THE BATTLE OF CAMBRAI (_continued_)
Second phase of battle on November 30--Great German attack--Disaster
to three divisions--Desperate fight of Twenty-ninth Division--Fine
advance by the Guards--Capture and recapture of Gouzeaucourt--Hard
battle in the Bourlon Sector--Heavy losses of the Germans--Retraction
of the British line.
It was clear to the British Commanders before the end of November
that the enemy had grown so strong that the initiative had passed to
him, and that instead of following up attacks it was a question now
of defending positions against a determined endeavour to shove back
the intruders and splice the broken line. The multifarious signs of
activity behind the German lines, the massing of troops, the planting
of batteries, and the registration of ranges, all warned the
experienced observers that a great counter-offensive was about to
begin. There was no question of a surprise at any point of the line,
but Bourlon was naturally the place where the enemy might be expected
to be at his full strength, since it was vital that he should regain
that position. At the same time it was clearly seen that the storm
would break also at the south end of the line, and General Snow had
given every instruction to General Jeudwine of the Fifty-fifth
Division which held the position next to the scene {270} of action.
This experienced leader took every step which could be thought of,
but he was sadly handicapped by the state of his division which had
been so severely hammered at Ypres, and had in the last few days had
one brigade knocked to pieces at Knoll. With only two brigades, full
of young troops who had taken the place of the casualties incurred in
the north, he had to cover at least 10,000 yards of ground. His line
was stretched until it was little more than a string of sentries with
an occasional strong point dotted up and down. We will begin by
endeavouring to follow what occurred in this southern sector, and
then turn to the equally important, though less dramatic, doings in
the north.
The attack in the south was delivered upon a front of ten miles from
Vendhuille in the south to Mesnières in the north. To take a single
comprehensive view of it, it hardly affected the Twenty-fourth
Division upon the right of Snow's Seventh Corps, it crashed with full
force upon the Fifty-fifth Division, especially the left brigade, it
swept impetuously upon the Twelfth and Twentieth Divisions, driving
in part of the line of each of these units, and finally it raged with
equal fury but less success against the Twenty-ninth Division, in the
region of Mesnières. The weight and swiftness of the blow, coming
with the shortest possible artillery preparation, and strongly
supported by low-flying aeroplanes, must add to the reputation of
General von Marwitz who planned it. It was a success, and it is
difficult to see how it could have been prevented from being a
success by any means which the defenders had it in their power to
adopt. The undulating country in which troops could assemble, and
the morning mist which screened them from {271} observation were two
factors which contributed to the result.
Shortly after seven in the morning the tempest suddenly broke loose.
The surprise was so well carried out that though the British General
was expecting an attack, and though he had his wire patrols pushed up
to the German trenches only a hundred yards off, still their reports
at dawn gave no warning of any sound to herald the coming rush. It
came like a clap of thunder. An experienced officer in the front
British trench said: "My first impression was that of an earthquake.
Then it seemed to me that an endless procession of aeroplanes were
grazing my head with their wheels. On recovering from the first
shock of my surprise the Germans were far behind me." There was no
question of protective barrage, for the quickest answer to the most
urgent S.O.S. would have been too late to help.
This account refers particularly to the 166th Brigade, upon the left
of the Fifty-fifth Division, which got the full blast of the storm.
It and the guns behind it were overrun in an instant by the weight
and speed of the advance. The General in command did all that could
be done in such an emergency, but it was impossible to form a fixed
line. The alternative was to swing back hingeing upon the right of
the division, and this was done so that there was always a flank
formed upon the left of the stormers. There was a ravine, called
Ravine 22 upon the maps, which ran down between the Fifty-fifth and
Twelfth Divisions. With the terrific force of a flood the Germans
poured down this natural runway, destroying the British formations
upon each side of it. The Fifty-fifth Division was shattered to
pieces at this point by {272} so terrific an impact upon their feeble
line, but the small groups into which they were broken put up as good
a fight as they could, while the line formed anew between the village
of Villers-Guislain and the farm Vaucelette which was a strong pivot
of resistance. In this part of the field units of the 165th Brigade
of Liverpool battalions, together with the 5th Royal Lancasters and
the 10th Liverpool Scottish of the 166th Brigade, stood stoutly to
their work, and though the enemy after penetrating the lines were
able to get the village of Villers-Guislain, which they had turned
and surrounded, they were never able to extend their advance to the
south on account of this new line of defence through Vaucelette,
though it was composed entirely of infantry with no artillery
support. However, even with this limitation the situation was bad
enough, since the 166th Brigade was almost cut to pieces, and so
complete was the destruction upon the extreme left that one
battalion, the 5th South Lancashires, was entirely destroyed, and
nothing heard of it until its leader, Colonel James, was reported as
a badly wounded prisoner in Germany. Of the division generally it
was said by a higher General that "they fought like tigers," as might
be expected of men who had left a great name on the battle of Ypres,
and who were destined for even greater fame when four months later
they held Givenchy at the critical moment of the terrible battle of
Armentières. Here, as always, it is constancy in moments of
adversity and dour refusal to accept defeat which distinguish both
the British soldier and his leaders.
We shall now see what happened to the Twelfth Division upon the left
of the Fifty-fifth. When the German stormers poured down Ravine 22
their left-handed {273} blow knocked out the 166th Brigade, while
their right-handed crushed in the side of the Twelfth Division. From
the ravine in the south to Quarry Farm in the north, the German
infantry surged round the position like a mountain spate round some
rock-hearted islet, where the edges might crumble and be washed out
by the torrent, but the solid core would always beat back the waters.
The line of the division was a curved one, with the 35th Brigade upon
the right, the 36th in the centre, and the 37th upon the left. It
was upon the right-hand brigade that the storm burst with its full
shattering force. The 7th Suffolks next to the fatal ravine shared
the fate of the 5th South Lancashires upon the southern edge of it.
By a coincidence the Colonel had been invalided for appendicitis the
day before, but Major Henty who was in command was killed. The 5th
Berks and 9th Essex, broken up into small parties and enveloped in a
smoke cloud through which they could only catch dim glimpses of
rushing Germans, were pushed back to the north and west, still
keeping some sort of cohesion, until they reached the neighbourhood
of Bleak House where they rallied once more and gathered for a
counter-attack. Everywhere over this area small parties were holding
on, each unconscious of all that was passing outside its own little
smoke-girt circle. Close to Villers-Guislain upon the south side of
the ravine Sapper Company 70, together with the 5th Northampton
Pioneers, held on bravely for many hours, shooting into the flank of
the German advance who poured over the British gun positions which
were well forward at this point in order to support the troops in
Mesnières and Marcoing. Some of the incidents round the guns were
epic in character, {274} for the British gunner does not lightly take
leave of his piece. Many were fought to the last instant with their
crews hacking at them with pickaxes and trenching tools to disable
them even while the Germans swarmed in. Lieut. Wallace, of the 363rd
Battery, with five men served three guns point-blank, their trails
crossing as they covered three separate fields of fire. Each of this
band of heroes received a decoration, their leader getting the V.C.
The 92nd R.F.A. near La Vacquerie also repulsed four separate
attacks, firing with open sights at a range of 200 yards, before they
were forced to dismantle their guns and retire.
The 7th Norfolks on the left edge of the 35th Brigade were farthest
from the storm-centre, and stoutly beat off all attacks. Only one
lieutenant was left upon his feet at the end of the day. Separated
from their comrades the Norfolks were rather part of the 36th Brigade
upon their left, who were also fiercely attacked, but were more
happily situated as regarded their flank. The 9th Royal Fusiliers
were pushed back to the Cambrai Road on the north, but with some of
the Norfolks built up a solid line of resistance there. Next to them
upon the left the two companies of the 8th Royal Fusiliers which were
in the line, were practically annihilated in spite of a splendid
attempt to rescue them made by the other two companies led by their
heroic Colonel Elliott Cooper. In this brave effort the leader
gained his Victoria Cross, but also unhappily a wound from which he
eventually died. This counter-attack drove the Germans back for the
first time in this terrible morning, but their lines were reinforced
and they came on once more.
