WINTER ON THE PASSCHENDAELE RIDGE.
(_a_) Molenaarelsthoek and Keerselaarhoek.
The battle for the Passchendaele Ridge was still raging when the
Battalion returned to the neighbourhood of Ypres in November. To
the south of the Zonnebeke Road the crest of the ridge was almost
everywhere in British hands, but round the village of Passchendaele
itself heavy fighting was to continue into December. The Battalion was
not destined to carry out any further attacks; its role was the far
more tedious, and almost equally difficult one of assisting to hold the
ground which had been gained.
Ten days were spent in hutment camps at the back of Ypres. Winter was
setting in and off the gridded walks, which ran round the huts, the
camping areas were simply wastes of foul mud. About 200 men were found
daily for work on light railways in the district. While the Battalion
was encamped there news was received that the Commanding Officer had
been awarded a Bar to his Distinguished Service Order, for good work
during the attack on the Belle Vue Spur, and the occasion was suitably
celebrated. Capt. W. C. Fenton, M.C., who had recovered from his wound,
rejoined the Battalion here. About this time the allotment of leave
improved considerably, so much so that, at the end of November, no less
than 150 all ranks were away from the Battalion for that reason.
About the middle of November Lieut.-Col. R. E. Sugden, D.S.O., assumed
temporary command of the 147th Infantry Brigade, during the absence of
the G.O.C. on leave. As soon as the Brigadier returned, he went on a
month’s leave himself, so that Major A. L. Mowat, M.C., was in command
of the Battalion until the latter part of January. On November 19th
the 147th Infantry Brigade took over the defence of the Broodseinde
Sector, and the Battalion moved up into brigade right support on Anzac
Ridge. Accommodation in this position was particularly poor. The
tiniest of pill-boxes was all that was available for Battalion H.Q.,
and the same table had to serve for meals and office work by day, and
as a bed for all H.Q. officers by night. On the night the Battalion
took over, some gas shells burst just outside the shelters occupied by
H.Q. details. C.S.M. A. Day, of A Company, who was Acting R.S.M., all
the runners, and several others were so severely gassed that they had
to be evacuated. A number of Battalion scouts, who had been left out of
the line for training, had to be sent for to act as runners.
Four days later the Battalion relieved the 1/6th Battalion Duke of
Wellington’s Regt. in the Molenaarelsthoek Sector, which extended
from opposite Justice Wood to about Flinte Wood. The relief was a
stormy one. The tracks were heavily shelled and one platoon had eight
casualties going into the line. The front was rather a long one and
required three companies in the line. As it lay on the forward slope
of the Broodseinde Ridge, which was under observation from the Keiberg
Spur opposite, no movement was allowed by day. Accommodation was poor
and there were no continuous trenches. At night much work was done,
joining up front line posts, constructing supporting posts to the
west of the ridge, digging a defensive communication trench on the
right, and wiring. The influence of the battle further north made the
front a lively one. Army barrages were continually being put down in
the vicinity, in an endeavour to distract the enemy’s attention from
the real point of attack. Judging from the Battalion’s experiences,
these had a fair amount of success, for the enemy artillery was
very active; frequently parts of the line were heavily shelled, and
barrages on No Man’s Land during the night were common. These latter
greatly interfered with the work of patrols, which were out nightly.
Fortunately, casualties were not heavy; but it was during this tour
that Sec.-Lieut. J. S. Watson, a most promising young officer of B
Company, was killed.
The Battalion transport too had a very rough time. The enemy was doing
a great deal of back area shelling, and night after night the ration
convoys had to pass through it. During this tour the transport lost
the first of its number killed in action. But all ranks behaved with
great gallantry, and, in spite of casualties to men and animals,
rations were invariably delivered nightly.
There is no doubt that, by this time, the enemy had settled down to a
defensive policy for the winter. The collapse of Russia had come too
late to prevent the British gaining the Passchendaele Ridge, though
German reinforcements from the Eastern Front had made that task far
more difficult. For the next few months the enemy was content to leave
things as they were, and quietly to perfect his plans for a great
offensive the following spring.
On November 27th the Battalion was relieved by the 1/5th Battalion
King’s Own Yorkshire Light Infantry, and, after a night spent near
Gordon House, moved to Vancouver Camp The day after its arrival Capt.
H. Hanson, O.C. D Company, was so seriously wounded by a shell, just
outside Vlamertinghe, that he died two days later in hospital. His
death was a great blow to everyone. He was one of those men whom no one
can help liking, possessing a most equable temper, and, though unsuited
by age to the rigours of trench warfare, always trying to remain
cheerful and to make the best of things. Sec.-Lieut. P. Donkersley was
also severely wounded by the same shell.
In the next camp was a New Zealand Cyclist Battalion against whom
a very vigorous “rugger” match was played. The result was one
casualty--Sec.-Lieut. F. Irish with a dislocated elbow--and a win for
the Battalion by two tries to a try. Little training was possible for,
a few days after arrival at the camp, practically every available man
was moved to Lancer Camp, near Potijze, for working parties. Little
more than Battalion H.Q. remained at Vancouver Camp. Three days later
the Battalion was again concentrated in Dragoon Camp, and the next
night took over the Keerselaarhoek Sector from the 4th Battalion
Suffolk Regt. (33rd Division).
