OPERATIONS IN THE ARRAS SECTOR FROM
APRIL 23 ONWARDS
Advance of April 23--Middlesex and Argyll--Grand fighting of the
Fifteenth Division--H.A.C. at Gavrelle--Operations of May 3--The
Gavrelle Windmill--Loss of Fresnoy--Capture of Rœux--The long
fight at Bullecourt.
Upon April 16 the great French offensive had broken out upon the
Aisne, directed against the line of Chalk Downs which the British had
learned to know so well in 1914, and aiming at that ancient road, the
Chemin des Dames, which some of the First Division had actually
reached in that year. The attack was very successful in the outset,
a haul of prisoners and guns being secured which brought their
victory to a level with that at Arras. After a time, however, the
defence became too strong for the attack, and the French losses
became very serious. Whilst they were gathering their strength for a
fresh blow, which was brilliantly delivered later in the year, it was
necessary for Sir Douglas to keep up his pressure to the north, and
to engage guns and troops which should, according to his original
plan, have been diverted long ago to the Flemish front. This had the
effect of delaying the operations there, and this in turn brought us
into the premature rainy season which began upon {65} August 1 and
lasted with very few breaks for the rest of the autumn. Thus the
circumstances at this date, unavoidable as they were, had a malign
effect upon the year's campaign, which was greatly increased by the
wild proceedings of the new Russian rulers, if the organisers of
anarchy can be known by such a name. These preposterous people, who
began their career of democracy by betraying all the democracies of
the world, and exemplified their morality by repudiating the loans
which had been made to Russia in her need, reduced the armies to such
a state of impotence that they were useless as allies, so that the
Latin and Anglo-Saxon races had to fight with the full weight of the
military autocracies. This fact made the situation both upon the
Italian and upon the Western fronts infinitely more serious than it
would otherwise have been, since not only the men, but the munitions
of the Germans, could be concentrated upon their undoing.
[Sidenote: April 23]
Upon April 23 there was a renewal of the advance all along the
British line, which took for its objectives, counting from the south,
Bois du Vert, Bois du Sart, Pelves, Rœux, Gavrelle, Oppy,
Acheville, etc.
Upon this date, Snow's Seventh Corps in the south had the
Thirty-third Division upon its right, the Thirtieth in the centre,
and the Fiftieth upon the left. It was a day of hard fighting and of
very limited gains, for General Snow experienced all the
disadvantages which the attack has against the defence, when there is
no overwhelming artillery to blast a road for the infantry. All
three divisions made some progress in the early hours of dawn, but
the whole of the two northern divisions and the centre of the
Thirty-third Division were soon {66} held up and were finally driven
back to their starting-point by very heavy machine-gun fire. About
11 A.M. a heavy German counter-attack, preceded by a terrific shower
of shells, came rolling down the Cojeul Valley, driving back the
Fiftieth Division after their very fine initial advance. The
obstacle in front of the troops was nothing less than the Hindenburg
front line, so that they might well find it a difficult nut to crack.
The Thirtieth Division fell back in touch with the Fiftieth, but the
Thirty-third managed to hold on to its gain of ground on the flank
which had brought it into the German front line south of the Sensée
River.
The position at this part of the line had become serious, and was
ever more so as the evening passed into night, for the forward
position of the Thirty-third Division had exposed its whole left
flank, its advanced units were cut off, and the Germans, pushing back
the Lancashire men of the Thirtieth Division, had worked forward to
an extent which threatened the guns. If the advance continued, the
Thirty-third Division must either fall back under most difficult
conditions or be overwhelmed. General Pinney held his ground, and
was comforted in doing so by the sounds all night of a brisk
rifle-fire upon his front, though it was impossible to ascertain what
troops were in so isolated a position. With the first light of
morning, two battalions of the 19th Brigade, the 20th Royal Fusiliers
and 2nd Welsh Fusiliers, were pushed forward to clear up the
situation. They came after advancing 1200 yards upon the remains of
two grim, battle-stained companies, one of the 1st Middlesex and one
of the 2nd Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, who had spent some
fifteen hours in {67} the heart of the enemy's advance, seeing their
attacks sweeping past them, but keeping as steady as two rocks in a
stream. Apart from the other hardships of their position, they had
endured the whole of the British barrage put down to stop the German
advance. This stout defence not only screened the face of the
Thirty-third Division, but to some extent covered the flank of the
Thirtieth--a striking example of what may be accomplished by a small
body of determined men who refuse to despair, be the situation ever
so desperate. In their shell-holes were found a score or so of
German prisoners whom they had held in their clutch. Lieutenant
Henderson of the Highlanders received the V.C. over the fine stand
made by his troops, and Lieut. Archibald of the same battalion,
together with Captain Belsham and Lieut. Rutter of the Middlesex,
received decorations for valour, as did many of their brave
followers. It was a deed which was worthy of the famous 91st and of
the old Die-Hards of Albuera. Altogether upon this day the
Thirty-third Division gained great distinction, and, as a visible
sign of its prowess, 750 prisoners from the German Sixty-first
Division.
The attack, so far as the Sixth Corps was concerned, was launched in
the early morning of April 23, with the 44th and 45th well-tried
Scottish Brigades upon the right; on their left were the 88th and
87th Brigades of Regulars, and farther north still was the 51st
Brigade with one battalion of the 50th. The remaining brigades were
in reserve, with the Third Division in support behind them.
