, 79, 111, 112, 114, 177
Lagnicourt, 47, 49, 50
Lamotte, 138, 141
Large, Lieutenant, 323
Lasbourde, Commandant de, D.S.O., 335, 336
La Vacquerie, 79, 80
Laventie, 227, 228, 235
Lawford, General, 31
Lawrie, General, 47, 53
Lawson, Colonel, 158, 299
Leatheart, Major, 318
Lee, General, 105, 109, 153, 218
Le Fleming, Colonel, 98
Lenin, 3
Lens, 6
Le Plantin, 230, 231, 232, 295, 297, 298
Le Quesnel, 169, 170, 173
Le Quesnoy, 170
Leslie, Brigadier-General, 271
Lestrem, 240, 241, 243, 246
Lettow Vorbeck, General, 2
Le Verguier, 94, 95, 127
Lewis, Lieutenant, 266
Liancourt, 169, 170
Libermont, 164, 165, 167, 168
Loisne, 230, 232, 233, 295, 298
Longueval, 69, 61
Louverval, 49, 50
Ludendorff, General, 8
Lumsdon, Brigadier-General, 43
Lys, battle of the: the Flanders front, 223-224; German hopes, 224;
factors in favour of the Allies, 224-226; disaster to and retirement
of Portuguese, 227-229; Fifty-fifth Division at Givenchy, 230-234;
loss of the Lys, 235-246; German attack in the north, 249-256;
British retreat, 256-257; general review of the situation, 258-259;
loss of Armentières, 260; Sir Douglas Haig's "Win or Die" message to
his armies, 261-262; 4th Guards Brigade at Hazebrouck, 263-270;
arrival of First Australian Division, 270-273; loss of Neuve Eglise,
275, 287-289; Nineteenth Division, 286-287, 289-293; enemy attack on
First Division at Givenchy, 294-298; attack on and fall of Kemmel,
300-304; battle of Ridge Wood, 306-309; review of month's fighting on
Flanders front, 310-311
M'Carter, Dr., 45
M'Cullagh, Colonel, 45
Macintosh, Captain, 287
M'Intosh, Private, 46
Mackenzie, General Colin, 98, 246, 299
Maclachlan, Colonel, 159
MacLeod, Colonel, 42
M'Leod, Colonel, 116
Maissemy, 80, 93, 94, 99, 100, 104, 114
Maitland, Brigadier-General, 277, 307
Malassise Farm, 91, 92
Malcolm, General, 93, 203
Mametz, 62, 63
Marcelcave, 139, 143, 144, 148, 151, 204
March, Corporal, 211
Marden, General, 47, 307
Maricourt, 62, 64, 123
Marindin, Brigadier-General, 125
Marshall, General, 2
Martin, Brigadier-General, 97, 245, 315, 317
Marwitz, General von, 9
Massey, Captain, 323
Maude, General Sir F. S., 2
Maxse, General Sir Ivor, 10, 81, 98, 104, 156, 161, 175
Mayne, Brigadier-General, 277, 308
Meerling, Captain, 162
Mezières, 146, 147, 175
Mennessis, 178, 179
Merris, 247, 264, 277
Merville, 228, 240, 244, 245, 247, 258, 260, 277, 278
Mesopotamia, operations in, 2
Messines, 227, 248, 249, 250, 251, 252, 253, 254, 255, 256, 258, 260,
293
Meteren, 263, 272, 277, 278, 280, 281, 283, 293, 300
Mitchell, Colonel, 43
Monchy, 8, 10, 37
Montauban, 62, 65, 123
Montdidier, 196, 199, 339
Moore, Colonel, 164
Moreuil, 147, 148, 149, 151, 175, 199
Mory, 26, 27, 28, 29
Moyencourt, 164, 167
Moyenneville, 30, 32, 33, 34
Nesham, Major, 25
Nesle, 161, 162, 163, 164, 167, 168, 169
Neuf Berquin, 245, 247, 277
Neuve Eglise, 260, 273, 274, 275, 276, 277, 283, 286, 287, 288, 289,
290
Neuville Vitasse, 37, 39, 40, 42
Nicholson, General, 16, 235, 238, 239, 285
