LENS.
16th April, 1917. 10th June, 1917.
On the 16th of April we learnt that we were once more to go to trenches,
and the same day we moved to Annezin, just outside Béthune. The march
will always be remembered on account of the tremendous energy displayed
by Captain Shields, who was acting second in command. Just before the
start he insisted on the reduction of all officers' kits to their
authorised weight, thereby causing much consternation amongst those
whose trench kits included gramophones, field boots, and other such
articles of modern warfare. However, on arrival at Annezin all such
worries were dispersed by the radiant smiles of the ladies at the C.O.'s
billet, with whom all the Subaltern Officers, and one or two Captains at
once fell in love.
Two days later Major Griffiths and some of the Company Officers went to
reconnoitre the area round Bully Grenay and the western outskirts of
Lens, which we were told would be our new area. The capture of Vimy by
the Canadians a few days before, had made an advance on Lens more
possible than it had ever been before, and there were many who thought
that the Boche would be compelled to evacuate the town. But the Germans
had not yet any intention of doing this. Though the Vimy heights were
lost to them, they still held "Hill 70" on the North side, and due West
of Lens, near the Souchez river, Fosse 3 and "Hill 65" were naturally
strong positions. South of this again, and just the other side of the
river, was another small rise, on which stood an electric generating
station, another commanding position held by the enemy. Our line ran
through the houses of Liévin, across the Lens road, round the Eastern
edge of Cité St. Pierre, and through Cité St. Edouard to the slopes of
"Hill 70."
The whole neighbourhood was covered with coal mines. Each had its
machine buildings, its slag heap, and its rows of miners' cottages,
called "Corons," all in perfectly straight lines. The mine complete was
known as a "Cité," and a Cité in the case of a large mine, covered a
considerable tract of country, and had several hundred cottages. As the
mines increased in number or grew in size, these Cités became more and
more numerous, until when war began the country was fast becoming one
large town. The trenches ran from cellar to cellar, through houses,
along roadsides, were very irregular, and mostly short, unconnected and
isolated lengths. Streets were the only means of communication, and
these could not be used except at night. We were at a great disadvantage
in this area. The Boche had but lately occupied the line we were now
holding; he knew its whereabouts exactly, knew every corner of it, and
could observe it from his heights on both flanks. We on the other hand
never quite knew where the Boche was living, had no observation of his
front line, and were consequently unable to retaliate as effectively as
we should have wished to his trench mortars.
On the 19th of April Lt. Col. J.B.O. Trimble, M.C., arrived and took
command, and the same night we marched through Béthune and Noeux les
Mines to the "Double Crassier"--a long double slag heap near Loos--where
we lived for two days in cellars and dug-outs, in Brigade Reserve. The
day after we arrived an attempt was made by the Division on our left to
capture "Hill 70." It failed, and during the enemy's retaliatory
bombardment our positions were heavily shelled, and five men wounded.
The next night we moved back to Maroc and Bully Grenay, where we stayed
until the 23rd, when we relieved the 4th Battalion in the front line.
Our new sector was one of the worst we ever held. The front line, "A"
Company (Petch), consisted of "Cooper Trench"--an exposed salient in
front of Cité St. Pierre, overlooked and shelled from every direction
and absolutely unapproachable during daylight, except for those who were
willing to crawl. "B" and "C" Companies (Wynne and Moore) were behind in
cellars, and "D" (Shields) and Battalion Headquarters still further back
in the Cité. On the left could be seen the low slag heap and railway
line of St. Pierre coal mine, held by our 1st Battalion, under which the
6th Division a few days previously had lost an entire platoon buried in
a collapsed dug-out.
The tour lasted six days, and at the end of the second "D" Company
relieved "A" in Cooper trench. It was originally intended to relieve "D"
in the same way two nights later, but this was impossible, because we
had to take over a new sector of line on the right, where "B" Company
now relieved the 4th Lincolnshires, astride the Cité St. Edouard road.
The new sector was not so exposed to view, and consequently to shelling
as Cooper trench, but had other disadvantages, chief among which was its
peculiar shape. A sharp pointed salient ran out along the Cité St.
Edouard road, while South of this the line bent back to the right until
it reached the outskirts of St. Pierre.
The shelling was very hot throughout the tour, and, at night
particularly, there was plenty of machine-gun fire up the streets, which
made ration carrying a dangerous job. "D" Company suffered most in
casualties, nearly all of which were caused by shell fire on Cooper
Trench, where they were unlucky in losing, in addition to some twenty
others, Serjeants Williams, Queenborough and Goode, all of whom were
wounded. The other Companies had some ten casualties between them.