The 37th Brigade upon the left had their own set of troubles to
contend with. The Germans had {275} beaten hard upon the
neighbouring Twentieth Division, breaking into their line upon the
right of their flank 59th Brigade. In this way they got into Lateau
Wood and on to the Bonavis Ridge, which placed them upon the left
rear of the 37th Brigade. The unit was in imminent danger of being
cut off, but held strongly to its line, the pressure falling
particularly heavily upon the 7th East Surreys and upon the 6th
Buffs. Pam-Pam Farm was the centre of some very desperate fighting
on the part of these two units. The Brigade was sorely tried and
forced backwards but still held its own, facing upon two and even
three different fronts, as the enemy drifted in from the north and
east.
In the meantime a train of independent circumstances had built up a
reserve line which was destined to be of great importance in limiting
the German advance until reinforcements could arrive. Their stormers
had within an hour or two reached not only Villers-Guislain and
Gonnelieu, but had even entered Gouzeaucourt, three miles deep in the
British line. This village, or rather a quarry upon its eastern
edge, was the Headquarters of the Twenty-ninth Division, and the
Germans were within an ace of capturing General de Lisle, its famous
commander. The amazed Commandant of the local hospital found a
German sentry at his door instead of a British one, and with the
usual British good-humour sent him out a cup of tea. No doubt he did
the same to the Irish Guardsman who in turn relieved the German in
the afternoon. The C.R.A. of the Twenty-ninth Division was wounded
and taken, and Captain Crow of the Staff was killed. General de
Lisle with quick decision organised a temporary defence for the south
end of the {276} village, and then hurried up to join his
hard-pressed men at Marcoing. The General of the Twelfth Division
had energetically hurried up the two battalions which he held in
reserve. They were the 6th West Surreys and the 11th Middlesex.
Some hundred of odds and ends near Headquarters were also formed into
a unit and pushed to the front. These went forward towards the
firing with the vaguest notion of the situation, meeting broken
groups of men and catching occasional glimpses of advancing Germans.
The Brigadier of the 35th Brigade had been nearly caught in
Gonnelieu, and found the enemy between him and his men. As he came
back with his staff, still very lightly clad, pausing occasionally to
fire at the advancing Germans, he passed Ganche Wood and there met
the advancing battalions, which he helped to marshal along a low
ridge, the Revelon Ridge. The Northumberland Hussars lined up on the
right of these troops and two brigades of cavalry coming up from the
south formed on the left of them at a later hour. The whole held
firm against all enemy attacks and made a bulwark until the time when
the Guards advanced in the afternoon. As will afterwards be
described, when that event occurred this Revelon line formed roughly
a prolongation of the new line established by the Guards and Cavalry,
so that a long dam was formed. Commanding officers in this critical
part of the field gave a sigh of relief in the early afternoon as
they realised that the worst was over.
The Twentieth Light Division was on the left of the Twelfth, and its
experience was equally trying. It was upon the Riflemen of the 59th
Brigade that the main shock fell, and it came with such sudden
violence that the Germans were through the right unit and in {277}
the rear of the rest before the situation was fully realised. The
61st Brigade upon the left had also a most desperate time, their
flank being penetrated and turned so that for a time they were cut
off from their comrades of the Twenty-ninth Division at Mesnières.
By this determined German attack the south bank of the canal was
partially cleared for their advance, which put them in the position
that they could possibly push along that bank and get hold of Les
Rues Vertes and the southern ends of the bridges so as to cut off
those British troops who were across the canal. In this dangerous
movement they nearly had success, and it was only the desperate
fighting of some of the 86th Brigade which saved the situation. The
prospects were even worse upon the right of the Division for the
Germans broke through Lateau Wood, and so got completely behind the
10th K.R.R., who were the flank battalion. From the desperate
struggle which ensued only 4 officers and 16 Riflemen ever emerged,
for the battalion was attacked on three sides and was overwhelmed
after a long and splendid defence, which twice repulsed heavy frontal
attacks before the flank advance rolled up the line. The battalion
got separated from its own headquarters in Lateau Wood, and Colonel
Sheepshanks with the twenty odd men who composed the Staff fought a
little battle of its own against the stormers coming down towards the
Bonavis-Mesnières Road. The survivors of the brigade rallied upon
the reserve battalion, the 11th R.B. on the Hindenburg Line. The
11th K.R.R. on the left of the brigade front had endured a similar
experience but their losses were not so terribly severe. The
aeroplane attack worried the troops almost as much as the infantry,
so that it is no {278} exaggeration to say that there were times when
they were assailed from four sides, the front, each flank and above
at the same instant. These aeroplanes gave the impression of being
armour-clad and invulnerable to rifle-fire.
Upon the left of the Twentieth Division, with its centre at the
village of Mesnières, was the Twenty-ninth Division, a good unit to
have in the heart of such a crisis. The Twenty-ninth and Sixth
Divisions held the centre of the British line that day, and were the
solid nucleus upon which the whole battle hinged both to left and
right of them. Both divisions were seriously compromised by the
push-back to the south of them, and their battery positions were
taken in reverse, but they held the whole of their ground without
giving an inch and completely beat off every German attack. A
Guernsey battalion made its mark in the fighting that day and
rendered most excellent service, as did the Newfoundlanders; but the
main strength of the divisions lay of course in their disciplined
British veterans, men whose war-hardened faces, whether in Gallipoli
or Flanders, had never been turned from an enemy. It is no light
matter to drive such a force, and the four German divisions who drove
in from Mesnières to Bauteaux were unable to make even a dint in that
formidable line. For two days the villages, both Marcoing and
Mesnières, were firmly held, and when at last a readjustment of the
line was ordered it was carried out voluntarily and deliberately in
accordance with the new plans made necessary by the events in north
and south.
In this great fight the 86th Brigade was on the right at Mesnières
with the 16th Middlesex upon the {279} right, the 1st Lancashire
Fusiliers upon the left, and the 2nd Royal Fusiliers by the sugar
factory east of the village--details which have been rescued by the
industry of Mr. Percival Phillips. The 87th Brigade extended to the
left, covering a wide front as far as the Cambrai Road. The 1st
Inniskillings were on their right, the 1st Borders on their left, and
the 2nd South Wales Borderers in support. The 88th Brigade was in
reserve at the time of the attack, but quickly moved up and was in
the heart of the subsequent fighting.
Masses of German infantry were reported at Crevecoeur, and within a
very short time a rush of grey infantry was swirling down past the
flank of the Middlesex men, and breaking the connection with the
Twentieth Division on the right. Some of the assailants got along
the south bank, and actually seized Les Rues Vertes at the same
moment that a counter-attack by the Guernsey men swept into the
village and drove them out again. This was a really vital point, as
the capture and retention of the village would have been most
serious. Many soldierly actions were performed in this clash of
arms, showing that the mechanical side of modern warfare can never
quite eliminate the brave pushing heart and the strong arm. Captain
Gee of the Staff, among others, rescued an ammunition dump armed with
a revolver and a heavy stick, with which he beat down all opposition
at the cost of a serious wound to himself--a fair price to pay for a
subsequent V.C. The Germans were foiled for the moment, but they had
found the weak spot in the line, and all day they hammered at it with
characteristic tenacity, while all day the men of the Twenty-ninth
stood up to one {280} attack after another, their dwindling line
fraying to the last degree, but never breaking before the enemy. Les
Rues Vertes became a Golgotha of Germans, but it was still in the
evening safe in the hands of the British defenders. One of the
classical examples of British courage and discipline during the war,
fit to rank with Colonel Pears and his cancer at Ovillers, was
furnished by Colonel Forbes Robertson of the 16th Middlesex, now a
V.C., who, stricken in both eyes and temporarily blind, was still led
by his orderly up and down the line in order to steady it. Let such
a story help our descendants to realise the kind of men who stood
between Germany and the conquest of the world.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
{281}
[Illustration: BATTLE ORDER OF THIRD ARMY November 30, 1917]
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Next morning saw no surcease of the fighting in this quarter of the
field. If anything, the ranks of the assailants were thicker and
their rushes more insistent upon the morning of the 21st. But the
Twenty-ninth had called up its reserves, and stood with every bristle
on end across the German path. The trouble behind the line had
greatly weakened the artillery support, but the trench-mortars gave
all the help possible to the hard-worked infantry. The villages were
knocked to pieces by the enemy guns, but the British stuck like
leeches to the ruins. The General of the 86th Brigade was among his
men in the front of the battle, encouraging them to dwell upon their
aim and steadying their weary ranks. The 87th Brigade in the north,
though itself attacked, spared some reinforcements for the
hard-pressed men in the south. Once Les Rues Vertes was lost, but a
counter-attack led by the Brigade-Major won it back again. This was
still the position when on the night of December 1 the orders were
given for the {282} general readjustment of the line by the
evacuation of the Mesnières salient. Well might Sir Douglas Haig
send a special order to General de Lisle thanking him for the
magnificent services rendered during two days and a night by the
Twenty-ninth Division.