The advance was met by an extremely heavy machine-gun fire and by a
desperately destructive barrage of heavy artillery. In spite of
this, the {68} infantry made good progress at several points. The
Highlanders of the 44th and the Lowlanders of the 45th Brigades faced
the deadly fire with equal bravery, and had soon established
themselves to the north and partly to the east of Guémappe. The
Twenty-ninth Division had also made a fine advance, being screened
from the flank fire which told heavily upon their comrades to north
and south. By nine o'clock they had reached the line which had been
marked out as their objective, and though the Germans came swarming
down from Pelves, they could not budge them from their new positions.
On the British left, however, the advance had failed, for the guns in
Rœux on the north side of the Scarpe commanded their flank, and
the 51st Brigade was unable to get forward in the north, and only
slightly in the south. The German counter-attacks developed so
strongly in the course of the morning that the Fifteenth Division had
to fall back from their advanced positions, taking up a line due
north of Guémappe, where it was in very close touch with the Germans
in front and with the 88th Brigade upon the left. Both brigades of
the Twenty-ninth Division, thrown out in a large semi-circle, held
fast to their ground all day. At six in the evening the support
brigade of the Fifteenth Division, the 46th Brigade, advanced and
again won the forward line, including the village of Guémappe; but
the Seventeenth Division upon the left was unable to get forward.
The 46th Brigade, as night fell, found its isolated position so
precarious that it fell back a little so as to get into closer touch
with the right of the Twenty-ninth Division, but still held on to the
village. It was a long and hard day's fighting, in which both {69}
parties gave and took severe blows. The German resistance was very
strong from the first, and though a fair amount of ground was gained,
it was at a considerable cost, which was only justified by the fact
that the enemy in their counter-attacks suffered even more heavily.
At nightfall, a portion only of the first objective had been won.
Bavarian and Scot had fought till they were weary round Guémappe, and
never had the dour tenacity of our northern troops been more rudely
tested. It was a fine exhibition of valour on both sides, but the
village stayed with the Scots.
The Seventeenth Corps on the other side of the Scarpe had very
similar experiences upon this day of battle as their neighbours in
the south. The Thirty-seventh Division was on their left and the
Fifty-first upon the right. The Thirty-seventh pushed their line
forward to their final objective, which did not contain any
particular village. This advanced line they were able to hold. The
Fifty-first Division, charging forward with the old Celtic fire,
carried the Chemical Works by assault, and the Corona Trench beyond
them; but after a desperate day of alternate advance and retreat,
their final line was to the west of the Chemical Works. It was a
very hard day's work upon this sector, and the losses upon both sides
were very heavy.
The Thirteenth Corps upon the same day had attacked Oppy and Gavrelle
to the north, with the result that the Sixty-third Division captured
the latter. Oppy had proved to be, for the time, inviolable; but the
assault upon Gavrelle was brilliantly successful, the village being
stormed with a splendid rush, in spite of the most deadly fire, by
the 189th and {70} 190th Brigades of the Sixty-third Naval Division.
The German losses were greatly increased upon this occasion by their
unsuccessful counter-attacks, which spread over several successive
days, and never made an impression. It is on record that one
gathering of 2000 men, collected in a hollow, was observed and
signalled to the guns, with the result that they were simply shot to
pieces by a sudden concentration of fire. An officer who observed
this incident has made a statement as to the complete nature of the
catastrophe. More than 1000 prisoners were taken on this front, and
nearly 3000 in all. To the north of the line the Fifth Division also
advanced on the German position, the chief attack being carried out
by the 95th Brigade, having the Electric Generating Station as its
objective. In this operation the 1st Cornwalls particularly
distinguished themselves. The result of the advance was a mere
readjustment of the line, for the 15th Brigade upon the right was
stopped by uncut wire, though the Germans were actually seen holding
up their hands in the trenches. Seeing the attack at a standstill,
the Germans brought up their machine-guns and drove it back. Upon
the immediate north of the Fifth Division, the Sherwood Forester
Brigade of the Forty-sixth Division was brought to a stand in front
of Hill 65 and Fosse 3, two strong positions bristling with
machine-guns. The 6th and 8th Foresters suffered heavily in this
attack, 9 officers and 200 men being killed, wounded, or taken.
Farther still to the north, the Sixth Division had moved towards the
Dynamite Magazine and Nash Alley, but here also the attack was held
by the defence. On the whole, in spite of the prisoners and in spite
of Guémappe and {71} Gavrelle, it was doubtful if the gains made up
for the losses upon the day's balance.
[Sidenote: April 24]
A second day of hard fighting was destined to follow that of April
23, though the advance began later in the day. In the area of the
Seventh Corps some advance was made in the centre and two field-guns
were captured. The Sixth Corps also went forward again. The front
attacked was strong, the fire heavy, and the attacking troops had
again and again been through the furnace, which had only tempered
their courage, but had woefully consumed their numbers. The
Fifteenth Division in the south got forward some distance and dug
themselves in on the new line. The Twenty-ninth also made some
gains, but were unable to retain them, and fell back upon their old
line. In the movement some of the parties to flank and rear were
overwhelmed, and 250 men, including 3 officers, were taken. In the
north, the Seventeenth Division held its old line, and did not join
in the advance. After nightfall the Twelfth Division came into line
again, relieving the weary Twenty-ninth. Farther north the
Seventeenth Corps and the First Army were driving back
counter-attacks.