All this time the enemy were inclined to be nervous after our attack on
"Hill 70," and almost every day the columns of smoke in Lens showed us
where he was burning houses and stores in case he should be forced to
retire. His Infantry remained comparatively inactive in the front line,
and when one night 2nd Lieut. Banwell and his platoon of "C" Company
raided Cité St. Edouard Church they found no enemy there.
One humorous episode is handed down concerning this otherwise rather
grim tour. Battalion Headquarters lived in a very small cellar--mess and
office below, clerks and signallers and runners on the stairs. The
Boche, the previous occupants, had left a suspicious looking red and
black object on one end of the table which we used for meals and work.
This took up a large part of our very scanty room, so an R.E. Specialist
was called in to examine it. He examined the object, at once condemned
the cellar as dangerous, and advised our immediate departure. Cellars
were hard to find, we consulted another specialist. His actions are best
described in the words of one of those present: "He (R.E.) clears
dug-out, or rather dug-out clears itself, and ties string gingerly to
object; the string he leads upstairs and along a trench to what he
considers is a safe distance. When all is ready the string is pulled.
Nothing happens. Suspense--a long pause--two hours--several drinks--R.E.
proceeds to examine result lying on floor--an improvised lantern used
for photography!"
On the 29th, after a big gas bombardment against the enemy's positions
in Cité St. Edouard and St. Theodore, we were relieved by the 4th
Battalion, and went into the St. Pierre cellars--in Brigade support. The
whole place was under direct observation, and movement by day was
impossible, which made our existence very unpleasant. It was while here
that we began to realize what a magnificent man was Padre Buck. Nothing
worried him, and even Cooper trench formed part of his parish, to be
visited each night. In St. Pierre he held a service every evening in one
of the cellars, undeterred although on one occasion a shell burst in the
doorway, scattering its bits inside, but doing no damage.
On the 3rd of May we again relieved the 4th Battalion and stayed for
three days in the Cooper trench sector. We had a quieter time than
before, and only lost one killed and nine wounded during the tour.
Amongst the latter were L/Cpl. Waterfield and "Pat" Collins the runner,
who were both hit by a shell, which burst on the orderly room. Our chief
difficulty was the water supply. With the hot weather the demand for
water increased, and it all had to be brought to the line in petrol
cans. Fortunately the limbers could come as far as Battalion
Headquarters, and cans had to be carried forward from there only; even
this took many men, and our numbers were by no means large.
At the end of this tour, the Brigade went into Divisional reserve, and
we, relieved by the Sherwood Foresters, went back to Fosse 10, near
Petit Sains. Here we stayed for six days training, playing games, and,
by way of work, wiring a new line of defence. During this time we lost
several officers. Capt. Wollaston and Lieut. H.E. Chapman went to
Hospital, Lieut. Petch, 2nd Lieuts Clay and Bligh had already gone, and
2nd Lieut. Hepworth left a few days later to join the Indian Army.
Captain Shields went on leave and "D" Company was commanded by Captain
John Burnett, who, on his return from England, had been sent to the 4th
Battalion, but soon worked his way back to us.
It was now our turn to go to the right Brigade sector, previously held
by the Staffordshires, and on the 12th May we marched up to Red Mill,
between Angres and Liévin. It was a disastrous march, for we were
heavily shelled, and lost L/Cpl. Startin and Pte. Norton killed, and
three L/Cpls., Ellis, Richardson and Roper, wounded--four of these were
"No. 1" Lewis Gunners. Once at Red Mill all was well, and for the next
two days we had an enjoyable time. The Mill proved to be a large
red-brick Chateau, now sadly knocked about, on the banks of the Souchez
river. The weather was bright and warm, so a dam was built, and we soon
had an excellent bathing pool, much patronized by all ranks. 2nd Lieut.
J.C. Barrett was the star performer, and never left the water, so that
those who had nothing better to do used to "go and see the Signalling
Officer swim"--it was one of the recognised recreations of the place.
At night we provided carrying and wiring parties, all of which had to go
through Liévin, a bad place for shells. The Church stood at a
particularly hot corner, and here, on the 11th, 2nd Lieut. T.P. Creed,
M.C., was wounded in the head and foot and had to be sent to England, a
great loss to "D" Company. We had two killed and nine wounded about the
same time, and lost amongst the wounded one of our old soldiers,
O'Shaugnessy, the boxer.
