Stopping the Hun.
"Good God! What is the matter with the Boche to-night?" Such were our
ejaculations on the night of March 21st at Busnes. The coming of
darkness had brought with it the long-drawn out, familiar "A-zoom,
a-zoom--CRASH--CRASH--CRASH," of enemy planes but in closer proximity
than ever before. Previously they had confined their attentions to
Bethune each night, but on this particular evening Lillers was the
objective, and plane after plane came over maintaining an almost
continuous bombardment throughout the night. An ammunition train
standing in the station, was hit, and the terrific explosions that
followed at irregular intervals accompanied by huge fires added to the
evening's excitements. Next day, wires from G.H.Q. enlightened us. The
German offensive opened on the morning of March 21st, the fifth and
third armies being engaged. The front line defence had been overwhelmed,
but we were led to suppose that the enemy was being held up amongst the
defended localities.
We afterwards learnt that intensive bombing of back areas and
particularly of railheads and junctions had taken place that night in
the whole of the British area. One of the objects of this was to impede
the movements of reserve divisions, and when it is known that detailed
instructions had been issued for the entrainment of the 42nd at Lillers
in case we should be required at some distance, such a policy as this is
easily understood. But the German had reckoned without the London
omnibus driver, who before the war had served another kind of "General."
Arrangements were rapidly completed in twenty-four hours, so that on
the morning of March 23rd the whole division, in battle order, found a
huge fleet of buses ready to convey them to--"Somewhere in France." The
French villagers smiled confidently at us as we journeyed northwards in
the direction of the Portuguese front, but they did not know, poor
souls, that this was the only way the large convoy could "about turn,"
nor did they know, although perhaps they guessed, that the Portuguese
front would collapse the following month and they would be fleeing for
their lives before the blonde beast. We eventually turned our faces
south and rode the whole of that day without stopping over the dusty
roads of France. The Hun had been extraordinarily lucky in weather,
there having been hardly a drop of rain for more than three weeks, so
that the ground was perfectly dry for his operations.
Nightfall found us still travelling, and the day of 24th March had
almost broken before we "debussed" to find ourselves in the devastated
area of the Somme lands, near the village of Ayette. There was no rest
to be had. Uncertainty as to the situation in front and also as to the
future possibilities necessitated an immediate adoption of tactical
positions, and the 127th brigade took up a defensive line, on an outpost
principle, to cover the ground between Ablainzevelle and Courcelles.
Until this had been achieved no man was able to turn his thoughts to
sleep, in fact the sun had been up some hours before this was possible.
The day produced a complexity of events in the handling of which Col.
Bromfield proved himself to be at once human and masterful. In the first
place, a "battle surplus" had to be decided upon. This was a small group
of officers and men, selected as far as possible from each rank and from
each type of specialists, who remained behind the line whilst the
battalion was in action. In the event of the battalion being obliterated
by casualties, they would form the nucleus of a new unit. Choice
generally fell upon those who were considered due for a rest from the
line. When the necessary officers and men had been abstracted the
Company Commanders were Capt. Tinker, "A," Capt. Nidd, "B," 2nd-Lt.
Harland, "C," and Capt. J. Baker, "D." Headquarters comprised the C.O.,
Capt. J. R. Creagh, Adjutant; Lt. C. S. Wood, Signals; and Lt. S. J.
Wilson, I.O.; while Capt. Philp, the M.O., and Padre Hoskyns were in
confident control of aid post arrangements.
We had now become a part of the third army, and as such we were destined
to remain until the conclusion of the war. General Byng was not a
stranger to the 42nd, for it was as a part of his corps on Gallipoli
that they made their first fight against the Turk. As the reports have
it, "the situation was obscure" on this portion of the third army front.
As far as we were concerned the 40th division had experienced a very
severe handling but were still fighting gamely. They had recaptured Mory
twice and were now expected to be in possession of the greater part of
the village, while the Guards on their left were only yielding ground
inch by inch. What had happened to the right of this was not very clear.
