THE ATTACK--OFFENCE
Trenches can only be considered as devices for affording temporary
protection during the time that preparations are being made for
delivering an attack. No one wants to remain in trenches for ever. At
the best it is a miserable kind of life, and from a military point of
view, it gets nowhere. Nor is it capable of being maintained without
great loss in men. So costly did it become to us, and so great was the
monotony and the feeling of helplessness, that we welcomed the word
when it came to us to deliver an attack. At least that would bring us
action, and give a variety to life.
During the first year of the war, attacks had almost always to be made
without sufficient artillery preparation. Even at the Battle of Neuve
Chapelle, where we assembled over 480 guns on a little more than a
mile of front--a greater collection than had ever been got together in
history--we had not sufficient artillery preparation for the attack
that was to be made. There were enough guns but not enough shells to
fire from them. The result was that much of the enemy's wire was still
intact when the infantry rushed over, and the advance was held up in
certain important points where we could be enfiladed.
We have learnt that the only method of delivering an infantry attack
against prepared positions is to give them a thorough hammering with
shells. Every particle of wire should be destroyed, so as to eliminate
the risk of men being shot down as they attempt to pass through it.
At the Battle of Loos our guns bombarded their lines from Monday
morning to Saturday morning, and kept hammering at them so as not to
give them a chance to repair either their wire or their parapets. An
effective curtain of fire was established at the same time to render it
impossible for them to bring food and supplies up to the line that we
were about to attack. For the last ten minutes before the men actually
went over the parapet, there was a perfect tornado of shells falling
upon and behind their lines. Any one who remained at his post alive
during the previous days would find it almost impossible to continue
there during this deluge.
If the artillery preparation is adequate, the battle is half over.
General Haig's successes on the Somme, and the consequent German
retreat on a large scale, have been due, in the first place to the
excellent work of the gunners. Of course the gunners themselves have
been dependent on many other branches of the service pre-eminent among
which is the aeroplane corps. Targets are seldom seen by the gunners
who have to depend for their information on the men who can fly ahead
and come back with actual photographs of the positions to be bombarded.
Too great emphasis cannot be placed upon the work of these gallant
flying men. During the battles of the Somme, they have not only been
doing this reconnaissance work for the gunners, but they have been
flying very low after they reached the enemy territory and using their
machine guns on the advancing or retreating infantry. So low did they
fly, indeed, that the enemy did not risk firing upon them with their
guns for fear of hitting their own men. They were fairly safe as far as
the opposing infantry was concerned for the man in the machine is well
protected from below and at the sides from rifle bullets.
While the artillery is active, the junior artillery, the bomb gunners
must also get to work to throw over as much H. E. as possible to break
down the resistance of the enemy.
Then again there is the gas, which has now come to be used as a
definite part of an offensive. Gas is conveyed to the trenches in large
drums, under pressure, and at the proper moment is liberated in waves
against the enemy. It should be in the hands of trained men who can be
trusted not to liberate it a moment before the time comes.
While gas has proved very effective under certain circumstances--and
almost decided the fate of Calais early in 1915--yet it is obviously
dependent upon the weather and especially the wind. Even if the
direction of the wind is correct for the use of gas, the kind of wind
may not be suitable at the moment. The wind must not be high nor
squally, but needs to be low and gentle, just sufficient to carry the
gas across to the opposing trenches without dissipating it on the
journey. Then again it must be remembered that it can seldom reach the
gunners who may open up intensive fire on the trenches from which it
is being liberated, burst the drums and make the place untenable. Of
course all the men who are employed in liberating gas should be warned
to have their helmets in position to guard against these emergencies,
and also against leaks in the drums. Gas masks must be tested daily to
see that they do not admit any of this deadly poison.
In addition to these preparations, a good many reconnaissance parties
must be sent night after night out into No Man's Land to map it
thoroughly, place directing boards there, dig small saps to facilitate
an advance, and learn the condition of what remains of the enemy wire.
This work is difficult and dangerous, and must be given to trustworthy,
brave, resourceful men. For it must be remembered that the enemy will
probably come out into this neutral territory at night to try and learn
the plans of the opposing side, just as they are trying to learn his
plans. Many bloody conflicts have taken place out there under cover of
darkness when the patrol from one side has entered into conflict with
the patrol from the other.
Those in charge of the attack will arrange that at a specified time
the bombardment will cease, and the men leap over the parapets. This
time is usually arranged for, say, one minute after six, or thirteen
minutes after eight--some time which the enemy cannot guess accurately.
During the final awful ten minutes, the finishing touches are given to
rifles and bombs and revolvers. Then exactly at the appointed time the
electric buzzers in the trenches sound the signal to advance. The first
man over the parapet is always an officer. Unlike the Germans, we do
not drive our men but expect them to follow us, and this accounts in
part for the very severe casualties that have been suffered by British
officers.
Where the distance between trenches is short, say, a couple of hundred
yards, it is covered as fast as men can run. It is a veritable race
with death; for the enemy must not be allowed to recover from the
bombardment in time to get his machine guns up into position again
before the infantry arrives before his trenches. The attacking infantry
must throw themselves down into the trenches and begin work at once
with bomb and bayonet. Since the enemy has adopted the plan of having
his dugouts deep down in the earth, it is a little easier to reach him
before he is able to emerge. In this work bombs are most effective.