On the 15th May we relieved our 4th Battalion in the right sub-sector,
staying there for ten days, with a three days' holiday at Red Mill in
the middle. We were very weak, and our strength in trenches was barely
450, for in addition to casualties we had to send many away on leave or
to courses. Our new sector lay between the Souchez river and the
Lens-Liévin road, while across the river were the Canadians. Opposite
them and our right flank, was the ridge with the generating station,
opposite our centre Fosse 3 and "Hill 65." Fosse 3 had a large group of
mine buildings standing on a slag heap, which ran Southwards from "Hill
65," ending above the river with a thirty foot slope. The Western face
was the same height, and at its foot on our side was a large lake. The
Corons were on the slopes of the Hill and round its base on the Western
side. Those at the bottom we held, but the enemy had those on the
slopes, and one building in particular, the "L-shaped house," was very
strongly fortified. The right Company had its outposts in the cellars
and shell-holes round the N. and W. edges of the lake, the centre and
left companies had cellars and trenches, through the Cités de Riaumont
and du Bois de Liévin, down to the main Lens road. Left Company
Headquarters had a beautiful chateau, with a fruit and asparagus garden,
known after its first occupant as "John Burnett's Chateau." There were
two communication trenches, one each side of the Riaumont Hill: "Assign"
on the South, shallow and unsafe in daylight, and "Absalom" on the
North. "Hill 65" dominated everything, and gave the Boche a tremendous
advantage. We had the Riaumont hill, 500 yards West of our front line,
and could use the Bois de Riaumont on its summit as an O.P., but this
was always being shelled, and though the view was excellent, one was
seldom left in peace long enough to enjoy it. Battalion Headquarters had
a strong German concrete dug-out in Liévin, said to have been formerly
occupied by Prince Ruprecht of Bavaria.
The enemy confined his activity to his artillery, which hammered our
back areas, and his trench mortars, which constantly bombarded our
outposts. A row of houses along an absolutely straight street forms a
comparatively easy target, and a cellar is no protection against a
240 lbs. Minenwerfer shell. On one occasion the enemy, starting at one
end, dropped a shell on every house in turn down one side, smashing each
cellar; it was a nerve-racking performance for those who lived in one of
the cellars and had to watch the shells coming nearer, knowing that to
go into the street meant instant death at the hands of some sniper. The
headquarters of No. 15 Platoon had a direct hit, but fortunately 2nd
Lieuts. Brooke and Ramsden were both out crawling about somewhere, and
the only damage was to their dinner. Every mortar, whose position was
known, was given a name and marked on a map, so as to simplify quick
retaliation. Captain Burnett spent much time at the telephone demanding
the slaughter of "Bear," "Bat," "Pharaoh," "Philis," "Philistine,"
"Moses," "Aaron," etc. etc.
It was impossible to visit any of the outpost line by day, and those
from Battalion Headquarters who wanted to do so had perforce to go at
night. Nights were dark; the ground was covered with shell-holes, some
of them of great size. Once Major Griffiths, going out with Grogan, his
runner, suddenly disappeared from view in an enormous hole which had
apparently amalgamated itself with some well or sewer. The Major was
almost drowned, but came to the surface in time to hear Grogan say: "You
haven't fallen in, have you, sir?" He was fished out and scraped down
and went on his way to "John Burnett's Chateau," where he was given
warmth and comfort, and whence he eventually returned to Liévin--taking
care to rob the asparagus bed before leaving.
Towards the end of the tour the enemy attempted a small raid against our
somewhat isolated right post, but was easily driven off by our Lewis
guns, and made no other attempts. On the 25th of May the Sherwood
Foresters took our place, and we marched out to Marqueffles Farm. The
tour had cost us twenty-four casualties, three of whom were killed; we
had some narrow escapes in the cellars, and were fortunate not to lose
more. "D" Company had had a particularly bad time, and owe much to
Serjeant Burbidge, who seemed in his element in the midst of terrific
explosions and rocking cellars, and saved many casualties by his
calmness.
Marqueffles Farm stands next to Marqueffles coal mine, at the foot of
the Northern slopes of the Lorette ridge. The Companies were all
billeted in the farm, and the officers in tents outside, while a
home-made marquee formed an excellent mess. After our first difficulty,
which was to find the place at all in the utter darkness of relief
night, we spent a very happy twelve days in beautiful weather. After
coal mines and squalid narrow streets, the woods of Lorette, the little
village of Bouvigny, and the open country were delightful, for the
scenery to the south was all very pleasing. Games of all descriptions
were our programme for the first two days, while our chief amusement was
to watch the enemy's attempts to hit the observation balloon above us.
His shells, fitted with clockwork fuzes, burst very high, and were quite
harmless.