The orders of the 127th brigade were to go up and relieve some fragments
of the 40th division in Mory on the night of the 24th, and when darkness
fell we set out with this object in view, but such plain,
straightforward work as that was not to be achieved in these queer days.
Events moved quickly and a change in the situation was an hourly
occurrence; it therefore devolved upon unit commanders, and as far as
possible commanders of higher formations to act with initiative and
resource.
[Illustration: ROUND ABOUT BAPAUME]
The head of the brigade column had reached Gomiecourt when word was
received that the enemy was attacking again, and there were vague
reports that Behagnies had either been captured or was being hard
pressed. It was considered inadvisable to continue the journey to Mory,
and more important to hold up this possible enveloping movement. We were
therefore deflected to the right, and then those things were done which
we used to practise on the desert, but never expected to put into use in
France. We moved across the open in artillery formation by battalions
and finally deployed into a defensive position. Meanwhile the guns
were hammering away at S.O.S. speed from their hastily improvised
positions either on or near the roads. The difficulty of all this work
was not diminished by the darkness, and it was with some astonishment
that we found the 125th brigade coming through our lines diagonally. One
or two stragglers from other divisions came in and told stories of heavy
enemy attacks, but a gunner major rode back from the front on a white
horse, and said the situation was not so bad as these men's reports had
intimated. Still, there seemed to be a good deal of confusion, and the
7th were somewhat bewildered, not knowing quite what to expect next.
Meanwhile they longed hard for daylight in order to get their
whereabouts and some idea of the lie of the land.
As daylight approached on the 25th it was obvious, from the increasing
proximity of rifle fire on our left, that Mory had fallen and the line
was falling back steadily. Quiet seemed to reign now, however, in the
direction of Behagnies. We later discovered that the L.F's. had received
orders to push on and cover the Behagnies-Sapignies Road, and this they
had successfully achieved in the night. At the same time the 126th
brigade was in touch with the enemy in front of Ervillers, so that on
the morning of the 25th all three brigades were in the front line and
were rigging up an impromptu battle with the Hun. The enemy soon made
his intentions clear and he commenced a vigorous assault. What troops
still remained of the 40th and other divisions, when they found that the
42nd were in position, gradually dribbled through in search of a
long-delayed and well-earned rest. They had been fighting without
respite since the morning of the 21st. The 6th Manchesters were now on
the right of the division in the vicinity of Bihucourt, but they were
uncertain as to the state of affairs on their right. As a matter of
fact, although we were not aware of it at the time, Bapaume had been
taken and a large gap had been left in the line south of our right
flank, through which the Huns were pouring in victorious mass. The New
Zealand division and one brigade of Australians, with the 62nd division
on their left were hurried forward, and after very severe fighting
stopped the enemy rush about Hebuterne, some miles westward of the
position we held on March 25th.
Meanwhile we were in blissful ignorance of our hazardous position and
the Manchesters were preserving strict guard over an exposed right
flank. The 6th came in for a good deal of heavy fighting in the vicinity
of Bihucourt, but they held the village all day. The headquarters of the
7th was in an old shallow dug-out close to the light railway that had
been constructed from Achiet-le-Grand to run eastwards in the direction
of Bullecourt. This railway wound its way through a sort of valley to
the north of which lies Gomiecourt and to the north-east Mory. Due east
on higher ground are Behagnies and Sapignies where the L.F's. were
making such a fine stand. This high ground continues southwards towards
Bihucourt and Bapaume, and it was along this ridge that most of the
day's fighting took place.