The next day (April 25) saw the long struggle still renewed. In the
early morning the 50th and 52nd Brigades of the Seventeenth Division
went forward and made some progress, as did the indomitable Fifteenth
Division in the south. It was clear, however, that the forces
available for attack were not strong enough to attain any
considerable result in this portion of the line. The Fifteenth,
however, were not to be denied, and with extraordinary tenacity they
made a sudden night attack upon April 26, and {72} for a time got
possession of a strong German post, called Cavalry Farm, which barred
the way. The [Sidenote: April 27] enemy counter-attacked in the
early morning of April 27 and re-occupied the Farm, but the Scotsmen
held firmly to the trenches immediately south of it. At this date
the Seventeenth drew out of the line and the Third came in again in
the centre of the Corps front, while the Twelfth moved to the left.
They were just in time to meet a strong German night attack upon
April 27, which broke before the rifle and machine-gun fire of the
infantry at the point of contact between the two divisions. The
German losses were heavy, and they left a few prisoners behind them.
[Sidenote: April 28]
April 28 had been fixed for a forward movement of Fergusson's
Seventeenth Corps on the north of the Scarpe, so the Twelfth Division
on the south bank advanced in sympathy with it. This attack gained
possession of part of Bayonet Trench, a formidable line which crossed
the front, but a further attack was unable to clear the whole of it,
on account of the very severe machine-gun fire down the Scarpe
Valley. It was a day of hard fighting to the north of the Scarpe,
which only affected the line of the Sixth Corps to the extent that
the Thirty-fourth Division failed to carry the Chemical Works on the
north bank of the river. It was the possession by the enemy of this
position and of the village of Rœux to the east of it which was so
fatal to all advances south of the Scarpe, as the guns from these
places enfiladed the southern line. But for this the Twelfth
Division might have reached their whole objective. The Thirty-fourth
Division made another attempt upon Rœux in the middle of the
night, but again {73} without success, and the Second Division
farther north had no better luck in front of Oppy.
Although the progress had been very limited at the southern end of
the line, there were better results to the north. The Canadians,
whose staying power in this long-drawn fighting was as remarkable as
their valour, had taken Arleux, together with a considerable section
of trench upon either side of it. This fine assault was opposed by
wire, by sunken roads, and by a desperate hand-to-hand encounter amid
the ruins, all of which failed to hold the Canadian infantry. On
their right the 5th and 6th Brigades of the Second Division were
heavily engaged in front of Oppy and Oppy Wood with some success at
first, but this was neutralised by a strong German counter-attack.
Some progress had been made also by the Thirty-seventh Division upon
the left, and by the Thirty-fourth Division to the right of the
Seventeenth Corps to the north of Gavrelle, and on the slopes of the
long incline known as Greenland Hill between Gavrelle and Rœux.
In these two days of defensive fighting the German bulletins claimed
a victory, but the fact that they had lost ground and nearly 1000
prisoners was sufficient to show how hollow was the pretence. Their
losses were greatly increased by the continual unsuccessful
counter-attacks which they threw against the new positions in the
Oppy line, which had now reached the edge of the village. Gavrelle
village was attacked no less than seven times, and each time the
stormers were completely repulsed.
[Sidenote: April 23]
One particular deed of valour connected with these operations demands
some fuller exposition. The front of the German line which had been
breached {74} between Gavrelle on the south and the Bailleul-Gavrelle
railway upon the north, was a narrow one, and the Naval Division had
penetrated here to a depth of nearly 1000 yards, thus creating a
narrow salient into the German defences with its apex at a fortified
windmill. The 4th Bedfords, supported by the 7th Royal Fusiliers,
were responsible for this advance. The attacks at the north had
failed. Thus the troops in the salient had a most difficult task in
holding the position in view of the determined counter-attacks, which
had continued with hardly a check from April 23, when the salient was
formed. The pressure fell upon the 190th Brigade, and very
especially upon the 7th Royal Fusiliers and the 1st Honourable
Artillery Company.
The orders had been given to endeavour to widen the base of the
salient by bombing up the German trenches to the northward, and this
work was committed to Major Osmond of the H.A.C. The attack was to
be carried on in two parallel lines--the one up the original front
trench and the other up the original support trench. Three young
lieutenants--Pollard, O'Brien, and Haine--led the bombers, and they
came away with a rush which would have gladdened the hearts of the
many generations of soldiers who have served in this ancient corps.
The railway to the north was their limit, and they had almost reached
it when Haine's party found itself held up by a fortress containing
200 of the Fusilier Guards. He sat down before it, repulsed a severe
counter-attack, sent back for trench mortars, and upon April 28,
after a rest during which the 1st Marine Battalion maintained and
enlarged the line, he attacked it in due form. After a short but
vigorous {75} bombardment, he captured it with two machine-guns and
fifty of the garrison. He was ordered to leave a platoon in the
captured post, but they, in turn, were besieged by an attacking force
of the German Guards coming down-trench, and driving in the extreme
right of the Second Division in the north. The platoon, or what was
left of it, blew up the guns and retreated upon the main body of
their Company, who were assembled, under Haine, just south of the
railway. There they established a block and remained fast, while
Pollard threw out his bombers on the left to form a defensive flank.