Nieppe, 248, 256, 257, 265, 284
Nollet, General, 152
Noreuil, 182, 186
Noreuille, 17, 19
Noyon, 180, 191, 194, 195
Nugent, General, 102
Offoy, 162, 163
O'Gowan, General Wanless, 26
Oppy, 41, 44
O'Sullivan, Sergeant, 28
Pagan, Brigadier-General, 143, 299
Paget, Brigade-Major, 135
Palestine, operations in, 1, 2
Parkes, Major, 290
Passchendaele, 6
Peirs, Colonel, 95
Peizière, 88, 89
Pellé, General, 180, 332, 338
Pereira, General, 53
Peronne, 98, 118, 122, 128
Piave, Italian victory on the, 340
Pinney, General, 262, 263, 273, 277, 278, 284, 307
Pitman, General, 192, 195
Ploegsteert, 253, 254, 255
Plumer, General Sir Herbert, 8, 227, 254, 262, 293, 310
Pœuilly, 96, 97, 127
Polderhoek Château, 7
Pollard, General, 126
Ponsonby, General, 21, 31, 227
Pope, Colonel, 98
Pope, Captain, D.S.O., 335
Portal, General, 195
Porter, Captain, 150
Poyntz, Brigadier-General, 100, 171
Pozières, 62, 63, 64
Prior, Colonel, 49
Proctor, Captain, D.S.O., 97
Pryce, Captain, V.C., 265, 269
Quartermain, Lieutenant, 172
Quast, General von, 226, 261
Ransome, Colonel, 185
Rawlinson, General Sir Henry, 8, 205
Reade, Colonel, 303
Reed, General, V.C., 38, 41, 42, 43
Reedman, Brigadier-General, 264
Rees, Brigadier-General, 96, 315, 316, 318, 319, 320
Regiments:
_Artillery_--
Royal Field Artillery, 17, 59, 69, 90, 110, 123, 176, 178, 191, 251,
266, 323, 330
Royal Horse Artillery, 178, 191
_Cavalry_--
Royal Dragoons, 161, 191
Scots Greys, 184, 187
6th Lancers, 195
12th Lancers, 160
16th Lancers, 181, 195
3rd Hussars, 110
4th Hussars, 195
11th Hussars, 96, 157
20th Hussars, 187
Northumberland Hussars, 191
_Guards_--
Coldstream, 265, 266, 268, 269
Grenadier, 265, 268, 269
Irish, 265, 266, 269
_Infantry_--
Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, 25, 43, 100, 279, 283, 307, 309
Bedford, 69, 101, 151, 168, 181, 184, 187, 194, 303, 307, 309
Berkshire, 68, 99, 100, 107, 141, 151, 157, 187, 206, 214, 218, 321
Black Watch, 42, 43, 246, 298
Border, 305
Buffs (East Kent), 67, 107, 108, 109, 185
Cambridge, 134, 304
Cameron Highlanders, 42, 43, 121
Cheshire, 125, 251, 303, 332, 333, 334, 337, 338
Devons, 135, 214, 322, 323
Duke of Cornwall's, 163, 170
Durham Light Infantry, 89, 124, 134, 135, 140, 146, 166, 216, 218,
241, 242, 243, 244, 317, 327
East Lancashire, 16, 93, 112, 214, 264, 321
East Surrey, 27, 28, 98, 109, 110, 133, 185, 235
East Yorkshire, 30, 31, 32, 34, 237, 264, 319
Essex, 43, 69, 108, 187, 206, 220
Gloucester, 50, 56, 143, 250, 251, 287, 290, 296, 297, 298, 299, 329,
331, 333, 334, 335, 336, 337
Gordon Highlanders, 37, 39, 42, 99, 157, 158, 246
Hampshire, 43, 52, 294, 299
Hertford, 117, 304
Highland Light Infantry, 25, 36, 124, 126, 235, 237, 273, 274, 275,
276, 277
Inniskilling Fusiliers, 102, 103
King's Liverpool, 22, 39, 40, 101, 160, 161, 170, 172, 231, 232, 233,
234, 282, 283, 306, 307, 308, 309
King's Own Royal Lancaster, 37, 38
King's Own Scottish Borderers, 42, 43, 117, 119, 121, 301
King's Royal Rifles, 7, 22, 105, 146, 149, 162, 164, 166, 167, 273,