All of the enemy communicating trenches must be effectively barricaded
or protected by bombers and riflemen to keep him from bringing up any
reserves and thus taking the attacking force from a flank. In an attack
of this kind the ground cannot be covered too rapidly, and no thought
must be given to cover.
But when attacks have to be made over long distances, the plan is
either to dig out saps that will reach to within a reasonable charging
distance of the enemy, or else have the infantry proceed at a moderate
and steady pace, so as not to arrive at their objective winded and
useless for bayonet work. The principle of having sectional rushes
while neighbouring sections open rapid fire will be found useful.
The German method of advance is characterised by the close order
formation, the British by the open order formation. The German training
is such that he cannot act independently to any very great degree, but
needs to feel the support of another strong arm near him, if possible
touching him. They attack in waves of men packed so closely together
that it is impossible to miss them if you get a shot at them at all,
and of course they are ideal marks for machine guns. But in the British
and French armies men are trained to be self-reliant and to advance
even when they seem to be alone. An interval of three paces is usually
maintained between individuals, and that renders them less of a target
for marksmen. They are also trained to take command of other men should
their officers or non-commissioned officers be put out of action.
Should any of the enemy wires be still intact, they must be cut by the
first comers so as not to hold up the main attack. This is done by
ordinary wire cutters--which every man is supposed to carry as part
of his equipment--or else by a new device that is attached to certain
rifles. By means of this a number of the wires are caught together and
then when the rifle is fired the bullet cuts them and a passage through
is made.
If the trench should be successfully taken and all the enemy disposed
of, the first work to be done is to "reverse" it, and connect it up by
communicating trenches with the old position. For this work engineers
are sent immediately behind the infantry, and they carry with them
quantities of sand bags and shovels and picks and wire, etc., with
which to complete this task. Of course the infantry must also help, and
for this purpose it will be as well for each man to take with him a few
sandbags on his back--not enough to encumber him, but sufficient to be
of service in putting up hasty defences.
The test of the success of the action will come as soon as the enemy is
able to organise a counter-attack. He will know the range of the trench
to a nicety and will not be slow to hurl the weight of his shells
against it. Then, too, he will try to bring up reserves, who with
bayonet and bomb will attack their old position. For many weary hours
the infantry may be busy on this task of repelling counter attacks, and
consolidating their new position.
So many details have to be cared for in an attack that it is well to
rehearse it thoroughly beforehand and to see that every individual
knows just exactly where he is supposed to be and what he is to do.
Only in that way will confusion be avoided. It will be necessary also
for the attackers to wear distinguishing marks in the form of a white
band on the arm or a white piece of cloth on the back if the attack is
to be made in the darkness or with poor light.
The question of prisoners inevitably comes up. What is to be done with
them? How are they to be taken care of? It will be seen that this is
a big problem in an attack where men cannot be disengaged from their
tasks of taking trenches without greatly weakening the operation.
To tell off men to look after prisoners when every man is needed to
break down the resistance that is still being offered by others of
the enemy, is a procedure obviously surrounded with dangers. And yet,
in the interests of humanity it has to be done, for the only other
alternative is to take no prisoners. At the battle of Loos many of the
German prisoners that we took came to us in embarrassing mobs. They
were weak and hungry and required little persuasion to lay down their
arms. Under these conditions we could manage a great many prisoners
with a few armed men. Where they surrendered in ones and twos we found
there was a disposition on the part of some of our troops to disengage
themselves from the battle to lead them back. A man is naturally
proud of the fact that he has taken a prisoner and wants to deliver
him himself. But we insisted that they be turned over at the earliest
opportunity to others who were in charge of small numbers of prisoners,
and that as soon as possible they be given into the charge of men who
were slightly wounded, but who could still be relied on to give a good
account of themselves if trouble arose. It is also a good thing to have
a quantity of loose telephone wire about--as almost always happens in a
battle--and wind this round the prisoners, making sure that they keep
their hands in the air. Even barbed wire will do, though it is not so
comfortable for the prisoners concerned, and it may be necessary to
relax the rule about keeping both hands up!
Raids are attacks on a small scale, and on a definite portion of the
enemy's line. They are usually carried out by parties varying in number
from twenty to a hundred commanded by one or more officers. Almost
the same preparation as for an attack is necessary in most cases to
break down the barbed wire before the lines. But in some cases they
are carried out as surprises and then other means must be relied on
to overcome the difficulties of the barbed wire. As in the case of
attacks, rehearsals must precede the operation itself so that every man
will know exactly what he is supposed to do and where he is supposed to
be. In a recent raid during the time that the snow was on the ground,
the Canadians secured a number of women's nightgowns and put them on
over their uniforms. In this remarkable garb they proceeded over No
Man's Land to visit the German lines.
If artillery preparation has been given, that must be depended on to
have broken the wires and the thing to be done then is to reach the
enemy parapets before they have time to recover and bring the machine
guns into action. But by far the greater number of raids come as
surprises to the enemy. They do not hear the men beyond their parapets
lying on their stomachs and busily cutting the wires with their
snips. The first they know of it is when a bomb lands in the trench or
else the body of one of the attacking infantrymen, as he enters their
stronghold to begin his work of destruction. In raiding parties, more
than at any other time it is well to remember the adage that "silence
is golden," and that the best results can only be obtained if every man
is determined to follow his instructions to the very letter. If the
party is cut off by superior forces it must make up its mind as to what
it is going to do, though most men, I am sure, will prefer to fight to
the death rather than surrender.