Whilst the Royal Marines had held the line they had endeavoured to
push the Germans to the north and had lost heavily in the venture.
They--or the scanty remains of them--were now relieved by the 4th
Bedfords and 7th Royal Fusiliers. Encouraged by this strengthening
of the general line, the indefatigable Haine, whose company now
numbered only thirty-five men, assembled his miniature siege-train,
beleaguered the fort once more, and captured it for the second time
with its garrison. Pollard with his men then pushed past, and took
the northern objective which had already cost so dearly. Having
seized it, he called to his aid men of the Bedfords, the 7th
Fusiliers, and of the 22nd Royal Fusiliers of the Second Division to
hold the new line. The battle swung and swayed for a time as the
Germans made successive efforts, but the whole Naval Division front
and part of the Second Division front was cleared. The total trench
line taken by Pollard was about a mile, and 1000 yards of this he
cleared with the help of four bombers, while Haine repelled no fewer
than fourteen attacks. Altogether it was a remarkable {76} example
of what audacity and initiative can do, and both these young officers
obtained the V.C. for their determined valour, while Major Osmond, in
local charge of the operation, won his D.S.O.
[Sidenote: May 3]
May 3 was a day of general battle upon the British front, the attack
being arranged to help the coming French advance due upon May 5. The
main action raged from Vimy in the north to the Scarpe, while to the
south of the Scarpe the Sixth Corps and Seventh Corps still continued
their indefatigable struggles to get forward past the Monchy-Guémappe
line on to Pelves and Cherisy. The upshot of the long day's fighting
was the capture of Fresnoy by the Canadians at one end of the line,
and of a part of the new German line by the Australians at the other
end. The Oppy position was also enlarged and strengthened, and
progress was made all along the front as far south as Croisilles.
Nearly a thousand additional prisoners were taken by the Seventh
Corps.
The operations in the southern area upon May 3 were carried out by
the hard-worked Twenty-first Division upon the right, the Eighteenth
in the centre, and the Fourteenth on the left. Good progress was
made all along the line, which extended in the evening roughly from
the St. Rohart Factory through a point 1000 yards west of Cherisy to
the west edges of Fontaine. All three divisions had hard fighting,
and all three lived up to their high reputations. At one time, the
53rd Eastern County Brigade of the Eighteenth Division had actually
entered and passed Cherisy, but the pressure of the counter-attacks
and of the guns was too strong, and they had to relax their grip. In
commenting upon this achievement, General Snow remarked: "I have
never met {77} a division which so persistently pushed its way
forward during the intervals between heavy fighting, and the ground
(over 1000 yards) won in this manner stands to its credit." The 8th
Norfolk and 10th Essex did particularly well. In the Fourteenth
Division the 42nd Brigade was in close touch with the Londoners on
their left, while the 44th were on the right. The first 1500 yards'
advance of this division was easy going, but here as elsewhere the
darkness caused loss of touch and some confusion, which was not
improved by the severe fire into which the troops came with the
breaking of the dawn. It is a dismal experience at any time to
trudge through that leaden sleet, but most dismal surely in that cold
ghostly hour of early morning. The 8th Rifle Brigade and 7th K.R.R.
did all that men could do, and held a flank for the Eighteenth
Division when they advanced upon Cherisy, but when at last the latter
was forced back the Fourteenth Division retired also, and found
themselves by 10.30 in the morning little advanced from where they
started.
The exertions and losses of the 42nd Brigade upon the left of the
divisional front were not less than those upon the right, nor had
they anything solid to show for them. Their advance was led by the
5th Oxford and Bucks upon the right, with the 9th Rifle Brigade upon
the left. The Oxfords with great gallantry captured a position
called New Trench, and endeavoured to consolidate it, but after
sustaining a shattering fire from every sort of missile, and after
having lost 300 men, they were charged by six or seven waves of
infantry, each wave being about 150 strong. Their numbers and the
volume of their fire were not sufficient to stop such an advance,
{78} and the remnants fell back after having taken heavy toll of
their assailants.
The advance to the immediate south of the Scarpe was started at an
hour before dawn, and was carried out by the Fifty-sixth, Third, and
Twelfth Divisions of the Sixth Corps in the order named from south to
north. This attack from the onset met with the same terrific
machine-gun fire which had limited all our gains and made them so
costly upon this front. On the extreme right the 69th Brigade made a
most dashing advance, passing through Cavalry Farm in the darkness,
and making good their footing in the German system of trenches to the
east of it. In this quarter the gain of ground was permanent, but
the 167th Brigade upon the left was not so successful, and was held
up by wire and machine-guns, as was the 8th Brigade upon its left.