274, 275
Lancashire Fusiliers, 36, 93, 94, 150, 232, 302
Leicester, 19, 88, 89, 112, 306, 327
Lincoln, 17, 19, 87, 88, 89, 90, 116, 327
Liverpool Scottish, 231, 234
1st Artists, 69
London Rifle Brigade, 44
1st London, 111, 180
2nd London, 213
3rd London, 111, 112, 181, 182
4th London, 111, 112, 182, 213
8th London (Post Office Rifles), 112, 180, 181, 182, 183
10th London, 213
15th London (Civil Service), 207, 208
15th London (Queen's Westminsters), 44
17th London, 53, 54
18th London, 54, 57, 58
19th London, 54, 58
20th London, 58, 207, 208
22nd London, 208, 209
23rd London, 57, 207, 208
24th London, 207, 211
Manchester, 31, 35, 58, 93, 101, 102, 132, 159
Middlesex, 27, 213, 235, 236, 237, 277, 283, 285, 307, 322
Munster Fusiliers, 91
Norfolk, 49, 69, 70
Northampton, 69, 181, 187, 216, 322
North Staffordshire, 19, 93, 98, 112, 126, 250, 251, 252, 292, 330,
332, 334, 337
Northumberland Fusiliers, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 24, 38, 39, 40, 89, 96,
97, 112, 126, 127, 134, 136, 137, 146, 240, 241, 242, 243, 244, 245,
247, 276, 284, 286, 316, 317, 318
Oxford and Bucks, 56, 83, 84, 99, 141, 157
Queen's (West Surrey), 67, 93, 95, 185, 278, 279, 280, 281, 282
Rifle Brigade, 93, 149, 159, 162, 163, 166, 167, 214
Royal Fusiliers, 7, 15, 22, 67, 68, 140, 151, 184, 187, 193, 194, 206
Royal Irish Fusiliers, 161, 171, 191, 254
Royal Irish Rifles, 102, 103, 254
Royal Scots, 14, 15, 18, 24, 37, 42, 90, 100, 116, 117, 121, 124,
125, 163, 239, 301
Royal Scots Fusiliers, 20, 37, 40, 151, 235, 237, 277
Royal West Kent, 67, 68, 93, 107, 187, 220
Seaforth Highlanders, 43, 292
Sherwood Foresters, 19, 125, 135, 214, 215, 287, 288, 289, 290, 291,
292, 324
Scottish Rifles, 42, 184, 271, 278, 281, 282, 308, 309
Shropshire, 39, 40, 146, 251, 287, 289, 330, 332, 334, 337, 338
Somerset Light Infantry, 105, 170, 294
South Lancashire, 171, 231, 232
South Staffordshire, 19, 52, 303
South Wales Borderers, 251, 255, 257, 297, 332, 336
Suffolk, 14, 16, 18, 23, 24, 26, 38, 69, 206, 235, 236, 238, 239
Sussex, 68, 95, 125, 132, 184, 206, 304
Warwick, 56, 169, 250, 251, 292, 331, 332, 333, 334, 335, 337
Welsh, 28, 235, 236, 249, 253, 329, 331, 333, 337
Welsh Fusiliers, 53, 54, 55, 57, 59, 209, 249, 290, 329, 331, 337
West Lancashire, 227, 230
West Riding, 71, 72, 282, 305
West Yorkshire, 32, 33, 70, 72, 149, 213, 215, 255, 322
Wiltshire, 55, 101, 253, 290, 302, 329, 330, 331, 332, 333, 334, 335,
337
Worcester, 50, 56, 99, 250, 273, 274, 275, 287, 290, 329, 330, 331,
333, 334, 335, 336, 337
York and Lancaster, 276, 305
Yorkshire, 24, 98, 159, 166, 171, 235, 236, 237, 240, 241, 243, 307,
317, 319, 320
Yorkshire Light Infantry, 35, 71, 72, 266, 268, 269, 276
--------
Entrenching Battalions, 96, 106, 107, 112, 140, 146, 166, 167, 177,
179, 185, 189, 190, 194, 190
Royal Army Medical Corps, 45, 77, 286
Royal Engineers, 19, 23, 37, 67, 107, 135, 161, 186, 187, 237, 251,
268, 277, 283, 286, 287, 302