It has been stated that the Mesnières salient was evacuated, but two
battalions of the Twenty-ninth Division, the Newfoundlanders and the
South Wales Borderers, had been left upon the north bank of the
canal--with them was the 16th Brigade of the Sixth Division who had
been sent up to aid and relieve the Twenty-ninth. These troops had a
cruel experience, as the enemy upon December 3 concentrated so heavy
a fire upon them that they were driven back across the canal, the
16th Brigade being partly broken by the severity of the attack. This
incident led to a retraction of the line in this quarter.
For the sake of continuity of narrative we shall now, before turning
to the very important episodes in the north, show how the Guards came
up in the south and how the new line was firmly established in this
critical quarter of the field. The reader will therefore carry back
his mind to that fateful hour when the left of the Fifty-fifth had
been swept away, the Twelfth and Twentieth shattered, and the
Twenty-ninth was holding on with all its strength in the first spate
of the German flood.
The Guards, who had been drawn out after their hard spell of service
in the Bourlon attack, were moving into a rest camp behind the lines
when they were stopped by the amazing tidings that the British line
was broken and that the Germans were scattered anywhere over the
undulating country in front of them. It was 11.15 and they were
marching from {283} the hamlet of Metz when the first news of
disaster reached them--news which was very quickly followed by signs
as gunners were met coming back with the sights and sometimes the
broken breech-blocks of their abandoned guns in their hands. Over
the ridge between Metz and the Gouzeaucourt Wood a number of gunners,
sappers, and infantry came in driblets, none of them hurrying, but
all with a bewildered air as though uncertain what to do. To these
worried and broken people the sight of the taut lines of the Guards
must indeed have been a great stay in their trouble. "There were a
good many men," says one officer, "coming towards us without arms or
equipment, but these I presumed to belong to some unit resting in the
vicinity." It is only fair to state that several labour companies
had been caught in the sudden storm and that many of the broken
formations seem to have been from their ranks, though others behaved
with extraordinary valour, and exchanged their spades for rifles with
the greatest alacrity. The Guards moved forward in the direction of
the turmoil, but their progress was slow, as there were gun-teams
upon the narrow road. The 1st Brigade under General de Crespigny was
leading, being the unit which had suffered least in the Bourlon
fighting. The young Brigadier, a famous sportsman as well as a
dashing but cool-headed soldier, galloped ahead in an effort to clear
up the situation, and after doing a mile or so across country he
suddenly saw the grey coats of German infantry among the trees around
him. Riding back he halted his brigade in a hollow by Gouzeaucourt
Wood, fixed bayonets, and then, deploying them into the line,
advanced them in extended order across the fields. There was no
artillery support at {284} all, but from the front there came an
occasional shell, with the constant cracking of machine-guns, which
increased as they topped the low ridge before them. "We advanced
into the blue in perfect lines," says one who was present. Once
under fire the brigade went forward in short rushes of alternate
companies. "Our fellows were not shouting," says the same witness,
"but chatting among themselves, and smiling in a manner that boded
ill for the Huns." The 2nd Coldstreams were on the right, the 2nd in
the centre, and the 1st Irish upon the left, with the 2nd Grenadiers
in close support. As de Crespigny's brigade came upon the fringes of
the German advance they swept them up before them, keeping the
Metz-Gouzeaucourt Road as their right boundary, while a force of
dismounted cavalry moved up upon the farther side. The Irish upon
the left passed through the wood and broke with a yell about 2 P.M.
into Gouzeaucourt village, which was not strongly held. The Germans
bolted from the eastern exits and the Guardsmen passing through made
a line beyond, getting in touch upon the left with the 4th Grenadier
Guards of the 3rd Brigade, which formed up and advanced upon that
side. They were aided in this advance by a small detached body
representing the Headquarters' Guard of the Twenty-ninth Division and
by a company of North Midland R.E. who held their post inviolate all
day, and were now very glad to join in an offensive. As the line
advanced beyond the village they came into a very heavy fire, for the
St. Quentin Ridge faced them, and it bristled with machine-guns.
Field-guns and 5.9's were also playing upon them, but nothing could
check that fine advance, which was in time to save a number of heavy
guns {285} which could by no possibility be removed. It was itself
aided in the later stages by the 20th Hussars upon the right and by a
brigade of guns of the Forty-seventh London Division which swung into
action straight from the line of march and did good service in
supporting the attack. By nightfall the total ground gained was over
two miles in depth, and a definite line of Guardsmen and cavalry of
the Second and Fifth Divisions covered all this section of the field,
limiting and defining the German advance. General Byng must surely
have breathed more freely when the good news reached his Headquarters
for, but for this energetic operation, there was nothing to prevent
the Germans flooding into the country behind and getting to the rear
of the whole northern portion of the Third Army.
The real work of the Guards had been done when once they had dammed
the stream, and their strength after their recent labours was hardly
sufficient to carry them through a long battle, but in spite of this
they were advancing once more upon the morning of December 1. The
same two brigades were in front, but the 2nd Grenadiers and 3rd
Coldstreams formed the fighting line of the 1st Brigade, joining up
on the left with the Welsh Guards of the 3rd Brigade. Cavalry was
moving on the right of them, while on the left they were in touch
with the Rifle battalions of the 60th Brigade covering the village of
La Vacquerie. The two brigades had different objectives, the left
brigade being directed upon Gonnelieu, while the right moved upon
Ganche Wood, the divisional tanks supporting the advance. The first
brigade advanced with the battalions already named, and they swept in
magnificent order up to the {286} fringe of the wood where they were
met by two successive counter-attacks which they repelled. The wood
was cleared but there were many snipers in the trees, and the losses
of officers and N.C.O.'s were proportionately high. The tanks were
held up by the denseness of the forest. Cavalry came up upon the
right, and with their assistance the wood was finally secured,
together with some guns and several hundred prisoners. It was a fine
feat of arms.
The 2nd Brigade had a difficult task at Gonnelieu and the Quentin
Ridge. The 1st Welsh on the right and the 4th Grenadiers on the left
headed the advance, but they were held up at once by machine-guns on
the right until a tank lumbered up and saved the situation. Isolated
parties of the 2nd Grenadiers forced their way into the village, but
it bristled with machine-guns and could not be held. Finally the
line was formed 200 yards from the western edge.
That night the Guards were drawn out after their onerous and splendid
service, being relieved by the Ninth Division. In the week they had
lost 125 officers and 3000 men, but they had turned the tide of
battle upon the critical instant of a critical day, when, amid
commencing disorganisation, the presence of the most highly
disciplined and steadiest force in the British Army was particularly
needed. Few of our units can be fairly said to have added to their
laurels in this sector of the second phase of Cambrai, but at least
the Twenty-ninth Division and the Guards can look back to it with
every satisfaction.
At La Vacquerie village and its environs, to the left of the Guards'
advance, some very fierce fighting had broken out upon the morning of
December 1. {287} The enemy began by endeavouring to out-flank the
village upon the right, pressing down from Gonnelieu and attacking
the sunken road known as Forster Lane which is north of Gonnelieu. A
company of the 9th Essex, somewhat shaken by its previous experience,
and the 12th Rifles held this position. The Colonel and the
Headquarters Staff of the Rifle battalion found itself engaged in a
very lively free fight with the heavy masses of enemy infantry who
were pouring down Fusilier Ridge. By trickling forward small parties
they managed to capture Forster Lane, but all their attempts to get
beyond it were beaten back. Captain Lloyd of the Rifles, who was
prominent in the defence, fell mortally wounded, but the line, though
heavily shelled and hard pressed, still held its ground. All this
occurred to the south of the village which had itself been heavily
attacked after a very heavy shell-fall. The German bombers, who came
on very bravely, drove their way into the village but were ejected
once more, the Riflemen leaving their trenches to pelt them with
bombs. A second attack was even more fiercely pressed. "The Germans
who attacked La Vacquerie," says one who was present, "were brave and
determined men and their bombers were well trained, but our men had
been told to hold the village at all costs, and gallantly led by
their officers and N.C. officers they carried out their orders." In
the evening the Riflemen still held the shattered ruins of the
village, but they were utterly exhausted by their splendid exertions,
and never was a relief more welcome than when the 183rd Brigade of
the Sixty-first South Midland Division came up after nightfall and
took over the hazardous charge. In the final readjustment {288} of
the British line the village of La Vacquerie remained with the
Germans.