All the leading battalions in this quarter sustained crushing losses,
especially the 1st London, the 7th Middlesex, and the 2nd Royal
Scots. For some reason the British artillery preparation seems to
have been entirely inadequate. "As soon as the first wave topped the
ridge between our front line and the German trench, it was obvious
that the latter had never been adequately dealt with, and had
apparently escaped the barrage, as it was full of infantry standing
shoulder to shoulder, and waiting for our men to come on. In
consequence, while isolated groups got forward, the great bulk of our
men were attacked by a withering fire, and pinned down into shell
holes from which they were unable to emerge until after darkness."
The hostile shelling in all this St. Rohart area was almost incessant
during the day, and of so heavy a volume that it was such as had
hardly ever been {79} witnessed by any one present. "If we had
another day of it I verily believe we should have been reduced to
idiocy." So wrote a brave veteran who endured it. It was therefore
clear that the British counter-battery work had been at fault. Add
to this that the start before dawn had the same effect as in other
parts of the line, causing clubbing of units with loss of direction,
and it must be admitted that the experience of the soldiers upon May
3 was not a happy one. Deverell's Third Division upon the left of
the Fifty-sixth found much the same conditions and could make little
progress. On the extreme left, however, the 36th Brigade of the
Twelfth Division, the same unit which had done so well at Ovillers,
made a fine advance, gaining the position known as Scabbard Trench.
They lost it temporarily to a counter-attack, but it was again taken
and permanently held by the 7th Sussex. The fact that the
corresponding point on the north bank of the Scarpe had not yet been
taken by the flank unit of the Seventeenth Corps made it impossible
to get farther forward in this quarter. The difficulty of the
Twelfth Division, which had made the farthest advance in the morning,
was that they had gone forward in the darkness, and had lost
direction and touch with each other, while leaving behind them
scattered parties of German infantry. The result was that when the
Germans began their counter-attacks the front British lines were
practically surrounded, and several small parties of the 37th Brigade
were cut off. One little post of the 6th Buffs was entirely isolated
a thousand yards ahead of the British line, but held off the enemy
all day, and 15 men, the survivors out of 40, made their way back in
the evening, scrambling through {80} German trenches and shooting
down all opposition. By that time the whole right of the Twelfth
Division had been forced back to its original line, but the left
still held firm in Scabbard Trench. The division had 2000 casualties
in this day's fighting.
The 169th Brigade had in the meanwhile maintained a difficult
position with very great gallantry. This position had been always
isolated upon the left, but it was covered upon the right by the
successful advance of the Fourteenth Light Division to the south of
the Cojeul River. About mid-day, however, a strong German advance
forced the Fourteenth Division back to their original line, with the
result that the right flank of the 169th Brigade became exposed. It
was only when there seemed an imminent possibility of being cut off
that this gallant brigade, which contained the 2nd London, Victorias,
Westminsters, and London Rifle Brigade, was compelled to drop back to
their original line. It was a barren and bloody day in this section
of the line, save for the limited gain upon the south of the Scarpe.
Two machine-guns and 100 prisoners were the meagre trophies of a long
day's fighting. Yet in estimating results, one must never lose sight
of that necessity for constant action which is the only method by
which the side which has the stronger reserves can assert its
eventual superiority in a war of attrition.
To the north, the Fourth Division gained ground east of the Chemical
Works and penetrated into Rœux, but were driven out once more, the
10th and 11th Brigades, especially the 1st Somersets and 2nd
Seaforths, having very heavy losses. The Ninth Division got well
forward upon their left, some of them over-shooting their
objective--Uit Trench--and {81} being cut off. Very heavy
counter-attacks in the afternoon broke upon this and upon the other
sections of the Third Army. In the evening, both the Fourth and
Ninth Divisions with gallant pertinacity tried to get forward again
in the hope that their advanced posts might still be rescued, but
they had no success. A hundred prisoners were taken, but at least as
many were lost, including Highlanders, West Ridings, and Lancashire
Fusiliers, victims of their own push and valour.
To the north of the Ninth Division, two divisions of the Thirteenth
Corps, the Thirty-first to the south and the Fifth to the north, had
beaten furiously against the German line upon the Oppy-Gavrelle
sector. The efforts of these divisions were greatly handicapped, as
in the case of others, by the very early hour at which the action had
begun, and by moonlight in the earlier hours, which exposed the
assembly of the troops. Starting in pitch darkness the brigades lost
touch and direction, so that they were unable to reach their
objectives with the speed and precision which is so necessary if
barrages and machine-guns are to be avoided. The 92nd East Yorkshire
Brigade of the Thirty-first Division advanced upon Oppy Wood, and
found itself among trees in the darkness with criss-cross lacings of
barbed wire from the branches in every direction, and a heavy fire
beating on their ranks. The obstacles would have been difficult in
day-time, but were impossible at night. The battalions got
completely mixed up, and finally a strong German attack drove them
back to their trenches, in spite of a most strenuous resistance,
notable for many deeds of valour, for one of which, the single-handed
attack upon a {82} machine-gun, Lieutenant Harrison of the 11th East
Yorks received a posthumous Victoria Cross.