During the previous night the 7th had been spread out fanwise in
out-posts covering the shallow valley, and it was not long after
daylight before the enemy began to drop shells indiscriminately about
this ground. "C" and "D" companies were ordered forward to assist the
5th and "A" and "B" were left in support. Tanks came up and they
courageously crawled out over the ridge and did some very sound work
before being knocked out by guns which had been brought up to unwonted
proximity. It was whilst crawling out to rescue a wounded man of the
crew of a tank that Sergeant Heath, M.M., was mortally wounded. The
127th brigade could not be driven from their positions and they dug
themselves in, in small section posts, confidently awaiting nightfall
and the next day's fight. The attacks died down and when darkness came,
digging parties went up to assist in the work of consolidation. Events
as described above, however, had decided otherwise, for about 10 p.m. a
divisional staff officer arrived with orders to fall back to a line of
defence between Logeast Wood and Courcelles.
Casualties had been fairly heavy in this day's work. Capt. J. Baker and
2nd.-Lt. B. Taylor had gone down wounded, while Col. Bromfield, Capt.
Creagh and the M.O. had all been slightly wounded by a shell which
knocked in the entrance to the headquarter's dug-out. They remained at
duty, although the C.O. suffered considerably from an internal bruise in
the stomach which made it impossible for him to walk without assistance.
The arrangements for clearing the wounded became confused when
Gomiecourt was evacuated, for there the Advanced Dressing Station had
been established. Then it was that the Padre displayed his vigour,
courage and resource. He commandeered a hut close to Achiet and had a
large number of wounded from various battalions collected there.
Eventually he was able to get an ambulance which carried many of them
back to the Casualty Clearing Station, but this process suddenly
stopped. All sorts of conveyances were then seized and men were
gradually carried back. When the order to withdraw became known matters
were critical, but the Padre continued his labours. Difficulties were
not diminished when the Hun commenced to drop 5.9's near this spot.
Hoskyns was slightly wounded, but he was bound up and carried on his
self-appointed task until some time after the last of the brigade had
gone by, leaving him with no one in front but the Hun. Not until the
last man had been carried safely off did he leave this place, and then
he collected various stragglers and marched them up as a platoon to join
their own units! This, and his continuous plucky and considerate work in
tending bodily as well as spiritual needs during the next few days
obtained for him a well-earned M.C.
The night of the 25th-26th was even more strenuous than the previous
one. About 11.30 p.m. the withdrawal commenced, and was very skilfully
carried out, so skilfully, in fact, that the German battle outposts
could be heard firing intermittently for hours after our troops had
retired. After steady plugging, man-handling everything, we reached a
system of admirably prepared trenches north of Logeast Wood. The pioneer
battalion 7th Northumberland Fusiliers, who had come to the division in
February, had been working upon them all day, and, excellently sited as
they were, they inspired everyone with a great feeling of confidence.
Men took a lively interest in their posts, and after a considerable
amount of organisation sentries were mounted and the battalion settled
down for a rest until the enemy should arrive. It was now 3 a.m. At this
hour it so happened that the division had received another urgent order
to fall back still further. Staff officers made their way on foot
through the congested roads behind the front and searched dimly for the
various brigades, a most uncertain task in view of the rapidity of
events. We were found eventually and the brigade major aroused us from
slumber to transmit the news.
Once again the 7th rose up, shouldered their burdens, and strode
backwards. "What are we going back for? What does it all mean? We held
up Jerry yesterday--why retire?" It all seemed very unsatisfactory and
we were very tired. Food had naturally been scanty and only obtained in
snatches, but much energy was being consumed. It was a disappointed
battalion that straggled wearily through Logeast Wood. We were only just
in time, however, for advance parties of the enemy were already entering
the east side of the Wood as we emerged from the south-west side. Here
we found some explanation of things. Col. Wedgewood, of the 6th,
reported bodies of the enemy moving forward to strike in on our southern
flank, and this news had the effect of an electric shock amongst us.
Col. Bromfield at once ordered positions to be taken up to face the
enemy who were advancing from the south and south-east. "A" and "D"
companies moved out quickly to seize the high ground and one or two
Lewis guns opened fire at the bodies of grey figures in the distance.