Royal Naval Division, 53, 58, 62, 63, 67, 206, 209
_Overseas Forces_--
Australians, 61, 64, 66, 71, 72, 75, 127, 150, 152, 153, 204, 205,
206, 210, 212, 215, 216, 218, 220, 221, 222, 237, 259, 283, 269, 270,
271, 272, 273, 280, 283, 284, 293, 300
Canadians, 41, 121, 146, 149, 152, 153, 162, 167, 172, 184, 195, 204
New Zealanders, 64, 65, 66, 72, 75, 204, 211, 212, 278, 281, 283
South Africans, 86, 87, 88, 90, 116, 117, 119, 120, 121, 252, 255, 291
Rheims, 316, 326, 328
Ricardo, Brigadier-General, 102
Richards, Lieutenant, 85
Richardson, Colonel, 111
Richardson, Lieutenant, 186
Rickerby, Lieutenant, 159
Rickman, Colonel, 34
Riddell, Brigadier-General, 96, 97, 135, 244, 315, 317
Ridge Wood, 305, 307, 308, 309
Robecq, 246, 259, 260, 294
Roberts, Colonel, 24
Robertson, General, 47, 53
Robertson, Colonel Forbes, V.C., 248
Robinson, Colonel, 96, 137
Rœux, 43
Roisel, 94, 95
Rollo, Colonel, 309
Romer, General, 18, 281
Ronssoy, 80, 90, 91, 93, 113
Rosenthal, General, 210
Rossignol Wood, 64, 71, 72, 74, 212
Roumania, 3
Rouvroy, 171, 172
Roye, 167, 168, 170, 196
Russell, General Sir A., 72
Russia, events in, 3
St. Emilie, 92, 117
St. Leger, 24, 26, 29
St. Pierre Vaast, 119, 121
St. Quentin, 10, 98, 100, 156
Sadleir-Jackson, Brigadier-General, 106, 194
Sailly Saillisel, 58, 59, 119, 121, 122
Saint, Colonel, 139
Salonica, 2
Scarpe River, 41, 43, 45
Scott, General, 66
Seely, General, 190
Sensée River, 13, 14, 24
Sharples, Driver, 279
Shute, General, 35, 36
Smith, Brigadier-General, 210
Smith, Captain, 297
Soissons, 316, 326, 328
Sole, Colonel, 63, 290
Solly-Flood, General, 31
Somme, the second battle of the: effects of German and Austrian
successes in Russia, 3; in Roumania, 3; in Italy, 4; disposition of
the British Armies, 5-7; enemy preparations for the Great Offensive
of March 21, 1918, 8-10; the German plan, 8; examination of the
British positions, 10-12; general situation on 20th March, 12; attack
on the Sixth Army Corps, 14; loss of Bullecourt, 16; Croisilles
abandoned, 18; losses of the Fifty-ninth Division, 21; capture of
Henin Hill by the enemy, 23; hard fighting by Fortieth Division, 25,
27-31; East Yorkshires at Ervillers, 30-32; West Yorkshires at
Moyenneville, 33-34; recapture of Ayette, 36; successful resistance
before Arras, 37-43; German advance checked in the north, 44-45; work
of the R.A.M.C., 45; of the Artillery, 46; attack on Sixth and
Fifty-first Divisions, 48-53; attack on and retirement of the Fifth
Corps, 53-57; continued German pressure, 57-63; fighting before
Albert, 64-70; defence of Twelfth Division, 66-70; enemy advance
stayed in this sector, 70; results of first week's fighting on Third
Army front summarised, 76-77; losses of Third Army, 77-78; Fifth Army
front on 21st March, 80; its fortifications, 81; position and number
of reserves, 82; story of a redoubt, 83-85; attack upon the Seventh
Corps, 86-92; on the Nineteenth Corps, 92-98; on the Eighteenth
Corps, 98-104; on the Third Corps, 104-112; retreat of the Fifth