The 93rd West Yorkshire Brigade had got off well and had reached its
objective, but this successful German attack exposed the 16th West
Yorkshires, who were the flank battalion, to pressure upon its left
rear, so that they had eventually to fall back. This exposed the
15th and part of the 18th West Yorkshires, who were now holding
Gavrelle village and the trenches to the immediate north of it. For
a time things were very critical, and the windmill which commanded
the village was retaken by the enemy. The Colonel of the 15th West
Yorks collected sixty men of his battalion and held splendidly to the
east side of the village for the whole day. One company of the 18th
Durhams under Lieutenant Hitchings was sent to retake the windmill,
which they did, but were driven out again by the shattering fire of
the enemy. They re-formed at the foot of the slope and attacked and
recaptured the mill once more, only to be driven out for the third
time. Again they took the mill, and this time they drove back the
German counter-attack and held on to the position. Sixty out of a
hundred in the British ranks had fallen, but when the battle painter
of the future is in search for a subject, he will find none better
than that of the forty survivors under their boy leader, wearied,
blood-stained, but victorious in their shot-torn mill. The whole
Gavrelle position was now held, the 93rd being strengthened by two
battalions from the 94th York and Lancaster Brigade.
The one outstanding success of the day was the capture of Fresnoy by
the First Division of Canadians, which was carried out with the usual
dash and gallantry {83} of this veteran unit, whose worth had now
been proved upon so many battlefields. The fighting was the more
severe as the village was full of German troops mustered for an
attack. Fresnoy was, however, most difficult to hold, as the enemy
had retained trench systems both to the north and to the south of it.
Shortly after its capture the First Canadians were drawn out of the
line for a rest, and the Thirteenth Corps extended to the left, so as
to take over its front and to connect with the Second Canadians.
[Sidenote: May 8]
In the early dawn of May 8 the garrison of the village was driven out
by a powerful attack from three German divisions. This attack fell
at the point of contact between the left of the British and the right
of the Canadians, and was so severe that both were pushed back. The
95th Brigade of the Fifth Division, which had moved down from the
Lens area, was the particular one which bore the brunt upon the
British line, and the two front battalions, the 1st East Surreys and
12th Gloucesters, lost heavily under the terrible concentrated
shellfire which a survivor who had tested both described as being "as
bad as Longueval." For some reason the artillery support was
deficient, and the S.O.S. signals were unanswered. The infantry were
driven out by the German rush, and a gallant counter-attack led by a
Major of the Gloucesters, with some of their men and some of the 1st
Cornwalls, failed to recover the position. The Canadians made no
less desperate efforts, but it was impossible to stand against the
concentrated bombardment. "You could not see for mud in the air,"
says an observer. Fresnoy became once more a part of the German
line. The price paid, however, was a very heavy one, for it was only
the second {84} attacking division, who were the famous 5th
Bavarians, which effected a lodgment after the leading division had
been broken and driven back with very heavy losses by the rapid fire
of the defenders. Upon the British side a large proportion of the
small garrison was killed or wounded, while 300 were taken. The 1st
Devons came up in the evening and the line was reconstructed about
600 yards to the rear of the old one. It was determined, however, to
push it forward at once, and in the early morning of May 9 the Fourth
Canadians upon the left, the Devons in the centre, and the 15th
Brigade upon the right, pushed on once more, and established the line
close to the village, which still remained in the hands of the enemy.
Up to this point the new British offensive which had started upon
April 9, and had now come practically to an end, had yielded the
splendid results of 400 officers and 19,100 men prisoners, 98 heavy
guns, and 159 field-pieces captured, together with 227 trench
mortars, 464 machine-guns, and other material.
The battle of May 3, which had ended by some gain of ground, and by
the capture of nearly 1000 prisoners (as against some 300 which were
lost upon that day), was the last general action along the new line,
though it was followed by numerous local engagements.
[Sidenote: May 10]
On May 10, in the dusk of the evening, the lull upon the Scarpe was
broken by a most successful attack by the Fourth Division upon
Rœux Station, the Cemetery, the Chemical Works, and finally the
village itself, every one of these points being taken by storm. The
value of this success may be judged by the fact that this was the
ninth assault upon the position, a fact which gives an index both of
the {85} pertinacity of British infantry and of the steadfast courage
of the successive German garrisons. The 10th Brigade, led by that
man of many wounds and honours, de Wiart, took the village itself,
the Dublin Fusiliers and the newly formed battalion, made from
dismounted Household Cavalry, doing good service. Berners' 11th
Brigade had advanced upon the left and captured all their objectives,
the 1st Hants taking the Château, whilst the 1st East Lancashires and
the 1st Rifle Brigade got the Chemical Works, the scene of so many
combats. The place was defended by the 362nd Brandenburgers, who
were nearly all killed or taken, the prisoners being over 500 in
number. The Fourth Division handed over Rœux to the 51st Highland
Territorials, who successfully held it during a very desperate
counter-attack upon the night of May 13. The incessant and costly
counter-attacks of the Germans in all these regions proved how vital
they considered these lost positions. On May 11 there was another
sharp little action which improved the British position. Upon that
date the 168th Brigade of the Fifty-sixth Division made a sudden
attack at nightfall upon Tool Trench, an awkward position which ran
along a small spur and had been a cause of loss in the previous
attack. It was captured with a rush, together with a handful of
prisoners and six machine-guns. This position was consolidated and
permanently held. On the same night the 169th Brigade on the right
advanced its line between Cavalry Farm and the Cojeul River. Next
day an attempt was made to carry forward this success along the
northern portion of the corps line, but was met with so heavy a
barrage that it was not possible to carry it out.