The enemy had suffered heavily, and as will be shown gained
absolutely nothing in the north, but in the south it must be admitted
that he had substantial trophies, including a strip of British line,
some thousands of prisoners, and about 100 guns.
It was the first truly successful offensive on a large scale which he
had made since the gas attack upon April 22, 1915, nearly two and a
half years before, and it would be a sign of a poor spirit if we did
not admit it, and applaud the deftness and courage of the attack.
After several days of quiet the Germans tried one other taste of the
quality of the Guards by a sudden assault upon their new line on
December 5. They advanced bravely in two lines from Gonnelieu, but
were beaten off by close rifle-fire. As they turned their flight was
greeted with a volley of bombs from their own people behind them. It
was observed that the stormers upon this occasion carried their packs
as though they meant to stay. A good many of them did so. Next day
the Guards were relieved by the Ninth Division.
We shall now turn to Woolcombe's Fourth Corps in the northern sector
which extends from Tadpole Copse upon the left to that solid centre
of resistance furnished by the two veteran divisions at Marcoing and
at Mesnières. It was upon the left of this curve that the German
attack broke upon November 30 from the Hindenburg Line to the village
of Fontaine, a front of about six miles, the object being to cut off
the whole Bourlon salient. The attack, which began about nine
o'clock, differed from that on the south, {289} because the element
of surprise was wanting and because the ground was such that the
attacking troops could be plainly seen. The final result was to push
back the British line, but this was mainly as a readjustment to
correspond to the change in the south. To effect this small result
all accounts are agreed in stating that the Germans incurred such
murderous losses that it is improbable that any have been more severe
since the early days of the war. If, on the balance, the British
lost the day in the south, they gained it in the north, for with
limited loss to themselves they inflicted most severe punishment upon
the enemy.
The arrangement of the troops upon the northern curve of the battle
line was as follows. Forming a defensive flank between the old
British line and Tadpole Copse was the 168th Brigade, and to its
right, facing Mœuvres, the 169th Brigade, both of them of the
Fifty-sixth London Territorial Division, which had been a week in the
fighting line and was very worn. Next to them upon the right was the
Second Regular Division under General Pereira, from Mœuvres to
Bourlon, with elements of the 5th, 6th, and 99th Brigades in front.
Upon their right was the Forty-seventh London Territorial Division
occupying the line drawn through Bourlon Wood. Upon their right
again was the Fifty-ninth South Midland Territorials near Fontaine,
who in turn linked up with the left of the Sixth Division, thus
completing the semicircle of battle.
After a short but very severe bombardment the German infantry
advanced upon the line from Tadpole Copse to Bourlon Wood, a front of
about four miles. There were four fresh German divisions, with three
{290} others in reserve, and the attack was driven on with the utmost
resolution, falling upon the outlying British outposts with a force
which often destroyed them, although the furious resistance of these
scattered bodies of men took all the edge off the onslaught. It was
also beaten into the earth by the British artillery, which had
wonderfully fine targets as the stormers in successive lines came
pouring over the open ground between Mœuvres and Bourlon. The
artillery of the Fortieth Division had been left in the line, and a
gunner officer of this unit described how his guns swung round and
enfiladed the German attack upon the right as it stormed up to the
line of the Forty-seventh Division. "It was one howitzer battery, D
178, that first tumbled to the fact that the Booties were attacking
and had driven in some of the Second Division posts. This battery
swung its guns round at right angles, getting on to the advancing
enemy in enfilade and over open sights. Every other battery in the
country opened within five minutes." Every observer agrees that the
targets were wonderful, and that it was only in places where the
ground gave him protection that the German storm troops could reach
the expectant British infantry, who received him with such a
murderous fire of rifles and Lewis-guns that his dead were heaped
thickly along the whole front. Seven brigades of British artillery
were enjoying themselves. Taking the action from the left the
outposts of the 169th Brigade were driven in, but put up a series of
desperate fights. From Mœuvres to Tadpole Copse the action raged,
and then the enemy poured out from the back of that portion of the
Hindenburg Line which ran upon the flank of the 168th Brigade so that
both units were involved in heavy fighting with a limited {291} field
of fire which gave fewer advantages to the defence than were found on
the rest of the line. The Westminsters, the London Scottish, the
Post Office Rifles, and the 2nd Londons all bore themselves with
special bravery in a long day of desperate fighting during which
Commanding Officers were in at least one instance compelled to stand,
bomb in hand, defending their own headquarters. It was a grim
battle, and the losses were heavy, coming upon troops which had
already lost enough to shake the morale of any ordinary infantry, but
the thin ranks held firm and the positions were retained. At one
time the Germans were round the right flank of the 169th Brigade, and
so cut off a company of the 13th Essex. There is a wonderfully dour
military spirit amongst these East Saxons. It was an anxious
situation, and it was saved by the utter self-abnegation of the
company in question, who held a hurried council of war in which they
swore to fight to the death. This grim gathering, which might
furnish a theme for a great artist, consisted of Captain Robinson,
Lieut. Corps, Sergeant-Major Edwards, Platoon-Sergeants Phillips,
Parsons, Fairbrass, Lodge, and Legg. With a hand-clasp they returned
to their work, and during the whole night their rifle-fire could be
heard, though no help could reach them. In the morning they lay with
their faces to the sky and their men around them, all true to their
vow to death. It is a story to remember.
The left flank of the Second Division was held by this same 13th
Essex, the 2nd South Stafford, and 17th Middlesex battalions of the
6th Brigade. This brigade was cut into two parts by the Canal du
Nord, a huge trough of brick-work without any water, eighty feet
across, with steep sloping sides. The {292} bridges across were
swept by German fire, and the only transit was by ropes to help the
climber. All day the fight raged furiously here, the Germans within
bombing distance of the defence, which was never penetrated for an
instant. Save for one small isolated trench with about seventy men
this whole line held firm against every form of attack. Snipers and
bombers fired across from bank to bank, while down in the dried bed
of the canal there was constant close-range fighting. All night the
difficult post was held, as was the line on the extreme left where
the 17th Middlesex were blowing back every attack with their
well-sustained fire. There was no more wonderful individual record
in the battle than that of Captain MacReady-Diarmid of the 17th
Middlesex, who fought like a d'Artagnan of romance, and is said to
have killed some eighty of the enemy in two days of fighting before
he at last himself met that fate from which he had never shrunk. A
V.C. was assigned to his family.
On the right of the 6th Brigade was the 99th Brigade, the victors of
Delville Wood, who were also furiously engaged, meeting such waves of
German infantry as were able to get past the zone of the British
barrage. German field-guns unlimbered suddenly on the crest looking
down on the British lines only a few hundred yards off. The crews
were shot down so swiftly that only one gun got in three rounds.
Then there came a rush of two battalions in full marching order,
debouching in fours from Bourlon village, and deploying in the open.
These also were shot to bits. The whole front of the brigade was
dotted with broken guns and huddled grey figures, while many,
despairing of getting back, threw up their {293} hands and sought
refuge in the British lines. Battalion after battalion was thrown in
at this point, until the best part of a division was spread bleeding
over some twenty acres of ground. The three battalions chiefly
engaged, the 1st Berkshires, 17th Royal Fusiliers, and 1st Rifles
from right to left, had such a day as trench warfare could never
afford.