This sector deserves more than a passing mention as it was one of the
worst, if not the worst, ever held by the Battalion. The usual route
to the line lay along a gridded track which seemed endless to the
weary and heavily-laden soldier. The track was far from “healthy,”
particularly where it wound round Abraham Heights; at this point
several casualties were suffered by the advanced party, when the
Battalion was first taking over the sector. But it was after Seine
that the real trouble began. Just beyond that point the grids came to
an end,[13] and for the rest of the way, over a mile in distance even
if a direct line were followed, the troops simply wallowed among mud
and shell holes, appalling even in that country. The front line posts
were on either side of the Ypres-Roulers Railway, and their condition
beggars description. Originally shell holes, attempts had been made to
improve them by digging; but so water-logged was the ground that all
excavations filled with water almost at once, while the sides caved in
as quickly as they were dug out. To the south of the railway another
difficulty presented itself; as often as digging was started anywhere,
dead bodies, in a state of decomposition, were uncovered, and the hole
had to be filled in quickly. It was extremely difficult to get R.E.
material up to the front line at all. Owing to enemy observation no
movement was possible by day, and the nights were so black, and usually
wet, that a man could hardly see a yard in front of him. The man who
had carried up one trench grid or revetting frame from Battalion
H.Q. to the front line, had done a really hard night’s work. The
Ypres-Roulers Railway, which ran through a deep cutting and should have
been an easy and direct route to the line, was absolutely impassable
owing to the thick mud which covered it. No fires could be lit, and the
only hot food or drink that could ever be obtained was that heated over
Tommy’s cookers. In short, the state of discomfort and misery in which
the men lived had never been equalled in the history of the Battalion,
except possibly in those ghastly days on the extreme left sector in
December, 1915. An American officer, who was attached to the Battalion
at this time, expressed amazement that men could exist at all under
such conditions.
The front system was held by two companies, one on each side of
the railway. A third company was in support round Hillside Farm, a
prominent pill-box just below the crest on the west side of the ridge.
The other company was in reserve in a number of shelters not far from
Tyne Cottage. Battalion H.Q. was near Seine.
Fortunately the enemy was not very active on this front. His artillery
made good practice on and around the village of Passchendaele, a little
further to the north, but comparatively little attention was paid to
the Keerselaarhoek Sector. Probably he realised that an attack there
was practically impossible for either side. Patrols which pushed out in
the direction of Tiber Copse and along the Railway reported the ground
impassable; sheets of water covered much of No Man’s Land, and where
there was no water the mud was almost bottomless. The only route by
which the opposing forces could come in contact was in the direction
of Assyria, on the Keiberg Spur, and even there the ground was in an
appalling condition. Only in the event of hard frost would an attack
be possible anywhere. So, apart from harassing fire, there was little
activity.
Three days were considered a long enough spell for any troops to hold
that line, so, on the night of December 10/11th, the 1/5th Battalion
Duke of Wellington’s Regt. came up to relieve, and the Battalion
returned to Dragoon Camp. It was not much of a rest. The camp was,
on the whole, comfortable, considering that it was to the east of
Ypres. But nearly every man was required for working parties daily,
and these were often in badly shelled areas. Rather to the surprise of
everyone, the Battalion remained at Dragoon Camp for five days. The
1/5th Battalion had asked and been allowed to remain in the line for an
extra two days, preferring to do this rather than have the fatigue and
discomfort of going out and then coming in again for another tour. But
every man was heartily sick of it by the time his five days were over.
One point in connection with the relief is worthy of note. The
advantages of the Zonnebeke Road, as a route to the line, had been
so much praised by one officer of the Battalion that the Commanding
Officer determined to try it. All went well until he was nearing
Zonnebeke, and then, without any warning, a 5.9 burst in the middle of
the road about seventy yards away. It was almost immediately followed
by a second, which burst within ten yards of the party, luckily just
off the road. That was enough! With one accord everyone made off
straight across country as fast as he could go. This was not very fast,
for all were heavily laden and often sank up to the knees in mud. But
they got away from the road, over country which no one would have
dreamed of attempting in ordinary circumstances. And none of them ever
tried the Zonnebeke Road again.
Little need be said of the second tour in this sector except that it
only lasted 48 hours. If such a thing were possible, the conditions
were even worse than before. Some snow fell during the tour, but
it melted almost as it fell and simply helped to make things more
miserable. When the 1/7th Battalion West Yorkshire Regt. came in to
relieve, it was with the greatest joy that the Battalion bade farewell
to the Keerselaarhoek Sector.
The next rest period was spent at Halifax Camp, which adjoined
Vancouver Camp. About this time the weather changed and bright days,
with hard frost, supplanted the constant rain which had helped to make
things so miserable of late. Though much colder, the change in the
weather was a great improvement. On December 23rd, when the time came
for another tour in the front line, the Battalion was taken up in the
morning by broad gauge railway as far as Hellfire Corner, and halted
there until the middle of the afternoon. Cook kitchens had been brought
up to this point and hot dinners were served before the men started
again. Shortly before dusk the Battalion marched off, via Mole and
Jabber Tracks, to the Molenaarelsthoek Sector, where it relieved the
1/5th Battalion King’s Own Yorkshire Light Infantry.
Since the Battalion had held this part of the line a month before,
the length of the front had been reduced by the New Zealanders taking
over part on the right flank. It was now only necessary to have two
companies in the front line. Of the other two, one garrisoned a line
of posts on the western slope of the ridge, and the other lived in
shelters and pill-boxes near Battalion H.Q. Companies inter-relieved
after three days in the front line.
This tour was the pleasantest the Battalion had on the Passchendaele
Ridge. The frost, which continued throughout, had made the ground
everywhere passable. Though colder, it was quite dry, and so far more
comfortable than the damp had been. Snow covered the ground, but not to
any great depth. Except for some further snow occasionally, the weather
was bright. The nights were wonderful. The moon was at the full, and,
assisted by the reflection from the snow, the light was so bright at
midnight that observers on the crest of the ridge were able to use
ordinary glasses for observing the Keiberg Spur, more than 2,000 yards
away. The days were often misty, which made it possible to move about
freely to the east of the ridge where, before, all movement had been
forbidden in daylight.
Advantage was taken of the bright nights to do a great deal of work.
Much wire was put out in front, posts were improved and shelters
built therein, and a lot of work was done on the support posts west
of the ridge. Since the Battalion had last occupied the sector, two
communication trenches had been cut through the ridge nearly up to
the front line, and these made movement both safer and easier. Enemy
artillery was not very active, and, with one important exception, most
of the shelling was very scattered. It was one of these scattered
shells that wounded Capt. E. V. Blakey, M.C., and C.S.M. J. Parkinson,
as they were going the round of their company posts in the support
line. The exception was a small but prominent pill-box on the crest of
the ridge, which the Battalion used as an observation post, and the
enemy apparently as a registration point. Fortunately this pill-box
was very strong and had a cellar, to which the observers retired when
things became too lively. The nearest enemy posts were a long way off;
indeed, later information goes to show that the nearest post was at
least a thousand yards east of Celtic Wood.