Meanwhile, however, the brigadier had decided to cover the
Bucquoy-Ablainzevelle road, and so touch up with the 62nd division, who
had some hours previously occupied a position from Hebuterne to Bucquoy,
and were at that moment resisting violent efforts on the part of the Hun
to turn our right flank. It was, therefore, in the latter village where
we met the gallant Yorkshiremen of the 2nd line West Riding
Territorials. Gen. Henley personally assisted in getting the platoons of
"B" and "C" companies into position, and then "A" and "D" companies were
ordered to withdraw to their line.
When the withdrawal had been completed the 7th were on the right of the
division, with the flank resting on the edge of Bucquoy village. The
road from Bucquoy to Ayette, which was almost south to north, is an
important one and is marked by a row of trees on each side. As one walks
from Bucquoy along this road, another road branching off to the right
from the edge of the village is seen leading down to Ablainzevelle. The
road junction marks the highest portion of ground in the vicinity, and
there is a long sweep eastwards towards Logeast Wood and
Achiet-le-Petit. It was when we noticed the latter place that the whole
irony of the situation broke upon us. Eight month's ago we had been
enjoying a blissful period of rest on this self-same spot, and such
features as we now gazed upon had merely been used for the purpose of
containing a supposed enemy in the working out of a tactical exercise--a
sham fight. Now--the enemy could not be more real or more alive. He was
here with the sole intent of destroying us by any possible method if we
would not vacate our position. What happened?
The 7th was assured that this was at last the spot where resistance
would be offered. There were no trenches, and the men lay out in the
open on the sloping ground east and south of the Ablainzevelle road,
with intent to dig in as soon as possible. "C" company were on the
right, and they were rather fortunate in being on the site of an old
camp, because in these days of modern war it is necessary to dig a hole
in a tent even, as a safe-guard against bombing. "C" company then
disposed themselves amongst these circular holes, and later found them
useful protection when the heavy shelling commenced. "B" company, in the
centre, were totally exposed, while "A" company on the left, in touch
with the 6th, were almost as bad, although two platoons were able to
make use of the sunk road. "D" company were behind in support and could
occupy portions of an old Boche trench running east and west.
Headquarters lay out in the Ayette road at first until an old Boche
dug-out, not completed, was found farther up the road, and then they got
into it. Platoons had barely been allotted their areas when clumps of
Huns began to appear on the ridge we had just vacated. They proved to be
teams of light machine gunners, and without preliminaries in the matter
of searching for cover, they promptly opened fire, and soon there was a
perfect hail of grazing bullets swishing over the battalion area. German
officers calmly walked about directing operations and the whole scene
resembled a "stunt on the pictures" rather than modern war. They had
made a mistake, though, and if they were seeking dramatic effect it was
only short lived. Our men were delighted at the perfect target they
presented on the skyline, and rat-tat-tatted merrily in reply to the Hun
swish. By this time also "D" company of the Machine Gun battalion had
taken up a position and they also joined in the conversation. The enemy
then considered the advisability of concealment, and he disappeared from
view. Small parties of his infantry meanwhile had dribbled forward,
considerably helped by old systems of trenches which extended down into
the low ground. Our men were ready, however, and met them with a heavy
fusillade whenever they showed themselves.
Between Logeast Wood and Ablainzevelle was a camp of Nisson huts, which
had been protected against bombing, in the usual manner, by thick walls
of earth round each hut. The enemy was now making the fullest possible
use of these, for they afforded him most excellent protection. Luckily
they were on a piece of ground fully exposed to us, and we were able to
get some idea as to his movements in that direction. It was soon evident
that they were to be utilised as a stepping stone to a further advance.