{86}
The strain upon the divisions during this continuous fighting had
been so great that it was found necessary to give them all the rest
and relief possible. With this object in view, the Sixth Corps front
was held now by only two divisions, the Fifty-sixth upon the right
and the Twenty-ninth on the left. In order to cover the whole line,
the Corps mounted troops were advanced and were placed in the
trenches upon the south of the Scarpe, which were less vulnerable
since the capture of Rœux by the Fourth Division.
[Sidenote: May 16]
In the dim light of the very early morning of May 16, after a heavy
shell-fall, a new division of the enemy was thrust forward just north
of the Scarpe. In a long day's fighting it was practically
destroyed, for though in its first ardent advance it flowed over the
shot-shattered advance posts, it was finally held, and then after a
long tussle was shot out of its new positions by the rifles and Lewis
guns, until before evening it was back whence it started. In this
brisk action thousands of the assailants were killed or wounded with
nothing to show for it save the substantial losses which they
inflicted. This very severe attack fell mainly upon the Fifty-first
Division, who showed once more that British formations, even if
penetrated, are very far from being defeated.
On May 18 there was a spirited local operation by the 8th Middlesex
of the 167th Brigade, in which they made a very gallant bombing
attack upon that portion of Tool Trench which was not yet in British
hands. The opposition, however, was so strong that no permanent good
could be effected. On the next day there was a further attempt to
get forward, both by the 167th and by its neighbour, the 87th
Brigade. The fire was too deadly, however, and the advance {87} was
not successful. This failure seems to have been due to a knowledge
on the part of the enemy as to the coming assault, for the
machine-gun fire and the barrage opened in full force at the very
moment when the leading line of infantry sprang over the lips of
their assembly trenches.
[Sidenote: May 20]
May 20 marked a successful advance of the Thirty-third Division on
the right of the Seventh Corps, against the Hindenburg Line in the
Sensée Valley and southwards towards Bullecourt. On this occasion
there was no preliminary bombardment and no creeping barrage. A mist
helped the 98th Brigade to deploy unobserved under the bulge of the
chalk hills that rise to the south of the Sensée Valley. When this
mist rose the Germans had a fine, though transitory, view of British
tactics, for the battalions were advancing as upon an Aldershot field
day. The 100th Brigade worked down the Hindenburg Line north of the
river, crossed it, and joined hands with their comrades on the south.
It was a complete surprise, and counter-attack was checked by the
volume of the British gun-fire which tore up the whole rear of the
German defences. The result was the capture of more than a mile of
the front line on either side of the Sensée River, with half a mile
of the support line, and 170 prisoners, with many machine-guns. The
losses in this well-managed affair were well under a thousand.
[Sidenote: May 30]
For ten days after this the southern front was quiet, and the only
change consisted in the withdrawal of the Fifty-sixth and the
substitution of the Thirty-seventh Division. On May 30 a minor
operation was carried out upon a small section of German trench by
the 88th Brigade, {88} assisted by the 8th East Lancashires from the
112th Brigade. This attack had some partial success, but was
eventually driven out of the captured by a strong counter-attack,
with the result that a small body of the 3rd Middlesex Regiment, some
thirty in number, were isolated and taken or slain. Greater success,
however, attended the next operation, which was an attack upon June
14 upon Infantry Hill, which included Hook Trench and Long Trench.
This very successful advance was carried out by the 1st Gordons and
2nd Suffolks, the two regular battalions of the 76th Brigade. The
whole position was stormed by a surprise attack and 180 prisoners
were taken. A counter-attack was broken up by the British artillery.
The losses of the storming battalions were well under 400 men. Two
days later the Germans again made a strong effort to thrust back the
British advance, but again they failed with considerable loss, save
at the more advanced posts which they occupied. A British attempt
next morning to regain these lost posts was not successful. Upon
June 18, the anniversary of the great day when Germany and Britain
fought together for freedom, there was a fresh attack to retake Hook
and Long Trench. It surged up to and into the trenches, but could
not disperse the sturdy men of Suffolk, who held them. The German
wave lost its momentum and broke up into pools, which soon were swept
back with the ebbing tide. Nearly 200 prisoners were taken in this
spirited affair.
[Sidenote: June 5]
The Seventeenth Corps had a brisk day upon June 5, which extended
into three days of fighting. On this date the Ninth Division upon
the right and the Thirty-fourth upon the left moved forward {89}
suddenly in the evening, covering the space between Rœux and
Gavrelle. The attack was directed against a dangerous network of
trenches called Curly, Charlie, and Cuthbert, which guarded the
rising slope known as Greenland Hill. The brunt of the fighting was
borne by the 27th or Lowland Brigade in the south, and by the 102nd
Tyneside Brigade in the north. In the latter brigade the 20th and
21st Northumberland Fusiliers carried the trenches opposite to them,
while the Scottish infantry kept pace with them upon the right.
After hard fighting the whole front German position fell into the
hands of the stormers, who had to defend it against a long series of
desultory counter-attacks, which lasted until June 7, when the enemy
finally gave up the attempt to regain the ground which he had lost.