Christmas Day, for the first and only time during the war, was spent by
the Battalion in the front line. In the circumstances, little could be
done to celebrate the occasion. Messages of goodwill were telephoned
to the Brigadier and the Divisional Commander. One Company Commander,
after laboriously putting a message of seasonable greetings into B.A.B.
code, sent it over the wire to another company. The O.C. that company,
delighted with his success in deciphering the first few letters of it,
repeated it to Battalion H.Q. and to the remaining companies, in his
own name. Rumour has it that one company, not very expert in B.A.B.
code, spent a dreadful night wondering what operation was to take
place; perhaps the mistakes which had been made in encoding the message
accounted for the inability of these officers to read it. Many visitors
called at Battalion H.Q. and visits were exchanged with the 1/6th
Battalion Duke of Wellington’s Regt., which was holding the sector on
the left. Apart from a present of shells, despatched to the enemy on
the stroke of midnight, there was little activity on either side.
The nights were so bright, and movement over the snow visible at so
great a distance, that special white overalls were worn by men when
patrolling. Unfortunately, no change was made in the colour of the
equipment which had to be worn over them. The result was that, though
the men of a patrol were practically invisible at no great distance,
sets of equipment could be seen moving about in No Man’s Land. There
was much patrol activity on both sides, rendered necessary by the
hard frost which had made No Man’s Land easily passable. There is
also no doubt that the enemy was as anxious to secure identification
as the British were. So patrols, both defensive and offensive, were
out practically the whole of every night. On the night of December
23rd/24th Sec.-Lieut. J. W. Lumb, while reconnoitring in the
neighbourhood of Flinte Farm, narrowly escaped being surrounded by a
large enemy patrol. After that, nothing further was seen of the enemy
in No Man’s Land for several nights. About 11-0 p.m. on December 28th,
a small defensive patrol of one N.C.O. (Cpl. Aspin) and three men left
the right company front. They had not been out very long, and were
near the north-west corner of Celtic Wood, when they saw a party,
about twenty strong, moving towards them along the northern edge of
the wood. At first they believed this to be a New Zealand patrol from
the battalion on the right, but soon they found it was a party of the
enemy. All were clad in long white coats and a few were wearing belts
filled with bombs; most were armed with revolvers. The German party
tried to surround the small British patrol, and succeeded in cutting
off one man and capturing him. The other three broke through the cordon
and made for their own line, with the enemy in pursuit. On reaching
the wire there was a scuffle in which one man was killed, but Cpl.
Aspin and the other succeeded in forcing their way through the wire
and gaining one of their own posts. The garrison of this post, warned
by the noise, was standing to, but had hesitated to fire for fear of
hitting its own men. It now opened a heavy fire with Lewis guns and
rifles, and the enemy immediately made off. As soon as one could be
organised, a strong fighting patrol was sent out; but the enemy had
disappeared. It is probable that the German party was on its way to
raid the British line and that the patrol had served its object, though
it had been unfortunate enough to lose one man killed and another
captured. This mishap was undoubtedly due to the carelessness which had
developed owing to previous immunity, and was a salutary lesson to many
in the Battalion.
The next night the Battalion was relieved and went back into Brigade
Reserve. The relief did not pass off without casualties. A shell
exploded among a party of H.Q. scouts, as they were crossing the
Hanebeek Valley on their way to Westhoek Ridge, killing one and
wounding six. In Brigade Reserve the Battalion was very scattered,
dispositions being as follows:--
Battn. H.Q.: Garter Point.
A Company: Tokio.
B Company: Westhoek Ridge.
C Company: Tunnels near Moulin Farm.
D Company: Distributed between Anzac Ridge, Tokio and Retaliation
Farm.
About this time the lessons learned in the recent battle of Cambrai
were beginning to take effect, and an elaborate system of defensive
lines was in course of construction in the Ypres Salient. While in
Brigade Reserve, all men were kept hard at work on these rear lines
of defence, and on tunnels which were being made near Moulin Farm.
The birth of the New Year passed almost unnoticed at Garter Point. On
January 4th, 1918, the Battalion was relieved by the 1/8th Battalion
West Yorkshire Regt. and moved to Infantry Barracks, Ypres. Several
casualties were suffered during the relief. So ended the first period
of the Battalion’s defence of the Passchendaele Ridge.
[Illustration: THE YPRES SALIENT, WINTER, 1917–18.]
(_b_) Work and Training.
In pre-war days Infantry Barracks had been one of the permanent
barracks of the Belgian Army. It must have been rather a bleak
building, but it had been built on such solid lines that, in spite of
heavy shelling, parts of it were still habitable. It was not an ideal
billet for troops to occupy in January, being extremely draughty.
Several of the rooms had been fitted up with wire beds and there was
ample accommodation for the whole Battalion. There was also quite a
good little concert room on the premises. During the time the Battalion
was at Infantry Barracks it was engaged in work on the Corps Line,
particulars of which are given later.
After four days, the Battalion was relieved by the 2/6th Battalion
Lancashire Fusiliers (66th Division), and moved back to Devonshire
Camp, between Busseboom and Ouderdom. This camp was in very poor
condition and had actually been condemned some time previously. But
the number of troops in the Ypres Salient was so great that its use
could not be dispensed with. The weather had again turned to rain and
the huts leaked badly. At Devonshire Camp the 147th Infantry Brigade
Concert Party--the “Ducks”--began its activities. The Battalion
contributed several performers, chief amongst whom was the “low
comedian,” commonly known as “Jenks.”
While at Infantry Barracks and Devonshire Camp, nearly all available
men were working on the Corps Line. This was part of the new defensive
system which was being constructed all over the Ypres Salient, and
consisted of a line of strongly fortified posts on the Westhoek Ridge.
Three of these were allotted to the Battalion, which re-allotted them
to companies as follows:--
Frezenberg Post: D Company.