First, light M.G's. and snipers were brought up, and these dribbled out
of the huts into Ablainzevelle, where they established themselves to the
discomfort of our men, for they were well on our left flank and could
take some of our position in enfilade. The battalion suffered a number
of casualties from this cause. Unfortunately also, our guns had not got
a clear conception of the state of affairs, and one battery fairly
peppered the H.Q. road with shrapnel, inflicting about a dozen
casualties, while others covered our own forward positions with the same
kind of shell, and so added to the list. I am convinced that there is
nothing more demoralising to a soldier in defence than to come under the
fire of his own guns, so, to say the least, these moments were very
trying. The difficulty of communicating with the rear caused a further
delay in the correction of this serious blunder, and our men had to
maintain a grip on their positions whilst subjected to fire from both
sides, for by this time the enemy had got his guns up, impudently close
to the front line, evidently with a view to a further advance, and was
using them to advantage. Some of them could be distinctly seen on the
outskirts of Logeast Wood, and it was obvious that most of the others
responsible for our discomfort were in the Wood itself. Further away the
roads from Grevillers, Bapaume, Loupart Wood, etc., could be seen choked
with masses of advancing Germans. If only we had had a few 60-pounders,
what perfect execution we should have accomplished. There were batteries
of guns, companies of infantry, columns of transport, staff-cars, and
all the impedimenta of a moving army. I expect the heart of every Hun of
them swelled with the pride of achievement. They were marching to the
last victory that was going to obliterate the hated English and end the
war. They were not yet aware that just here there was a row of troops,
from right to left, New Zealanders, Australians, Yorkshiremen,
Lancashiremen, and Guards, who did not intend to concede another yard of
ground.
How we longed for the heavy guns during the days that followed, but they
could not, of course, come into action until the infantry line had been
stabilised. Weeks later we heard stories of the doings on those roads
behind the lines, and perhaps we should not judge too harshly, for
traffic control was difficult and there was obviously an excessive
demand upon transport. Add to this the disturbing lack of news and the
peculiar shape of the front, for whereas we were facing east, the 62nd
division with the exception of one battalion in Bucquoy were facing
south, and some explanation may be found for the slight degree of
confusion. The divisional artillery, 18-pounders and 4.5 howitzers,
remained faithful to the infantry, and the 42nd gunners never showed up
to prouder advantage than they did during those stern days. It was not
they who had fired upon us. They were too close to us to make any
mistake in that way, for during the heaviest fighting they had their
guns within 1,600 yards of the front line, and where cover was
unobtainable either for gun or man. Needless to say they suffered very
heavily both in personnel and material, for the enemy aircraft soon
found them, and they were hammered and gassed mercilessly. Their forward
observation officers maintained a liaison with the H.Q. of the infantry
battalions, and in addition to courageous work in searching for targets
and correcting gun fire they showed the greatest consideration for our
needs.
Although the 7th occupied a commanding position it was singularly bare
and exposed so that cover was difficult to find. During the first few
hours "D" company of the M.G's. had all their guns but one put out of
action, and almost all their officers and men became casualties. They
had pluckily worked their weapons in the hastily sited positions until
knocked out--not before, however, they had carried out savage execution
amongst the more venturesome Huns, and they certainly had the effect of
making the remainder hesitate. The nature of the ground made it
difficult also for the battalion observers to work, for it was evident
the enemy F.O.O's. were specially searching for such people, and the
moment they fixed up a telescope down came a hurricane of shelling, the
close proximity of the Boche guns making their fire extremely accurate
and deadly. The result was that after the first day's fighting, of the
observers only two, Cpl. Maguire and Pte. Wilmer, remained. Not to be
daunted by the fate of their comrades they clung to their task, and
when shelled out of one spot immediately found another. They kept the
enemy under close watch and strung together most valuable chains of
evidence as to their movements, gallant work for which both received the
M.M.