At the outset the force of the attack pressed back the 1st Berkshires
upon the right, together with the left wing of the Forty-seventh
Division. For a few moments the situation was alarming. However,
after three hours of ding-dong fighting the volume of fire was too
much for the stormers and they fell back. At the same time the 17th
Royal Fusiliers, who had rallied under cover of their outposts, shot
down everything in front of them. The 1st K.R. Rifles had a day of
wonderful fighting--snipers, rifle grenadiers, Lewis gunners, and
machine-gunners were all equally glutted with slaughter. "The
Germans in mass formation came on in waves offering a splendid target
at a range from 1500 to point-blank. In addition they were enfiladed
by the machine-gunners and subjected to very heavy fire from our guns
for two and a half hours. The second attempt never looked like
succeeding and was smothered in a very short time."
The 17th Royal Fusiliers have been mentioned as being in the line at
this point though they really belonged to the 5th Brigade. The fact
was that in a previous operation they had won a long trench advancing
at right angles to the British position and leading up to the
Germans. This was called the "Rat's Tail" on account of its shape,
and it was still occupied by the Royals when the attack broke out, so
that they {294} were placed in a most difficult position and were
pressed back down this long trench, fighting a desperate rearguard as
will be told later. Their presence in the "Rat's Tail" was the more
unfortunate as it helped to screen the Germans, and to contract the
fire-field of the main line behind them. After clearing the "Rat's
Tail" the remains of the battalion found themselves upon the right of
the 1st K.R.R.
The remaining brigade of the division, the 5th, had some of its men
also in the front line and as busy as its comrades. It is stated in
the account already quoted that even the wounded men of the 2nd
H.L.I. were propped up, so that they might continue to fire upon the
Germans. It was a brigade which had suffered many an evil quarter of
an hour in the past, and it is no wonder that the men took a fierce
joy in such a fight when at last they could meet their hated enemy
face to face. Side by side with the Highlanders were those veterans
of 1914, the 2nd Oxford and Bucks, the battalion that broke the
Prussian Guard. They also had many an arrear to wipe off, nor were
their less experienced comrades of the Royal Fusiliers less intent
upon the work in hand. It was a costly experience for the War-lord
and his legions.
In the evening, save for the one loss at the Canal lock which has
been already recorded, the whole 3500-yard front of the Second
Division stood inviolate, and was clearly defined when the British
force withdrew by the thick pile of German dead which marked it.
Indeed it is claimed that at the end of the day the posts which were
thrown forward by the defenders were more advanced than before the
attack had broken. Those posts which had been overwhelmed in the
morning were found to have perished most {295} gloriously, for in
almost every case the British dead were ringed round with the bodies
of their assailants. Among the many epics of these isolated posts
none is more glorious than that of a platoon of the 17th Fusiliers
under the two Company Officers, Captain Stone and Lieut. Benzeery,
both mentioned in despatches, who fought absolutely to the last man
in order to give time for the main body behind them to get ready for
the assault. The official report of the officer commanding says:
"The rearguard was seen fighting with bayonet, bullet, and bomb to
the last. There was no survivor." The annals of war can give few
finer examples of military virtue.
Another splendid epic had been furnished by the posts of the 1st
Berkshire battalion upon the right of the Second Division. They were
all drawn from one Company under the command of Lieut. Valentin, also
mentioned for his gallantry. The Germans surged in upon them in the
afternoon, and there was a most grim and terrible fight. Three of
the posts were destroyed, but when the ground was regained it was
difficult to find the British bodies on account of the piles of
German dead which were heaped round and over them. Six other posts
remained intact after six hours of close fighting, in which they were
continually attacked by superior numbers who fell in heaps before the
steady fire of these experienced soldiers. Rapid fire had been
brought to perfection by the training system of the Second Division,
and General Pereira was justified of his wisdom. The six weary posts
which remained intact after the storm had passed are said to have
killed not less than five hundred of their assailants.
Gorringe's Forty-seventh London Territorial {296} Division upon the
right had endured a similar experience to that of their comrades of
the Second Division, and Kennedy's 140th Brigade upon the left had
been particularly strongly engaged. The 6th London Rifles and the
10th Civil Service Rifles held post of honour, and the conditions
were much the same as those already described, save that the field of
fire was more restricted. In the afternoon attack, a gap was formed
between these two battalions, but was quickly closed by one of those
heterogeneous musters of signallers, orderlies, and general utility
men who have so often done good and unobtrusive service--silent
supers who suddenly spring into the limelight, play the part of the
hero, and then fade away to the wings once more. This attack of the
afternoon fell with great force upon the right unit of the division,
the 141st Brigade who lay in their gas-masks half poisoned with
mephitic vapours among the brushwood of Bourlon Forest. These fine
troops, the London Irish, Poplar, St. Pancras, and Blackheath
battalions, endured all that gun or gas could do, and held their
whole line intact until the evening.
In the early morning Woolcombe's Fourth Corps, exhausted in body but
triumphant in the knowledge of the terrible losses which they had
inflicted upon the enemy, withdrew unmolested and in absolute order
to the smaller perimeter which had been marked out for them by
General Byng when he had time to realise the exact effect of the
German gains upon the south end of his line. Everything portable was
carried off by the retiring troops, who made it a point of honour to
leave nothing at all to the enemy. Three days later, in conformity
with the general plans, the lines were laid down afresh along the
Flesquières {297} Ridge, so that the whole salient was smoothed out,
and yet Byng's troops held all the solid advantages gained upon
November 20 in the shape of a long stretch of the Hindenburg Line.
This continued to be the permanent position of the Third Army during
the winter, and up to the fateful 21st of March 1918, when the great
German thunderbolt was hurled. In the movements entailed by this
withdrawal there was no molestation from the enemy save that the
rearguards of the Forty-seventh Division were strongly engaged. Two
companies of the 15th Civil Service Rifles were for a time cut off,
but broke their way through all resistance and rejoined the main body.
On the north of that new portion of the line which had been
established by the Guards and taken over by the Ninth Division there
was a long ridge called Welsh Ridge, running up from La Vacquerie
Farm. The enemy was still strong in this quarter where the British
artillery was particularly weak--a defect which was partly
compensated for by the loyalty of the neighbouring French Commander.
The Sixty-first South Midland Territorial Division had taken over
from the Twelfth in this area and found themselves involved in
several days of hard fighting, in the course of which La Vacquerie
Farm was lost to the Badeners, but the general line of the ridge was
maintained, consolidated, and turned into the permanent front of the
Army.
So ended the swaying fortunes of this hard-fought and dramatic
battle, beginning with a surprise attack of the British upon the
Germans, and ending by an attack of the Germans upon the British
which, if not a surprise to the commanders, at least produced some
surprising and untoward results. The balance of these {298} varied
actions was greatly in favour of the British, and yet it could not be
denied that something of the glory and satisfaction of Byng's
splendid original victory were dimmed by this unsatisfactory epilogue
which was only made less disastrous to the British cause by the very
heavy losses which their enemy incurred upon the northern sector. On
the balance in ground gained the British had a solid grip of 11,000
yards of the famous Hindenburg Line, as against an unimportant
British section between Vendhuille and Gonnelieu. In prisoners the
British had 11,000 as against 6000 claimed by the Germans. In guns
the British took or destroyed 145 against 100 taken or destroyed by
their enemies. In the larger field of strategy the whole episode was
fruitful as it stopped all reinforcement of the Germans in Italy
during the critical weeks while the Italians were settling down upon
the line of the Piave. One result of the action was a reorganisation
of the British machine-gun system which was found to have acted in an
unequal fashion during the operations, some formations giving
excellent results while others were less satisfactory.
The Battle of Cambrai virtually brought the fighting of 1917 to an
end, although there were several sharp local actions at different
points along the line--actions which would have filled special
editions in former wars, and now can hardly be afforded a paragraph
if any just proportion be observed. Chief among them was a spirited
German attack upon the Sixty-third Naval Division upon December 29 in
the sector of the Canal du Nord, which began by the loss of some
trench elements, but ended with little change. There was a sharp
fight also early in December at that blood-stained country-house,
Polderhoek Château, {299} where the New Zealanders attacking upon a
narrow front made an attempt upon one of the most difficult points in
the Flanders line. The men of Otago and of Canterbury proved once
more what extraordinarily good military material is bred in the great
Pacific island, but after a sharp tussle in which both sides lost
heavily, there was no substantial change in the position.