Kit and Kat Post: A and B Companies.
Sexton Post: C Company.
By this means, the same company always worked at the same post, and
soon men began to take a great pride in making their particular post
better than anyone else’s. The work was very hard. Sixty men per
company were sent up daily; the company commanders took turns in
charge of the party; and either the Commanding Officer or the Second
in Command went up daily. The men had to rise long before daybreak in
order to get breakfast and catch the train at Brandhoek Station. At
first they marched to the station, but, shortly before the Battalion
left Devonshire Camp, the system of conveying them by motor bus was
started. The train took them as far as Hellfire Corner, from which
point they marched up to their work. Only haversack rations were
taken, but tea was made on the spot. Hot dinners were ready on their
return to camp, which was not until fairly late in the afternoon. The
working parties were occasionally troubled by enemy shelling and on one
occasion C Company suffered casualties. Most men were ready for bed
very early in those days.
The divisional arrangement was that one Infantry Brigade should remain
up near Ypres for this work, while the other two were back for rest and
training. The 147th Infantry Brigade had been the first for work. On
January 26th the 148th Infantry Brigade came up to take over the work
and the Battalion, which had already done its day’s work on the Corps
Line, moved by train direct from Hellfire Corner to Caestre, whence it
marched to the billets that awaited it at St. Sylvestre Cappel. Here it
remained, except for a few days spent on the rifle ranges near Moulle,
for nearly a month.
Only the billets occupied by Battalion H.Q. and the officers of C
Company were in the village itself. All the rest were in scattered
houses and farm-buildings, some well over a mile away. But the billets
were comfortable, and the troops found the French inhabitants well
disposed towards them. Many still look back on the time spent there
as one of their happiest times in France. Training was entirely
by companies; the men were too scattered, and there was no ground
available, for Battalion training. Much of the training was in
connection with a divisional competition scheme, but the Battalion was
very unlucky in its results. As companies were so scattered they kept
mostly to themselves, and there was little opportunity to organise
social functions. Towards the end of the stay, a highly successful
“convivial” was held by the warrant officers and sergeants at the
“Brown Cow” in the village. Most of the officers were present, and,
among them, Capt. Allen, V.C., M.C., particularly distinguished himself.
In January a big reorganisation of the British Expeditionary Force took
place, the strength of each Infantry Brigade being reduced to three
battalions. In the 147th Infantry Brigade the 1/5th Battalion Duke of
Wellington’s Regt. was broken up, and a draft of 10 officers and 250
other ranks was posted to the Battalion from it, late in January. A
few days later, a further draft of two officers and about 80 other
ranks arrived from the 8th Battalion Duke of Wellington’s Regt. (11th
Division), which had also been dissolved. These reinforcements brought
the Battalion to full strength again, for the first time since the
beginning of August, 1917. Both the officers and men of these drafts
quickly settled down, and many of them soon rendered very valuable
services to their new battalion. It has always been a matter of pride
in the Battalion that new officers and men, from wherever they came,
were quickly assimilated, and in a short time regarded the Battalion as
their own.
Early in February the Battalion moved by train to Moulle for four days’
shooting. All day was spent on the Second Army ranges, and the training
culminated in a big Battalion field practice. A special “bullet and
bayonet” competition was held there for the best platoon from each
company in the 147th Infantry Brigade, and this the Battalion was very
unlucky to lose. D Company’s platoon was at first placed top, but
afterwards was defeated when it had to compete again against the best
platoon of the 1/7th Battalion Duke of Wellington’s Regt. In spite of
rather unsettled weather, the time at Moulle passed very pleasantly,
musketry at long ranges being quite new to the Battalion since it came
to France. At the end of the time, the return to St. Sylvestre Cappel
was made by road, two days being taken on the journey.
On February 20th the G.O.C., XXII. Corps (the new title of the old “2nd
Anzac Corps”) inspected the Battalion at training. Great preparations
were made for his arrival and a scout, posted at a useful point of
observation along the road, gave early warning of his approach. His
entry upon the training field was greeted with a volley of rifle
grenades (not at him); Lewis guns and rifles opened rapid fire on the
miniature rifle range, the marksmen all being arrayed in small box
respirators; while a platoon, with many lurid epithets and a most
unusual amount of energy, attacked a row of sacks with the bayonet. It
is hoped that the G.O.C. was suitably impressed. At any rate he ought
to have been. But his only comment after this great display of the
Battalion’s offensive spirit was “How are the men’s boots?” Later in
the day he presented medal ribbons, at a ceremonial parade, to a number
of officers and other ranks of the 147th Infantry Brigade.
This was the end of the Battalion’s period of rest. The next day it
marched to Caestre, entrained there for Ypres, and spent the night at
Infantry Barracks. A very strenuous time was in store for it, and much
was to happen, ere it went back into rest again.
(_c_) Reutel Sector.
This was the first time the 49th Division had held a part of the
front line since the strength of a brigade had been reduced to three
battalions, and naturally, defence schemes and systems of relief
required revision. The Divisional Sector was divided into two Brigade
Sectors; the left, which was much the narrower front, was held always
by the 146th Infantry Brigade with only one battalion in the front
line at a time. On the right, the 147th and 148th Infantry Brigades
inter-relieved every eight days. Here, all three battalions of the
brigade held sub-sectors of the front line. The Reutel Sector, which
was on the extreme right of the Division, abutting on the 33rd
Division, was allotted to the Battalion, which, throughout the time it
was there, inter-relieved with the 1/5th Battalion York and Lancs. Regt.
When in Divisional Reserve, the Battalion usually lived at Maida Camp,
near Belgian Chateau. To reach the Reutel Sector the men were taken
by light railway trains as far as Birr Cross Roads, and from thence
marched straight up the Menin Road as far as Hooge Crater. At this
point they bore to the left, through the desolate remnants of Chateau
Wood, and then moved along Jargon Track to the vicinity of Polygon
Butte; companies then followed separate routes to their respective
positions. Although this route had its fair share of shelling, the
Battalion was generally fortunate in its reliefs.