Six officers and 217 men were captured, and the German losses in
killed were very heavy, each front battalion reckoning that there
were between three and four hundred enemy dead scattered in front of
it. It was a spirited local action attended by complete success.
It is necessary now to go back in point of time and pick up the
narrative at the northern end of the line.
[Sidenote: May 24]
On Thursday, May 24, the operations at Lens, in abeyance since April
23, broke out once more, when the Forty-sixth Division, which had
extended its left so as to occupy much of the ground formerly held by
the Sixth Division, made an attempt upon Nash Alley and other
trenches in front of it. The attack was made by the 137th Stafford
Brigade, and was launched at seven in the evening. The objectives
with twenty-eight prisoners were easily secured. It was found
impossible, however, {90} to hold the captured ground, as every
German gun within range was turned upon it, and a furious succession
of assaults wore down the defenders. Captain McGowan beat off five
of these onslaughts before he was himself blown to pieces by a bomb.
Every officer being down, Major MacNamara came forward from
Headquarters to take command, and in the morning withdrew the
detachment, an operation which was performed with great steadiness,
the men facing back and firing as they retired. Major MacNamara was
himself killed in conducting the movement. There were incessant
skirmishes, but no other outstanding action for some time in the
north of the line, so we must again return to the extreme south and
follow the fortunes of the Australians and their British comrades
upon the Bullecourt sector.
[Sidenote: May 3]
The operations of the Australians and of the British divisions were
renewed upon May 3 in front of Bullecourt and Lagnicourt, the scene
of the brave but unsuccessful attack of April 11, when the Australian
infantry with little support penetrated the Hindenburg Line. On this
second occasion the British gun-power was very much heavier and
cleared a path for the attack, while laying down an excellent
barrage. The original advance was in the first glimmer of daylight,
and by 6.30 it had penetrated well into the Hindenburg Line, the wire
having been blown to pieces. The advance made its way by successive
rushes to the right of Bullecourt village, where it clung for the
rest of the day, the infantry engaged being almost entirely men from
Victoria. Laterally by their bombing parties they extended their
hold upon the two front lines of German trenches to the right, in
which quarter the attack had originally {91} been held up. In the
meantime the 62nd Yorkshire Territorial Division had fought their way
up to the village and were engaged in desperate hand-to-hand fighting
among the shattered brick houses. An Arras English aviator, flying
at a height of only 100 feet or so, passed up and down the Australian
battle-line helping with his machine-gun, and finally dropping a
message, "Bravo, Australia!" a few moments before a bullet through
the petrol tank brought him at last to earth. The greeting of this
brave lad might well have been the voice of the Empire, for the
Australian infantry wrought wonders that day. The British division
having been held at Bullecourt, the result was that the Australians
projected as a salient into the Hindenburg Line, and that they were
attacked on both flanks as well as in front, but they still held on
not only for May 3, but for two days that followed, never losing
their grip of the trenches which they had won. On the right the
Germans made counter-attacks which have been described by the
admirable Australian Official Chronicler as being done in "School of
Seals" formation, where a hundred grey-backs all dived together from
one shell crater to another, none of these attacks got up, owing to
the rapid and accurate rifle fire which met them. The German bombing
attacks down the trenches were met by showers of trench-mortar bombs,
which broke them up. The Germans had trench-mortars also, however,
and by their aid they made some of the right-hand positions
untenable, but West Australian bombers restored the fight, and the
New South Welshmen added further to the gains. In vain a battalion
of Prussian Guards and a column of picked storm-troops beat up
against that solid defence. The {92} position once taken was always
held. The Seventh Division had relieved the Sixty-second, and had
tightened its grip upon the outskirts of Bullecourt and from this
time onwards its daily task was on the one hand to push farther into
the ruins and to eradicate more of the scattered German posts, and on
the other to move out upon the right and get close touch with the
Australians so as to cover one side of their dangerous salient. Each
object was effected in the midst of fighting which was local and
intermittent, but none the less very desperate and exhausting.
During a week continual counter-attacks moving up from Riencourt
broke themselves upon either the British or Australian lines. The
9th and 10th Devon battalions of the 20th Brigade, and their comrades
of the 2nd Borders and 2nd Black Watch, were especially hard pressed
in these encounters, With inexorable pressure they enlarged their
lines however, and by May 17 the British Fifty-eighth Division of
London Territorials (Cator), which had taken over the work, could
claim to have the whole of Bullecourt in their keeping, while their
brave Oversea comrades had fairly settled into the gap which they had
made in the Hindenburg front line. Though the operations were upon a
small scale as compared with great battles like Arras, no finer
exploit was performed upon the Western front during the year than
this successful advance, in which the three British divisions and the
Australians shattered no less than fifteen attacks delivered by some
of the best troops of Germany. Sir Douglas Haig, who is not prodigal
of praise, says in his final despatch: "The defence of this 1000
yards of double trench line, exposed to attack on every side, through
two weeks {93} of constant fighting, deserves to be remembered as a
most gallant feat of arms." The losses were naturally heavy, those
of the three British divisions--the Seventh, Fifty-eighth, and
Sixty-second--being approximately the same. They had been opposed by
Guards Regiments and Brandenburg Grenadiers, the very cream of the
Prussian Army, and had rooted them out of their carefully prepared
position.
{94}