The signallers also suffered heavily. Wires were difficult to keep in
repair but the linesmen continued to go out during the heaviest
shelling, while others maintained a system of lamp signalling to the
brigade behind a pile of ammunition boxes until a 5.9 dropped plumb
amongst them with dire results. Other signallers at once found a new
spot and kept communication going. But these were searching days for
everyone, when physical endurance and mental stamina were stretched to
their furthest limit. As the day wore on, the guns that we had seen in
the distance gradually came into action against us until shells were
raining down continuously on all parts of our line. Obviously, the enemy
infantry had given up the hope of further progress, for our men were
like terriers, keenly watching for the slightest sign of a Hun helmet,
and the artillery were left to do their worst upon us. Just before dusk
the M.O., Capt. Philp, was killed by a shell whilst bending over a
wounded man on a stretcher. No cover could be found for an aid-post, and
it had to be established in the open at a convenient spot on the ground.
In fact, the only dug-out in the area was that occupied by H.Q., and it
was shared by Col. Wedgwood of the 6th, so that two battalion H.Q. were
confined in a spot no more than seven feet square, while the entrance
faced the enemy in an exposed part of the road.
Darkness had brought quiet at last, but no rest. Rations had come up and
they had to be distributed. Similarly with ammunition and water. Also
the enemy might attempt a night assault, for it was not to be expected
that he would be satisfied with this very pronounced re-entrant in his
line. The 6th, whose line ran close to the edge of Ablainzevelle, sent a
patrol into the village. The small parties of Boche fled at their
approach and left two M.G's. in their hands. Our patrols searched all
the low ground in front but could not find the enemy.
Next morning, March 27th, about 9 o'clock, the battle re-opened with
redoubled vigour. Fresh enemy troops had been brought up and they made a
determined attempt to push forward. A terrific bouncing barrage came
down upon our positions, but the men stood up to it, in spite of the
heavy casualties, and opened fire upon the groups of Boche who attempted
to get across the open. The main infantry assault took place near
Ablainzevelle, and here the 6th had the work of repelling them, but
after some hand to hand fighting the enemy fell back and confined his
energies to sniping and M.G. work. Meanwhile, the landscape was steadily
changing its appearance in the 7th sector. What had once been good roads
and respectable fields were shell-pitted and strewn with debris, a pile
of S.A.A. boxes that had been left behind had been hit and in the fire
that resulted there was a disturbing display of fireworks from the
exploding cartridges. The trees were losing their accustomed beauty,
many having been smashed down completely. But picture the trepidation of
the aid-post detachment, now in charge of Capt. Greville, for they lay
close to a huge dump of shells that was liable to be hit at any moment.
During the quieter days Bucquoy had evidently been an ammunition park,
and as not much of the stuff had been removed, it was an exciting spot
to fight in.
All day this steady pounding continued, and when the enemy infantry
definitely gave up their efforts to get near our line they supplemented
the shelling by an unceasing hail of traversing M.G. fire. Yet, through
this the runners and stretcher bearers performed their appointed tasks,
and there was no period when perfect touch was not maintained between
the C.O. and any part of the front line and also back to brigade H.Q.,
nor were there cases of wounded men being left unduly exposed after they
had been hit. The constant stream of runners, etc., of both battalions
converging on the H.Q. dug-out, exposed to observation as it was, soon
made the truth of the matter plain to the enemy, and he began to pay
attention to it with 5.9's. An anxious moment came when he hit the
entrance and buried a number of men standing in the improvised steps.
All were extricated, however, and those who were wounded carried away.
The entrance was cleared, steps constructed again, and the work carried
on as usual. "D" company lost its commander again, for Lieut. Morten was
hit, and this left Lieut. Gresty in charge.