The front line was rather over a thousand yards in length, and the
sector was held as follows:--
Front Line: Two Companies, each having two platoons in the front
line, one in the support line, and one available for immediate
counter-attack. The front line was the main line of defence.
Support Company: One platoon in Patu Support and the remainder
of the Company in the reserve line near Battalion H.Q. In the
event of enemy attack the whole company was to move up into Patu
Support.
Reserve Company: In pill-boxes and dugouts to the north of the
Polygon de Zonnebeke. In the event of enemy attack this company
was to move up into the reserve line, vacated by the support
company.
Battalion H.Q. was in a pill-box about two hundred yards from the
Butte. Inter-company reliefs were carried out in the middle of each
tour.
The sector was one of the most varied and interesting that the
Battalion had ever occupied. It was taken over from the 1st Battalion
Otago Regt. (New Zealand Division) on February 22nd. This division
had occupied it for a long while and had done an extraordinary amount
of work there. Like all the sectors on the Passchendaele Ridge, it
was very wet, and the Battalion found it quite impossible to drain
certain parts of the trench system, particularly Plumer Trench, the
communication trench on the left. Except for one gap in the middle,
where all attempts to get the water away had failed, there was
continuous communication along the front line. This line had been well
and deeply dug, and was well provided with fire bays, shelters, and all
the necessary provisions for trench life. The right rested upon the
valley of the Polygonbeke which, like all streams in the district, was
an impassable morass. The centre ran through the ruins of the village
of Reutel, whose existence would probably have been overlooked had not
the trenches in places been cut through the actual foundations of the
houses. Near the centre of the front line, the parapet had been built
over the village well; this provided the water supply for both front
line companies. There had once been a continuous support line, but the
centre was now derelict, and only the two flanks were occupied. Each
Company H.Q. was comfortably housed in a pill-box which gave practical
immunity from shell fire. The front line faced roughly south-east, the
ground, except on the extreme left, falling away to the Reutelbeke. On
the left a spur ran out from the main ridge, near the point of which
had been the village of Becelaere, now marked only by some prominent
pill-boxes.
Behind the front system of defences lay Jetty Warren, once a tributary
of the Polygonbeke, but now a filthy, noisome and impassable quagmire.
It was crossed in two[14] places by gridded bridges, and these were
the only means of communication with the front line, except a very
roundabout route through the area of the next battalion. This fact
was well known to the enemy, who swept them with machine gun fire at
frequent intervals during the night. On the forward slope of the hill,
overlooking Jetty Warren, was Patu Support Line, a well-constructed
fire trench but rather short of accommodation for men. About five
hundred yards further back lay the reserve line and Battalion H.Q., the
latter in a small but very strong pill-box, the chief drawback to which
was the lowness of the roof. When the Battalion first took over the
sector all communication with the front line companies was across the
open; but before it left a good communication trench had been dug from
Patu Support to the right company H.Q., and a second had been started
from the reserve line to Patu Support.
The main feature of the country-side was Polygon Butte, popularly
supposed to be the ruins of the race course stand. This stood out so
prominently that it naturally became a registration point for the enemy
artillery, and people did not generally linger near it. Here Capt. A.
J. Robb, of D Company, was wounded, when returning from his inspection
of the line before the Battalion took over.
All the ground behind Jetty Warren was overlooked from Polderhoek
Chateau. That commanding position lay about 1,000 yards due north of
Gheluvelt and an equal distance from the Battalion’s right. It had been
the scene of terrific fighting the previous autumn and had changed
hands more than once; but finally the enemy had kept possession of it.
From the Reutel Sector nothing but a great pill-box could be seen. This
was a favourite mark for the British artillery. Guns of the heaviest
calibre were constantly firing at it, and sometimes splinters from the
explosions were hurled right into the Battalion’s lines. Attempts were
even made to smash it in with 12-inch “duds.” But apparently no serious
damage was done to it. Occasionally enemy snipers from that position
fired on men moving to and fro between Patu Support and the Butte; but
the range was too great for this to be really dangerous.
Like all sectors which had been occupied by the New Zealanders, the
Reutel Sector was a very active one. It was not so much the hostile
artillery. This was certainly not quiet, especially round the Butte,
on Patu Support, and near the well in the front line. But most of the
activity came from the infantry. The Germans had posts much nearer the
British line than the Battalion had been used to of late. Although the
crest of the ridge was in British hands, the enemy had retained a hold
on the slope instead of withdrawing to the far side of the valley.
Some of his posts were only about a hundred yards from the British
line. When advanced parties from the Battalion first visited the line
they were surprised at the amount of firing which was going on; and
when the New Zealanders finally handed over they were most anxious
that their old front should be kept lively. The Battalion did its best
to oblige, and not without success. At night the amount of Lewis gun
and rifle fire was extraordinary. Capt. A. M. Luty was particularly
energetic in this respect, and C Company got through more ammunition
in a night than the average battalion in the line fired in a month.
The enemy retaliated with plenty of machine gun fire, sometimes making
it very uncomfortable for parties working on the top. Some patrolling
was done, but the enemy was so close, and his positions were so well
known, that this was not a very important feature. Most active of all
was the sniping by day. The enemy had no continuous line and he seemed
to take comparatively little trouble to hide himself. Men could be seen
at almost any hour of the day, and the front line garrisons became
tremendously keen on sniping. Not many hits were made, so far as is
known, but this caused no slackening of the fire. A low pill-box near
Juniper Wood, little more than a hundred yards from the British front
line and opposite to the right company, was the main centre of the
sniping. Here there was one little German who became very well-known
to everyone. He was bald-headed, and something of a sportsman. Many
men spent hours trying to snipe him, and he was only too ready to
retaliate. He fired over the top of the pill-box, but was careful not
to show himself too often in the same spot. A man watching for him
would see a rifle barrel slowly appear over the top, followed by a bald
head. Sometimes he might succeed in getting in a shot; at other times,
the bald head would disappear too quickly. Then the situation would be
reversed; the little German would be up first, and it would be the turn
of the Britisher to duck quickly. And so things went on day after day,
with little execution on either side, and “honours easy.”