Another local fight which was sufficiently serious to demand mention
here was upon December 2, when the 26th Brigade of the Eighth
Division with part of the Thirty-second Division stirred up the
German line in the Flanders area. After two days of fighting matters
remained here much as they started.
The year 1917 had been a very glorious one both to the French and to
the British Armies, which, pursuing their system of the limited
objective, had hardly met with a single repulse in a long campaign.
The victories of Arras, Messines, Langemarck, Paschendaale, and
Cambrai were added to the great record of Sir Douglas Haig and his
men, while the French, save for the losses incurred in their great
April attack, had an unbroken record of success. And yet in spite of
these results in the West the year was a disappointing one for the
Allies, since the Russian defection which involved Rumania in ruin,
greatly weakened their position and clearly showed that the year 1918
would find them confronted with the whole force of Germany aided by
contingents of her Allies. Storm clouds piled high in the East.
Only from over the far Western rim of the Atlantic came a slowly
waxing light.
[Illustration: Map to illustration the British Campaign in France and
Flanders]
{301}
INDEX
Abadie, Colonel, 124, 126, 127
Aisne, French attack upon the, 64; victory, 234
Alderman, Major, 251
Allenby, General Sir Edmund, 2, 16, 20
America breaks off diplomatic relations with Germany, 18
Ancre, British advance on the, 5-8
Antoine, General, 134, 156, 179
Archibald, Lieutenant, 67
Arras, 9, 10, 11, 22, 30
Arras, battle of: preparations preceding the battle, 20-24; attack of
the Seventh Corps, 25-30; capture of Neuville Vitasse, 27; and of the
Ibex Trench, 28; general advance of the Sixth Corps, 30-36; attack of
the Seventeenth Corps, 36-41; Canadian success at Vimy Ridge, 41-43;
review of first day's fighting, 43-44; capture of Monchy, 46-48;
practical results of battle, 56; work of the airmen, 57; fight of the
Australians at Bullecourt and Lagnicourt, 58-61; object of battle
attained, 62; stand by the Middlesex and Argylls, 66-67; Fifteenth
Division capture Guémappe, 68-69; storming of Gavrelle, 69-70; H.A.C.
at Gavrelle, 74-76; loss of Fresnoy, 83-84; capture of Rœux,
84-85; capture of Bullecourt, 90-92
Arras-Soissons front, German retreat on, 8-16
Avion, 117, 121
Babington, General Sir J., 108, 188
Bagdad, British enter, 17
Baillescourt Farm, action at, 6
Bainbridge, General Sir E., 99
Ball, Captain Albert, 57
Bapaume occupied, 10
Basset, M. Serge, 117
Battye, Colonel, 263
Bavaria, Prince Rupprecht of, 98
Bean, Mr., Australian chronicler, quoted, 91, 175, 220
Beaumont Hamel, 3, 5, 37
Bellewarde Ridge, 151
Belsham, Captain, 67
Benzeery, Lieutenant, 295
Berners, Brigadier-General, 85
Bird wood, General Sir William, 4
Bixschoote, 137, 156
Bols, General Sir L., 109
Bourlon, 238, 257, 258, 261, 262, 263, 264, 265, 269, 282, 283, 289,
290, 292
Bourlon Wood, 251, 254, 255, 256, 257, 258, 259, 260, 264, 267, 289,
296
Bowell, Lieutenant, D.S.O., 119
Bradford, General, 267
Braithwaite, General, 243, 245
British extend their front in France, 1
British Armies, general disposition of, in beginning of 1917, 2
Broodseinde, 195, 206, 211, 212, 222
Brown, Brigadier-General, 99
Brusiloff, General, 132
Bullecourt, 11, 58, 87, 90-92, 237, 239, 252
Burstall, General, 41
Byng, General Sir Julian, 21, 115, 238, 255, 285, 296, 297, 298
Cambrai, 192, 237, 238, 247, 248, 251, 253, 255
Cambrai, battle of: Tanks _en masse_, 238, 242; attack on Tunnel
Trench, 239-242; great advance, 242-243; work of Sixty-second
Division, 243-244; advance of Fifty-first Division, 245-246; Fort
Garry Horse, 246; attack of the Twenty-ninth Division on Marcoing and
Mesnières, 247-249; advance of Twentieth and Twelfth Divisions,
249-251; German rally, 253-256; attack on and capture of Bourlon
Wood, 257-260; fight for Bourlon village, 261-264: attack on La
Fontaine, 265-267; great German attack, 269; the Fifty-fifth,
Twelfth, and Twentieth Divisions, 270-275, 276-278; great fight of
the Twenty-ninth Division, 275-276, 278-282; advance of the Guards,
282-286; capture of Gouzeaucourt, 284; battle in Bourlon sector,
288-297; retraction of British line, 297; observations on Cambrai
battle, 297-298
Campbell, General, 25
Campbell, Major, 101
Canal de l'Escaut, 247, 255
Canal du Nord, 243, 291, 298
Caporetto, Italian disaster at, 234, 236
Cator, General, 92
Cavan, General Lord, 137, 138, 145, 162, 163, 167, 181, 202, 214,
224, 237
Charlton, General, 103
Chemin des Dames, 64
Cherisy, 76, 77
Chidlow-Roberts, Captain, 120
Cojeul River, 25, 45, 50, 52, 66, 80, 85
Cooper, Colonel Elliott, V.C., 274
Cooper, Sergeant, V.C., 166
Corfe, Colonel, 190
Corps, Lieutenant, 291
Cousens, Captain, 28
Crevecourt, 248, 255, 279
Crow, Captain, 275
Currie, General Sir A., 41
Davies, Sergeant-Major, 261
De Crespigny, General, 283, 284
De Lisle, General, 275, 282
Deverell, General, 79
Dove, Captain, 166
Du Cane, General, 61
Edwards, Sergeant-Major, 291
Elles, General, 238, 242
Evans, Private Ellis H., 144
Fairbrass, Sergeant, 291
Fanshawe, General Sir E. A., 4, 5, 183, 196
Fayet, capture of, 15, 62
Fergusson, General Sir Charles, 21, 36, 48, 72
Fielding, General Lord, 267
Flesquières, 244, 245, 248, 254, 256, 296
Fontaine, Colonel de la, 154
Fontaine, 256, 257, 258, 265, 266, 288, 289
France: co-operation with British at third battle of Ypres, 134, 137,
156; attack and victory on the Aisne, 64, 234; victory at Verdun,
178; sends troops to help Italy, 236, 237
Freeman, Lieutenant, 190
Fresnoy, 76, 82, 83-84
Gavrelle, 54, 65, 69, 70, 73, 81, 82
Geddes, Sir Eric, 3
Geddes, Captain, 159
Gee, Captain, V.C., 279
General survey of early months of 1917, 16-19
Germany's declaration of unrestricted submarine warfare, 18
Gheluvelt, 228, 229
Glencorse Wood, 151, 153, 154, 159, 161, 173, 175, 176, 187, 198
Godley, General Sir A., 97, 205
Gonnelieu, 242, 275, 276, 285, 286, 287, 298
Gordon, General Sir Alex. Hamilton, 97
Gorringe, General, 174, 295
Gort, Colonel Lord, 140, 226
Gott, Lieutenant, 125
Gough, General Sir Hubert, 2, 4, 7, 16, 25, 58, 61, 96, 114, 133,
138, 155, 179, 181
Gouzeaucourt, 275, 283, 284
Graham, Major, 119