Evening again brought a welcome respite, and it was decided to minimise
casualties by reducing the garrisons of the front trenches, for by now a
sort of trench had been made and a little wire had been put out in front
the previous night. One platoon per company was taken out and sent back,
where they were placed under the command of Col. Blatherwick of the 5th,
who remained in brigade support. Daylight of March 28th brought a
resumption of the enemy effort at least to straighten his line and
masses of Huns could be seen gradually collecting in the Nisson huts. In
the previous days the 18-pounders had kept this spot under fire, but
Col. Bromfield decided to call for howitzer assistance to smash down the
earth walls round the huts, a plan which met with great success. Our
shells dropped plumb amongst them, and Huns could be seen dashing about
in all directions in search of more effective cover. Our shrapnel
barrage had been considerably improved also, and the moment the enemy
left their positions it promptly came down and drove them to earth
again. The 7th were worn out, and the men were losing their spruce
appearance, but rifles and L.G's. were kept clean, and amidst the
terrific shelling of that day they asked for nothing better than that
Jerry would try to come across to give them an opportunity for revenge.
The enemy's guns had increased in number, chiefly the heavy variety, and
it was now his obvious intention to blow us off the ridge. The heavy
pounding never ceased. Many gallant deeds were performed by runners,
stretcher-bearers and ammunition-carrying-platoons through this inferno.
Lieut. Bagshaw was awarded the M.C. for his work in leading ammunition
fatigues, but the supreme decoration of all--the seal of death--came to
a large number of the Fleur-de-lys. Amongst the officers--Capt. Tinker,
Lieut. Walter Thorp and Lieut. Ludlam were killed outright, while
Lieuts. Woods and McLaine were mortally wounded.
After a final effort in the late afternoon to advance against our
positions in a line of small sections, which was met with the usual
devastating fire, the enemy gave it up and occupied the remaining hours
of daylight with fierce shelling. Our heavy artillery had at last
returned and got to work and their shelling began to have effect, for it
was noticeable that the Boche shells were now arriving from a greater
distance than formerly. The 6th had an exciting episode that day. A
party of courageous Germans, led by an officer, had pushed forward and
were throwing bombs amongst them. Lieut. Mall decided this must be
stopped, and he led one platoon over in a short sharp charge. Fifteen
Huns were bayonetted, and Mall returned triumphantly with the officer
and one man as prisoners. They proved to be Jaegers, and although the
officer told us nothing the man was very voluble. It was some comfort to
find that of one fresh battalion that had entered Ablainzevelle, about
forty only remained. A couple of packets of Woodbines were found in the
pockets of the officer--loot from the canteen at Achiet-le-Grand. The
soldier told us that this form of German enterprise was reserved for the
officers.
This day, March 28th, marked the end of the heavy fighting. The German
thrust had been checked, and the effort to reach the Coast had failed. A
glance at the map will show that, had the advance continued here the
Arras position would have been seriously threatened, and the Germans
would have been well on their way to Abbeville and the Channel Ports.
That night the 7th were overjoyed to hear that they were to be relieved.
The L.F's. took over the brigade sector, but the relief had been ordered
so suddenly that there was no time for reconnaissance, with the result
that it was almost dawn before the last platoon of the battalion had
struggled over the crest line to the old system of trenches 1,500 yards
further back in dead ground. Heavy rain, during the evening had
converted these neglected trenches into veritable ditches of mud. A few
cubby holes had been constructed by the previous occupants, and filled
with mud though they were, our men dropped into them and fell fast
asleep. It was the first undisturbed sleep they had had for nearly a
week, a period which had seemed more like a month. During the afternoon
the battalion received orders to furnish a billeting party which had to
proceed to Gommecourt. Billeting--this was indeed bliss. They received a
rude shock on arrival however to find that the word was a misnomer. We
were to relieve the 15th Hampshires of the 41st division, who had just
been hurried back from Italy. They occupied trenches on the edge of
Gommecourt village in support to the front line, which was only about
400 yards away. The astonishment of the battalion on arrival about 3
a.m., on March 30th, when they found the nature of their new
headquarters, can be easily imagined. They were indeed "fed up"--back to
the old game, mucking about in a muddy trench, keeping a keen look-out
when on sentry (for owing to a gap in the front line a portion of our
position virtually was front line), and still shell dodging. We were
also becoming rather disreputable for the weather had broken, and mud
became the ruling element. In this manner, Easter Sunday was spent. But
there were cheering rumours about going back for recuperation, and these
kept our spirits up.