The enemy made considerable use of vane bombs, and it was by one of
these that Sec.-Lieut. R. B. Atkinson was wounded. Stokes shells
were the ordinary form of retaliation. Gas shells too were used,
though in no great number, except in the neighbourhood of the Butte.
In this sector the Battalion first met with the enemy Blue Cross
Gas--comparatively harmless, but causing violent sneezing.
Needless to say, much work was done in the sector. The wire in No
Man’s Land was much improved, a good deal of revetting was done in the
front line, and great efforts were made to drain Plumer Trench, though
without much success. Most important was the work further back. This
was carried out under the supervision of Major E. Jackson, M.C., of the
458th Field Company, Royal Engineers, a very competent officer with
whom the Battalion was on excellent terms. It was under his direction
that the new communication trench was dug from Patu Support to the
Right Company H.Q.
The period too was one of fads which, though they sometimes irritated,
often provided a certain amount of amusement. Chief among these were
the “Silent Days,” and the wearing of small box respirators. At first
the term “silent day” was not very well understood. One company, it
is said, suspended all firing, and did not even retaliate when fired
upon. But the real purpose was to compel battalions to use means of
communication other than the telephone. For twenty-four hours the
use of the telephone, either for speaking or buzzing, was forbidden,
except in cases of emergency. So pigeons, power buzzers, Lucas lamps,
and all the other devices, which had formerly been looked upon as
things for signallers to learn but never to use, were pressed into
service. The increased use of the power buzzer and wireless speedily
showed up the ignorance of certain ciphers, which all officers were
supposed to be acquainted with. The wearing of small box respirators
was another fad, intended to familiarise all with their use. About
every other day, orders would be received that they were to be worn
continuously by all ranks during certain hours, and that work was to
be continued as if nothing unusual were happening. The practice was
mildly resented by some, who thought they had to wear them quite enough
when there actually was gas about, without being put to the discomfort
of wearing them needlessly. Elaborate precautions were taken to ensure
that everyone did wear them at the times stated, and there was unholy
delight in the Battalion when two Brigade runners were caught one day
not complying with the orders.
During the time the Battalion was holding the Reutel Sector the weather
was, on the whole, good. Though trench strength was high, accommodation
was not very crowded. All companies had their trench cook-houses, and
hot meals were as regular as if the Battalion had been in rest. The
transport men were having an easy time, for rations were brought up to
Crucifix Dump, not far from the Butte, by light railway. The Quarter
Masters of the Brigade took it in turns to come up in charge of the
ration train.
The first tour of duty in the Reutel Sector was not a specially
eventful one. On February 25th the enemy heavily shelled the front
line near the well, blowing in the parapet, causing several casualties,
and burying the garrison of a machine gun post. C.S.M. W. Brooke was
among the wounded. On this occasion Cpl. H. Kane, M.M., of D Company,
behaved with the greatest gallantry. Going to the assistance of the
buried men, he quietly set to work to dig them out, and succeeded in
doing this, in spite of the heavy bombardment which continued round
him, and the fact that he was in full view of an enemy pill-box only
about a hundred yards away. For this gallant act he was awarded the
Distinguished Conduct Medal. Early on the morning of February 28th a
heavy counter-preparation was put down in front of the line, the higher
commands fearing an enemy attack from the direction of Polderhoek
Chateau. Except for a certain amount of enemy retaliation, nothing
happened. Much attention was paid to the enemy pill-box in front of the
Right Company, which has already been mentioned. The Battalion had been
detailed to carry out a raid during its next tour, and this pill-box
had been selected as the objective.
On March 2nd the Battalion was relieved by the 1/5th Battalion York and
Lancs. Regt., and moved to Maida Camp. Here training was carried on as
well as possible, but was much hampered by lack of suitable ground. The
platoon which had been selected to carry out the raid was sent to the
147th Infantry Brigade School to train, as it was to be left out of
the line until the night before the raid. When the Battalion returned
to the line, after its six days’ rest, preparations for the raid were
completed. The plan was as follows:--
1. The objective was the enemy pill-box already described, which
lay rather more than a hundred yards from the line. To the right
of it lay an old British tank, stranded and abandoned in one of
the attacks of the previous autumn, and known to be occupied by
the enemy sometimes.
2. The raiding party was to consist of Sec.-Lieut. L. Gumby and
31 other ranks (one complete platoon) of D Company. Two men of
the 147th Light Trench Mortar Battery accompanied the party,
carrying with them short-fused Stokes mortar shells, to damage
the pill-box.
3. At zero hour (7-0 a.m.) the party was to advance in four
sections, one on each flank of the pill-box, one towards it, and
one towards the tank.
4. A creeping barrage was to cover the advance, while enemy
positions in the vicinity were to be engaged by artillery and
trench mortars.
Zero hour had been fixed after dawn as the broken nature of the ground
made an advance in the dark extremely difficult.
[Illustration: _Raid near Reutel._
13.3.18.]
On the evening of March 12th the raiding party came up by light
railway, and was accommodated with the reserve company for the night.
During the night final preparations were made; steps for each of the
four sections were cut in the parapet of the front line trench opposite
the pill-box, and four gaps were cut in the wire. By dawn on March
13th the whole party was assembled in the front line, waiting for the
barrage to open. There too was the Commanding Officer, in communication
with Battalion H.Q. by a telephone wire, laid specially for the
occasion.
At 7-0 a.m. the barrage opened, and the raiding party went over in line
of sections in file. From the start, the flanking sections went well
and reached their positions without difficulty; but the section under
the direct command of the platoon commander, whose special objective
was the pill-box, was delayed by the short firing of one of the barrage
guns. In the meantime, about twenty of the enemy got out of a trench
in rear of the pill-box and tried to escape. They were heavily fired
on by the flanking sections, and many were brought down. As soon as
the barrage lifted off the pill-box, two of the enemy mounted a light
machine gun on the top; but both were shot down before they could open
fire. By this time the centre section had got forward, worked round
the pill-box, and captured one or two prisoners in rear of it. The
pill-box itself was then attacked. A Mills bomb was inserted through a
loophole and a M.S.K. grenade was dropped down the ventilating shaft.