Graincourt, 244, 252
Greer, Colonel, 140
Guémappe, 47, 49, 52, 68, 70
Gwynn, Mr. Stephen, M.P., 103
Haig, Field-Marshal Sir Douglas, 4, 16, 20, 56, 62, 64, 92, 133, 134,
135, 155, 162, 179, 194, 212, 213, 222, 225, 233, 237, 244, 255, 256,
282, 299
Haine, Lieutenant, V.C., 74, 75, 76
Haking, General Sir R., 237
Haldane, General Sir J., 21, 30, 36, 40, 238, 239, 241
Hall, Sergeant-Major, 262
Harper, General, 145
Harrison, Lieutenant, V.C., 82
Harston, Captain, 204
Havrincourt, 244, 252
Henderson, Lieutenant, V.C., 67
Henty, Major, 273
Hermies, 242
Hermon, Colonel, 39
Hickie, General Sir W., 102
Higgins, Brigadier-General, 183
Hindenburg, Marshal von, 15
Hindenburg Line, the, 45, 56, 59, 66, 87, 90, 91, 92, 237, 239, 242,
243, 245, 246, 247, 250, 253, 257, 265, 267, 277, 288, 290, 297, 298
Hindenburg Line, the, defined, 11
Hitchings, Lieutenant, 82
Hoare, Captain, 250
Holland, General, 41, 55, 115
Holmes, General, 101
Horne, General Sir H., 2, 20, 115
Houthulst Forest, 134, 137, 202, 214, 226
Hull, General, 27
Inverness Wood, 154, 159, 160, 162, 173, 175, 176, 189
Isonzo front, successful attack on, by the Italians, 178
Italy: successful attack on the Isonzo front, 178; disaster at
Caporetto, 234, 236; effect of collapse on Western offensive, 236;
French and British send help, 236, 237
Jacob, General Sir C., 4, 8, 137, 150, 151, 162, 172, 231
James, Colonel, 272
Jarvis, Colonel, 190
Jenkinson, Sergeant, 221
Jeudwine, General Sir Hugh, 269
Johnson, General Bulkeley, 48
Kennedy, Brigadier-General, 296
Kennedy, Colonel, 260
Kettle, Professor, 103
Kincaid-Smith, General, 99
Knapp, Father, 140
Korniloff, General, 132
Kut, recapture of, 17
La Basseville, 131, 132, 155
Laffert, General von, 98
Lagnicourt, 58, 60, 90
Lambton, General, 37
Langemarck, 164, 166, 167, 181, 203
La Vacquerie, 249, 250, 274, 285, 283, 287, 288
Leadbeater, Sergeant, 118
Lees, Captain David, 140
Legg, Sergeant, 291
Lens, 20, 54, 56, 89, 226, 232
Lens, operations round, 115-123
Les Rues Vertes, 247, 277, 279, 280
Leveson-Gower, Brigadier-General, 168
Lipsett, General, 41
Lloyd, Captain, 287
Lodge, Sergeant, 291
Lomax, Lieutenant, 13, 14
Lukin, General, 36
Lumsden, Major, V.C., 13, 14
McCracken, General Sir F., 21, 54
Macdowell, Major, V.C., 42
McGowan, Captain, 90
McGrady, Private, 128
MacNamara, Major, 90
MacReady-Diarmid, Captain, V.C., 292
Marcoing, 247, 248, 253, 273, 276, 278, 288
Martin, Captain, 129
Marwitz, General von, 270
Matheson, General, 203
Maude, General Sir F. S., 17
Maxse, General Sir Ivor, 21, 137, 145, 162, 167, 183, 195, 216, 217,
223, 226, 227
Menin Road, 153, 179, 190, 193, 194, 195, 198, 199, 202, 209, 210,
211, 222, 228
Mesnières, 247, 248, 249, 253, 254, 270, 273, 277, 278, 282, 288
Mesopotamia, operations in: recapture of Kut, 17; capture of Bagdad,
17
Messines, 44, 57, 95, 97, 98, 115, 134, 135, 179
Messines, battle of: preparations for the battle, 96; composition of
British line, 96-97; advance of Australians and New Zealanders,
97-99; capture of Messines village, 98; Wytschaete captured by the
Irish Divisions, 102-104; general advance and capture of Messines
Ridge, 106-110; results of battle, 110-112
Monash, General Sir John, 97
Monchy, 35, 44, 46-48, 49, 50, 51, 52
Morland, General Sir T., 96, 107, 138, 155, 190, 208, 210
Mœuvres, 257, 258, 289, 290
Nicholson, General, 37
Nieuport, 123, 130
Norman, Colonel, 144
Nugent, General, 102
O'Brien, Lieutenant, 74
Oppy, 54, 65, 73, 76, 81, 117
Osmond, Major, 74, 76
Page, Colonel, 146
Parsons, Sergeant, 291
Paschendaale, 200, 211, 213, 217, 220, 222, 225, 230, 231, 238
Pears, Colonel, 280
Peddie, Major, 223
Pereira, General, 53, 289, 295
Peronne, capture of, 10
Phillips, Mr. Percival, quoted, 279
Phillips, Sergeant, 291
Pilkem, 142, 143, 144, 156
Pinney, General, 46, 66, 193
Ploegstrate, 94
Plumer, General Sir Herbert, 2, 95, 96, 110, 115, 134, 138, 154, 155,
162, 179, 181, 187, 212, 237
Poelcapelle, 203, 204, 213, 216, 224
Polderhoek, 209, 210, 222, 228, 232, 298
Pollard, Lieutenant, V.C., 74, 75, 76
Polygon Wood, 188, 193, 196, 200, 208, 209
Pope, Lieutenant, 60
Prioleau, Colonel, 166
Pulteney, General Sir W., 238, 252
Radice, Colonel, 144
Rawlinson, General Sir Henry, 1, 2, 4, 8, 61, 114
Redmond, Major W., M.P., 103
Reed, General, 149
Regiments:
_Artillery--_
R.F.A., 13, 104, 274
Honourable Artillery Company, 74, 221
_Cavalry--_
Royal Horse Guards, 47
2nd Dragoon Guards, 252
4th Dragoon Guards, 252
2nd Dragoons, 263
5th Dragoons, 263
5th Lancers, 251
10th Hussars, 47
11th Hussars, 244, 263
15th Hussars, 261
19th Hussars, 262
20th Hussars, 285
Bedford Yeomanry, 263
Essex Yeomanry, 47
Fort Garry Horse, 246
King Edward's Horse, 244
Lucknow Cavalry Brigade, 10
Northumberland Hussars, 276
Umballa Brigade, 254
_Guards--_
Coldstream, 138, 139, 140, 215, 266, 284, 285
Grenadier, 139, 140, 141, 264, 266, 284, 285, 286
Irish, 138, 139, 140, 141, 215, 260, 267, 284
Scots, 139, 140, 264, 266
Welsh, 139, 285, 286
_Infantry--_
Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, 31, 66, 67, 193, 198, 261
Bedford, 26, 74, 75, 160, 161
Berkshire, 12, 146, 147, 174, 250, 273, 293, 295
Black Watch, 31, 92, 146, 147, 199
Border, 15, 92, 100, 104, 113, 131, 208, 228, 279
Buffs (East Kent), 79, 251, 275
Cambridge, 146, 147, 199
Cameron Highlanders, 159, 185
Cameronians (Scottish Rifles), 35
Cheshire, 14, 100, 106, 146, 147, 160, 161, 191, 225
Connaught Rangers, 103, 170, 240
Devon, 84, 92, 208, 209
Dublin Fusiliers, 85, 168, 169, 240
Duke of Cornwall's, 70, 83, 175, 209
Durham Light Infantry, 82, 164, 175, 189, 247
East Lancashire, 40, 85, 88, 203, 219
East Surrey, 31, 83, 154, 251, 263, 264, 275
East Yorkshire, 82, 209
Essex, 34, 40, 50, 51, 77, 216, 224, 250, 273, 287, 291
Gloucester, 12, 83, 174, 191, 204, 225
Gordon Highlanders, 31, 32, 33, 88, 159, 208, 228
Hampshire, 40, 50, 51, 85, 104, 189, 199, 203, 216, 241
Highland Light Infantry, 12, 13, 15, 35, 131, 186, 194, 198, 263, 294
Inniskilling Fusiliers, 102, 103, 168, 169, 170, 279
King's Liverpool, 148, 164, 166, 185
King's Own Royal Lancaster, 33, 40, 47, 148, 149, 184, 263, 264, 272
King's Own Scottish Borderers, 35, 209
King's Royal Rifles, 14, 29, 48, 77, 124, 125, 126, 127, 128, 129,
166, 181, 189, 190, 194, 210, 249, 250, 277, 285, 287, 293, 294