April 1st--All Fools Day--we might have known. The brigade went back to
the old spot and thus settled all rumours for the present. Our work was
not yet done. The 7th went to the support trenches they had recently
vacated, but the 41st divisional R.E's. had been busy upon them during
our absence, and a few habitable bivvies had been made. The 5th and 6th
were further back behind Essarts. The Hun had converted Essarts into a
perfect hell, and at irregular intervals he subjected it to tremendous
bombardments with his largest guns, particularly during the night. Our
transport knew something about this, for their road passed through the
village when bringing up rations at night. In this connection Lieut.
Wilkinson distinguished himself by the courageous manner in which he
got his column through during the most anxious moments. His job at this
time was not an enviable one, but we could always rely upon his arrival
each evening, very seldom late, with his store of rations, water, rum
and bundle of letters. After three days in reserve the brigade took over
the front line, in practically the same position as before, but there
had been a readjustment of divisional boundaries, so that we were now on
the left, while the 125th brigade were on the right, and their line ran
in front of Bucquoy. The 7th were in support at first, so we only moved
about 400 yards to trenches vacated by the 8th Manchesters.
At dawn on April 5th the Hun commenced to send over thousands of gas
shells in the direction of Essarts. It was a dull, misty
morning--perfect conditions for this form of devilry--and we could hear
the brutes whistling and whining over our heads for more than three
hours. The intention was, of course, to silence our guns, and the object
of this was to make an attack upon Bucquoy all the easier. He came over
at the L.F's. and there was heavy fighting all the morning, but he did
not progress much. The 8th L.F's. suffered severely, losing all their
officers, including Lt.-Col. Davies (previously of the 6th Manchesters),
who was killed. The enemy's intention had been to take the village and
push on with a view to straightening the line, but he only captured the
eastern portion of the village, and that only after very heavy losses.
Similar progress had previously been made against the division on the
right, and this made the L.F. situation impossible. We afterwards learnt
that a large number of gas casualties had gone down from the Essarts
district. In their solicitude during the bitterest days the division had
called upon the battle surplus of each unit, and had made a composite
battalion of them to act in reserve amongst the trenches N.E. of
Gommecourt. These people, as well as the gunners, came in for the gas
shelling, and it was very disappointing to hear of our own men, like
C.S.M. Shields, Sgt. Tabbron, etc., who had been left behind as battle
surplus, going down gassed. Fortunately, most of them rejoined the
battalion later. During this day's fighting some L.F's. were staggered
to find an old French woman in a cellar in Bucquoy, and they had the
utmost difficulty in persuading her to leave her "home." That was her
abode and she was prepared to live in it whatever the conditions.
The next few days resulted in a complete victory for mud. Rain
continued, and work as we would the conditions could not be conquered.
Men stood in it, and when they could, slept in it. To move about meant
wading through it, in places up to the thighs, and this was steadily
wearing out the last flicker of humanity and grit in our men. Casualties
were also increasing. Lieut. Bateman was wounded in Essarts whilst on
his way back to the battalion from a Course, and in "B" company 2nd-Lt.
Woodworth was hit. Eventually we relieved the 5th in the front line near
Ablainzevelle, where we found the trenches in an even worse condition,
if that were possible. Real joy possessed our souls, although it is
doubtful whether at the time we were capable of appreciating it, when
the news was definite that the division was to go right out for a rest.
On the night of April 7th, the 2nd 7th West Ridings (62nd division) came
up and relieved us, and the Fleur de Lys set their faces joyfully to the
west and marched off in good spirits, although with exhausted bodies,
conscious of having done their duty in stopping the mad rush of the
Huns.