The latter immediately had its effect, about thirty Germans coming out
with their hands up. How so many had been able to crowd into so small a
space cannot be conceived. They were immediately directed to run across
to the British line, where now the greatest excitement prevailed;
everywhere men were standing on the parapet waving to them to come in.
A Stokes shell was thrown into the pill-box and then, about 7-20 a.m.,
the withdrawal was ordered. A few minutes later the raiding party, with
the exception of two dead near the pill-box and some wounded still in
No Man’s Land, was back in its own lines.
When the captures came to be totalled up it was found that there were
no less than 37 prisoners, and, in addition, three enemy machine guns
had been brought back by the raiding party. Among the prisoners was the
little bald-headed man, who had been the source of so much amusement to
the front line troops the previous tour. Also, many dead and wounded
were lying about round the pill-box, not counting a number who had
certainly been wounded in escaping to the rear. All this had been
accomplished by a total force of one officer and thirty-three other
ranks--less than the total number of prisoners--with a loss of only two
killed and eight wounded. Unfortunately, two of the wounded afterwards
died. The greatest loss to the Battalion was Cpl. H. Kane, D.C.M.,
M.M., who was severely wounded in the back and, after dragging on for
several weeks in hospital, died. He was one of the most gallant N.C.O’s
the Battalion ever had--the sort of man who would have won the Victoria
Cross had the chance come his way.
[Illustration: Major W. C. FENTON, M.C.]
[Illustration: Capt. N. T. FARRAR, M.C.]
[Illustration: Capt. A. KIRK, M.C.]
[Illustration: Capt. P. G. BALES, M.C.]
So great had been the success of the raid that, when the first estimate
of prisoners--30--was telephoned through to Brigade H.Q., they were
too sceptical to forward the news to the Division. When the prisoners
began to appear over the crest line, they were seen by some artillery
observers who, never dreaming that such success had been gained, sent
frantic messages through that the enemy was counter-attacking. When
this was denied they declared that they could see the enemy in crowds
coming down the hill.
But much still remained to be done. A number of wounded were lying
out in No Man’s Land and these had to be brought in. This business
was taken in hand by Major A. L. Mowat, M.C., who had gone up to the
line immediately the Commanding Officer returned. Some of the enemy
meanwhile had hoisted a white flag, and, under its protection which
had not been violated by the British, were collecting their wounded.
Seeing this, Major Mowat ordered a white flag to be put out, and
stretcher-bearers to go over and bring back the wounded. This was done
but, no sooner did they appear on the top of the parapet than every
enemy machine gun in the district opened fire on them. It was a typical
“Hun” trick--to make use of the white flag to collect their own wounded
and then to open fire at once when it was used by their opponents. The
flag was quickly hoisted down and fire was opened in retaliation. It
is unlikely that any man in the Battalion ever respected a German flag
again. In spite of this failure, it was not long before every wounded
man was brought in. Lce.-Cpl. A. Moon, of D Company, particularly
distinguished himself in this work. He had already done yeoman service
during the raid; though not himself one of the party, he had taken a
Lewis Gun out into No Man’s Land on his own initiative, and with it
had provided covering fire during both the advance and the withdrawal.
Now he twice went out, and on each occasion succeeded in bringing in a
wounded man. For these actions he afterwards received the Distinguished
Conduct Medal.
Later in the morning, a large party of the enemy was seen advancing
to reoccupy the empty pill-box. Attempts to bring artillery fire to
bear on them failed, but a heavy fire was opened with rifles and Lewis
guns. Eventually the enemy artillery put down a protective barrage,
under cover of which the Germans were able to rush forward and enter
the pill-box. Apart from artillery activity, the rest of the day passed
quietly, but during the night Patu Support was heavily shelled and
several men of B Company were killed or wounded.
Needless to say, the Battalion received many messages of congratulation
and commendation, for the raid had been one of the most successful on
record. The Commander-in-Chief sent his congratulations, an unusual
thing in connection with a minor operation, while the following wire
was received from Second Army H.Q.:--
“General Plumer was delighted on his arrival to hear of the
successful raid this morning of West Riding, 49th Division, and
wishes to convey his congratulations to all concerned.”
This was the first intimation the Battalion had that General Plumer
had returned from Italy. Perhaps the most delighted people, though
no message came from them officially, were the New Zealanders, who
realised that their wishes were being carried out and that their old
front had been left in good hands. For this operation, Sec.-Lieut. L.
Gumby was awarded the Military Cross, Sergt. H. Binns and Lance-Cpl.
R. A. Hudson the Distinguished Conduct Medal; Cpl. H. Kane, D.C.M.,
M.M., received a bar to his Military Medal, and eleven other ranks the
Military Medal.
The remainder of the tour was marked by a considerable increase in the
volume of enemy artillery fire. This was probably partly a result of
the raid, but it may also have been an attempt to pin British troops
to that area while the enemy concentrated for his attack elsewhere.
The areas chiefly affected were the usual ones, with the addition of
Peter Trench; this trench had been named after the Commanding Officer’s
youthful son, the father later expressing the hope that his son would
have better fortune than his trench had had.
On the night of March 17/18th a S.O.S. test was arranged which had a
rather amusing sequel. In order to ensure that S.O.S. signals should
be seen by the artillery if they were sent up, a chain of repeating
stations had been arranged. A S.O.S. sent up in the front line was
to be repeated from the left company H.Q., then from Battalion H.Q.,
and thence further back. To test the efficiency of this chain, green
Very lights were supplied by Brigade, and it was arranged that, at
9-0 p.m., two of these should be fired from the front line, and
repeated backwards as ordered. Everything went off well; the signals
were seen, promptly repeated and--down came an enemy barrage. Brigade
had overlooked the important point that a double green was the enemy
S.O.S. Capt. N. T. Farrar who, as O.C. Left Company, was responsible
for repeating the signal, in order not to give away the location of
his Company H.Q., had gone down to Jetty Warren to fire his lights.