Lancashire Fusiliers, 40, 81, 100, 131, 148, 160, 161, 177, 184, 219,
225, 249, 279
Leicester, 116, 118, 154, 246
Leinster, 55, 102, 103, 170
Lincoln, 104, 105, 116, 118, 210, 223
Liverpool, 26, 27, 32, 152, 183, 194, 198, 272
Liverpool Scottish, 272
London Rifle Brigade, 80
London Scottish, 28, 291
London Irish, 296
1st London, 27, 28, 78
2nd London, 80, 183, 184, 291
3rd London, 27
4th London, 184
6th London, 183, 296
8th London, 183
9th London (Queen Victoria Rifles), 27, 28, 80
15th London (Civil Service), 296, 297
15th London (Queen's Westminsters), 80, 257, 291
15th London (Blackheath), 296
15th London (Poplar), 296
15th London (Post Office Rifles), 291
15th London (St. Pancras), 296
Manchester, 12, 13, 27, 152, 153, 219, 228
Middlesex, 27, 28, 31, 55, 66, 67, 78, 86, 88, 169, 193, 194, 204,
210, 249, 250, 261, 262, 276, 278, 279, 280, 291, 292
Munster Fusiliers, 103, 104, 231, 240
Norfolk, 77, 224, 246, 250, 274
Northampton, 55, 124, 127, 129, 152, 154, 159, 273
North Lancashire, 100, 125, 148, 160, 184
North Staffordshire, 8, 118, 119, 154, 191
Northumberland Fusiliers, 39, 49, 53, 89, 131, 189, 209, 224
Oxford and Bucks, 29, 77, 166, 174, 250, 294
Queen's (West Surrey), 31, 154, 161, 194, 198, 208, 228, 251, 276
Rifle Brigade, 40, 48, 55, 77, 85, 109, 154, 166, 181, 189, 210, 216,
255, 277
Royal Fusiliers, 29, 32, 46, 66, 74, 75, 109, 176, 189, 210, 249,
250, 274, 279, 293, 294, 295
Royal Irish, 102, 241
Royal Irish Fusiliers, 102, 103, 168, 169, 170, 171, 172, 241
Royal Irish Rifles, 99, 100, 102, 104, 160, 161, 168, 169, 172
Royal Scots, 33, 78, 186
Royal Scots Fusiliers, 31, 152, 186
Royal West Kent, 190, 209, 228, 251
Seaforth Highlanders, 38, 39, 80, 81, 186, 203
Sherwood Foresters, 14, 70, 104, 105, 118, 119, 152, 159, 190, 225,
246
Shropshire, 33, 166, 175, 176
Somerset Light Infantry, 40, 80, 175, 203, 210
South Lancashire, 100, 113, 184, 185, 272, 273
South Staffordshire, 8, 104, 117, 208, 228, 291
South Wales Borderers, 106, 113, 143, 161, 231, 260, 279, 282
Suffolk, 32, 88, 198, 224, 250, 262, 263, 273
Sussex, 31, 55, 79, 125, 164, 193, 199, 250
Tyneside Scottish, 53
Warwick, 204, 221, 228
Welsh, 106, 142, 143, 191, 260, 261
Welsh Fusiliers, 31, 32, 66, 106, 141, 142, 143, 144, 197, 260
West Riding, 40, 81, 189, 244, 253, 254, 265
West Yorkshire, 32, 49, 82, 172, 189, 217, 256
Wiltshire, 100, 191
Worcester, 50, 51, 100, 161, 191, 194, 204, 214, 216
York and Lancaster, 82, 217, 244, 256
Yorkshire, 189, 261, 262
Yorkshire Light Infantry, 15, 166, 209, 217, 244
------
Royal Engineers, 47, 101, 104, 105, 141, 161, 216, 241, 284
Tunnelling Companies, 22, 241
Royal Naval Division, 53, 54, 70, 74, 226, 227, 298
1st Marines, 55, 74, 75
_Overseas Forces--_
Australians, 5, 10, 11, 14, 58, 59, 60, 61, 76, 90, 91, 92, 97, 98,
101, 127, 128, 156, 187, 188, 193, 194, 196, 197, 198, 205, 206, 220,
223, 227, 229
New Zealanders, 97, 98, 99, 101, 114, 131, 132, 155, 156, 205, 211,
223, 224, 299
Canadians, 21, 38, 41, 42, 43, 54, 55, 73, 82, 83, 84, 116, 117, 121,
122, 123, 226, 227, 228, 229, 230, 231, 232
Newfoundland Regiment, 50, 215, 216, 248, 278, 282
South Africans, 37, 52, 53, 185, 186, 187
Reutel, 208, 209, 210, 221
Ritchie, General, 195
Ritchie, Captain, 141
Robertson, Colonel Forbes, V.C., 51, 280
Robinson, Captain, 291
Rœux, 48, 52, 65, 68, 72, 73, 80, 84, 85
Romilly, Colonel, 140
Russell, General Sir A., 98
Russia: revolution in, 17, 65; collapse of, before Central Powers,
132; effect of revolution in, on Allied offensive in the West, 235
Rutter, Lieutenant, 67
St. Eloi, 97
St. Julien, 145, 146, 147, 156, 158, 174, 182, 192, 195
St. Rohart, 76, 78, 79
Sanctuary Wood, 150, 152
Scarpe River, 31, 36, 37, 40, 50, 52, 68, 69, 72, 76, 78, 79, 84, 86
Selency, capture of guns at, 12-14
Sensée River, 66, 87
Serre, 6, 7
Sheepshanks, Colonel, 277
Shepherd, Private, V.C., 250
Shute, General, 106, 124, 131
Sinai Peninsula, progress in, 17
Slade, Captain, 164
Smith, Colonel, 27
Snow, General Sir T., 21, 25, 45, 65, 76, 238, 252, 269, 270
Soissons, 9, 10
Souchez River, 115, 121
Steenbeek, the, 143, 146, 147, 163, 166, 184, 189
Stone, Captain, 295
Stonebanks, Lieutenant, 176
Strachan, Lieutenant Henry, V.C., 246
Strickland, General, 123, 124
Symon, Captain, 159
Taylor, Colonel, 144
Tollemache, Colonel, 129
Valentin, Lieutenant, 295
Vendhuille, 270, 298
Verdun, French victory at, 178
Villers-Guislain, 237, 272, 273, 275
Vimy Ridge, 21, 41-43, 54, 94, 134
Wallace, Lieutenant, V.C., 274
Wambach, Private, 129
Ward, Captain, 129
Ward, Lieutenant, 13, 14
Warden, Colonel, D.S.O., 263, 264
Watson, General, 41
Watts, General Sir H., 137, 145, 147, 149, 162, 167
Westhoek, 151, 159, 160, 161, 162
Wiart, Colonel Carton de, 85
Williams, General, 109
Wilson, President, 18
Woolcombe, General, 238, 288, 296
Woolley, Lieutenant, 190
Wytschaete, 94, 97, 103
Ypres, 57, 94, 95, 133, 134, 154, 162
Ypres, third battle of: British and German preparation before the
battle detailed, 133-136; French co-operation, 134, 137, 156; advance
of the Guards, 138-141; advance of the Welsh Division and capture of
Pilkem village, 141-145; capture of St. Julien, 146, 147; advance of
Fifty-fifth and Fifteenth Divisions, 147-150; of Second Army Corps,
150-155; first day's operations reviewed, 156-157; German
counter-attacks, 158-159, 160-161; attack of Fourteenth Corps,
163-167; capture of Langemarck, 164; losses of the Irish Divisions,
168-172; work of the Field Artillery, 175; engagement of the Second
Army, 179; September 20, 180-192; advance of the Fifty-fifth
Division, 183-185; advance of the Ninth Division, 185-187; of the
Australians, 187-188; German counter-attack, 192-195; advance renewed
on September 26, 195-200; attack of October 4, 202-212; further
British advance, 213-222; advance of Territorials, 218-220; H.A.C. at
Reutel, 221; action of October 12, 222-224; action of October 26,
225; fine fighting by the Canadians, 226-231; capture of
Paschendaale, 230; general results of the third battle of Ypres,
232-233
Yser River, fight of the King's Royal Rifles and the Northamptons at,
123-130
Zonnebeke, 169, 170, 172, 181, 202, 214
THE END
_Printed in Great Britain by_ R. & R. CLARK, LIMITED, _Edinburgh._