Army, 113; the problem before General Gough, 113-115; his plans,
115-116; the Seventh Corps, 116-127; destruction of the South African
Brigade, 120; the Nineteenth Corps, 127-155; defence of the Somme,
127-131; the East Surreys, 133; the Carey line, 142-145; General
Feetham killed, 147; advance of Australians, 152-153; General Watts'
achievement, 154; losses of Nineteenth Corps in the retreat, 154; the
Eighteenth Corps, 156-176; defence of Beauvais by the Gloucesters,
158-159; enemy capture Ham, 160; defence of Le Quesnoy, 170;
experiences of Maxse's Eighteenth Corps summarised, 175-176; Third
Corps, 177-203; Germans force the Crozat Canal line, 178-182; arrival
of the French, 180; fight at Frières Wood, 186; loss of Noyon,
194-195; losses of the Third Corps, 197; end of the retreat, 199;
general observations and criticism, 199-203; losses of Fifth Army,
21st to 28th March, 203; attack upon Albert, 205-209; fighting at
Aveluy Wood, 207-209; Germans capture Villers-Bretonneux, 212-215;
recapture by Australians and Eighth Division, 215-219; turn of the
tide, 220
Sorel, 88, 116, 117
Stanley, Brigadier-General, 100, 101, 160
Stansfeld, Brigadier-General, 287
Steenwerck, 237, 239, 242, 245, 249, 254
Stewart, Colonel (Leicester), 112
Stewart, Colonel (South Staffs), 303
Stockley, General, 94
Stockwell, Brigadier-General, 232
Stokes-Roberts, Colonel, 93
Stone, Brigadier-General, 94
Stoney, Colonel, 275
Strazeele, 237, 272, 278, 281
Strickland, General, 234, 293
Tanner, Brigadier-General, 252
Tanner, Rev. --, 275
Temperley, Colonel, 242, 247, 316, 317
Thompson, Captain, 135
Thomson, Colonel, 319
Thorne, Colonel, 112
Topping, General, 286
Tudor, General, 86, 249, 252, 291
Tweedie, Colonel, 296
Tweedy, Major, 317
Tween, Major, 187
Twiss, Colonel, 33, 34
Vierhouck, 245, 247, 264
Vieux Berquin, 247, 264, 266, 268, 271, 272, 280
Ville-en-Tardenois, 331, 333, 334
Villers-Bretonneux, 153, 155, 199, 212, 213, 215, 219, 220
Vimy Ridge, 6
Walker, General Sir Harold, 271
Walker, Colonel, 132
Wannan, Private, 46
Warden, Colonel, D.S.O., 28
Warre-Dymond, --, 133
Watson, Colonel, 161, 309
Watts, General Sir H., 10, 73, 80, 86, 92, 94, 129, 130, 131, 138,
141, 142, 143, 144, 147, 149, 154
Weedon, Sergeant, 269
Wetherall, Brigadier-General, 83, 85, 157, 168
Whelan, Lieutenant, 91, 92
White, Brigadier-General Hon. R., 156, 157, 158, 203
Whitham, Colonel, 218
Whitworth, Major, 132
Williams, General, 100
Willock, Captain, 141
Wingrove, Major, 289
Witteycombe, Brigadier-General, 102
Wood, Brigadier-General, 107
Woods, Lieutenant, 24
Worgan, Brigadier-General, 111, 180
Wray, General, 238
Wrenford, Colonel, 112
Wright, Colonel, 137
Wulverghem, 254, 256, 258
Wyatt, General, 276
Wytschaete, 248, 249, 252, 253, 254, 255, 256, 260, 291, 292, 293,
299, 301, 303
Young, Colonel, 120
Ypres, 256, 306
THE END
_Printed in Great Britain by_ R. & R. CLARK, LIMITED, _Edinburgh_.
[Illustration: Map to illustrate the British Campaign in France and
Flanders]