Now Jetty Warren happened to be one of the enemy barrage lines, and
Capt. Farrar soon found matters so lively there that he decided to
run for it. As the scheme was only a test the British artillery was
not intended to fire, but frantic appeals for retaliation soon got
them going. Similar tests should have been carried out by the other
battalions of the Brigade later in the night, but these orders were
cancelled owing to the result of the first test.
On the night of March 18/19th the Battalion was relieved. Instead of
going back to Maida Camp, two companies moved to Westhoek Dugouts
and two to Railway Wood Dugouts on Cambridge Road. The relief was
much hampered by heavy gas shelling, but the Battalion escaped with
practically no casualties.
The period which followed was one of anxious expectation. For the
last month signs had been accumulating of the imminence of a great
enemy offensive. It was known that many of his best divisions had been
brought over from the Russian Front, and that his armies had never
been so strong in the West before. In the early months of the year
attack training had been carried out on an unusually large scale. And
now the information obtained from almost every prisoner pointed to a
great attack in the very near future. Every possible precaution had
been taken in the Second Army to meet an attack, should it come on that
front, and all were anxiously waiting for the enemy to make his first
move. One minor attack had been made on the 33rd Division north of the
Menin Road, about a fortnight before. But as the enemy had made no
further attempt there, it was probably only a “blind.”
On March 21st the storm broke, though far away to the south. Never
since stationary warfare had taken the place of movement, had a single
attack been made on so wide a front in the West. From the neighbourhood
of Arras to far south of St. Quentin, the whole front was ablaze. The
news which reached the Battalion during the first few days was brief,
but it was enough to make clear to everyone that practically the whole
force of the enemy’s offensive was directed against the British,
and that the situation was desperate to a degree. On March 24th the
Commander-in-Chief published his, now famous, Special Order of the Day;
and in forwarding it to Battalions the G.O.C., 49th Division, himself
issued an Order which is so characteristic of the man that it is worth
repeating in full:--
“In forwarding the attached copy of a Special Order of the Day
by Field Marshal Sir Douglas Haig, I wish to say at once that I
have complete confidence that the 49th (West Riding) Division
will acquit itself gloriously in whatever circumstances it may
be placed.
Remember that other Divisions elsewhere are at this moment
holding up splendidly the most strenuous efforts of the enemy to
force a decision.
Remember also that if we are called upon to fight here, we shall
be fighting on the historic ground where the ‘contemptible
little British Army’ fought and defeated the enemy’s first great
effort to destroy it in 1914. In that year we defeated him with
the rifle. With the rifle we can and will defeat him again--the
more thoroughly this time, as we have our wire to give our
rifles a better opportunity than they had in 1914.
Go on improving your wire, look carefully to your rifles,
Machine Guns, and Lewis Guns, and ammunition, exercise vigilance
every moment of the day, to see that every yard of your front is
watched and can be shot into. We can then beat off any attack.
So much for the defensive.
We must also be aggressive. Every front line company must
send out at least one fighting patrol every night to look for
opportunities for killing or capturing enemy patrols or posts.
Identifications are of great importance, but more important
still is the object of making ourselves masters of No Man’s
Land, and inducing the enemy to increase his strength against
us on this portion of the front, thus helping to reduce the
pressure against our comrades further South.
N. G. Cameron, Major-General,
March 24th, 1918. Commanding 49th (W.R.) Division.”
The Battalion chafed at its inactivity. It was well up to strength
and in magnificent condition. After a month’s rest and training,
it had spent another month in a line where, though it had suffered
comparatively few casualties, things had been sufficiently active to
keep it in good condition. Furthermore, the highly successful raid of
little more than a week before had raised its morale to such an extent
that it felt fit to tackle anything. All leave had been stopped and
officers, who were in England, recalled. The news that the New Zealand
Division was moving south rather added to the excitement. On March 27th
a warning order was received to be prepared to move at the shortest
notice; but that very night the Battalion again took over the defence
of the Reutel Sector.
The tour which followed--the last the Battalion was to do in that
sector--was wonderfully, almost uncannily, quiet. It was rarely a shell
fell at all, and the standing joke of the tour was that, if the enemy
division opposite wanted a concentration of fire on its front, it would
have to ring up the neighbouring divisions and ask each to switch its
“gun” round. This was not so correct of the enemy machine guns; wiring
was the main work carried out that tour, and several casualties were
caused to men working on the top.
On April 3rd the tour came to an end, the Battalion being relieved by
the 1st Battalion Leicestershire Regt. (6th Division). This division
had just come up from the south-east of Arras, where it had been in
the line when the enemy first launched his offensive. It had acquitted
itself well, as it always did, but had been terribly cut up. From the
men of this battalion something was learned of the battle in the south.
The Battalion said farewell to the Reutel Sector and moved back to
Maida Camp again. Here several days passed quietly and nothing was
heard of an early move. Indeed, so far did the Battalion seem from
battle, that orders were received to relieve the 146th Infantry Brigade
on April 9th. That Brigade was now holding the sector astride the Menin
Road, facing Gheluvelt and Polderhoek Chateau, where it had relieved
part of the 33rd Division. It was a disappointed party of officers and
N.C.O’s who went up to inspect the line on April 8th. But the Battalion
was never to hold that sector. The same night orders for the relief
were cancelled, and fresh orders were received to move the following
day to a camp near Reninghelst.
The next day was crowded with incident. In the morning the G.O.C.,
Second Army, presented medal ribbons to a number of officers and
other ranks, the Battalion providing three officers and 150 other
ranks for the guard of honour. During the parade the General received
several telegrams, and when he addressed the troops he referred to
the probability that they would soon be in battle. In the afternoon
the Battalion marched to the neighbourhood of Reninghelst, where it
expected to remain for two or three days, and then to move to the
southern battle. As the column wound its way along the road that bright
spring afternoon, the dull but continuous roar of guns was such as
had never been heard in that area since the battle of Passchendaele.
Something was happening much nearer than the Somme, but none knew what.
On arrival at the camp everyone quickly settled down, and arrangements
were made for the night. But no night was to be spent by the Battalion
there. The time had come when it was to write what is probably the
finest page of its history.