But our stay in Marqueffles was not merely a rest, we were there to
practice for an attack to be made shortly on Fosse 3. A plan of the
Fosse and its trenches was marked out, and each day the assaulting
Companies, "B" and "C," practiced their attack over it, until each man
knew his task exactly. In addition to this "C" Company were able to
scale the Marqueffles slag-heap, and so prepare themselves for Fosse 3,
whose 30 feet they would have to climb in the battle. General Kemp had
had to go to Hospital with a poisoned foot and Colonel Thorpe, the
Divisional Staff Officer, who took his place, came often to watch our
practice, making on the last occasion a very encouraging, if somewhat
bloodthirsty speech. Through it all we enjoyed ourselves immensely. For
a change canteen stores were plentiful, and a generous supply of
cigarettes, beer, and other luxuries, did much to raise our spirits. The
officers, too, had many pleasant evenings, and, on more than one
occasion, the night was disturbed by the old familiar strains of "Come
Landlord fill the flowing Bowl," "John Peel," and other classical
ditties.
On the 6th of June we moved up to Liévin and took over the line from the
5th Sherwood Foresters. For the first time the officers were clothed
exactly as the men. "D" Co. (Burnett) was in front, "A" Co. (Broughton)
in support, and "B" and "C" (Wynne and Moore) in the row of houses just
west of Riaumont Hill. These had hardly settled down before a shell
burst in the doorway of "C" Company Headquarters killing Serjeant
Harper, the Lewis Gun N.C.O., and wounding six others, amongst them
another Gunner, L/Cpl. Morris. At the same time 2nd Lieut. A.L. Macbeth
had to go to Hospital with fever; Capt. Wynne was also far from well,
but refused to leave his Company on the eve of the attack.
The final preparations were made on the night of the 7th/8th, when two
parties went out to cut wire, 2nd Lieut. Banwell and 2nd Lieut. C.S.
Allen. The first party found some thick wire, placed their ammonal tubes
and successfully blew several gaps. The others, under 2nd Lieut. Allen,
found no uncut wire, so brought their tubes back. Everything was ready
by dawn on the 8th, and Zero was ordered for 8-30 p.m. the same day.
For several days the Monmouthshires had been at work deepening "Assign"
trench, and had done much, but it was still shallow, and there is no
doubt that as "B" and "C" Companies came up it between 5.0 and 6.0
p.m., they were seen from the top of "Hill 65." For as "B" Company
passed the group of cottages South of Riaumont Hill, the Boche opened a
heavy fire on the trench and dropped a shell right amongst the Company
Headquarters. Capt. Wynne was untouched, but his Serjeant-Major, Gore,
and his runner, Ghent, both first-class soldiers, were killed by his
side. Assembly was complete by 6.0 p.m. and "B," "C," with "D" Co. in
close support, waited for Zero in some short lengths of trench, dug
amongst the houses at the East end of "Assign" trench. "A" Co., who were
to carry ammunition and stores for the attackers, formed up near
Battalion Headquarters, in the group of houses half way up the trench.
Capt. Wynne, though worn out with fever, and hardly able to stand, still
stuck to his Company.
[Illustration: SKETCH MAP TO ILLUSTRATE FIGHTING AT LENS
-MAY, JUNE 1917.-]
At 8.30 p.m. the barrage opened, and the attack started. Almost the
first shell exploded some ammunition dump on the far side of the slag
heap, and the whole battle was lit up by the gigantic fire which
followed. Against the red glow the black figures of "C" Company could be
seen swarming up the slag-heap, clearing the two trenches, "Boot" and
"Brick," on its summit, and sweeping on to clean out the dug-outs
beyond. There were many Germans on and around the heap, and in a short
time between 80 and 100 were killed, nearly all with the bayonet.
Serjeant Needham stormed a trench mortar emplacement, himself accounting
for most of the crew. Serjeant Roberts, formerly of the Transport, and
with his Company for the first time, was much annoyed to find a bayonet
through his arm, but did not stop until he had dealt with its owner and
any of his friends he could find. Pte. Tookey and many others showed
splendid dash, bombing dug-outs, bayonetting stray Huns, and
occasionally taking a prisoner or two. But the central figure of the
fight was 2nd Lieut. Banwell. Armed with a rifle and bayonet he simply
ran amock and slaughtered some eight of the enemy by himself, while
their leader he ran to the edge of the slag-heap and kicked over the
side into the lake, where he broke his neck and was drowned. Altogether
this Company took eight prisoners and destroyed three machine guns and
two trench mortars.
Meanwhile the attack on the left had failed. At Zero Captain Wynne led
"B" Company from their trenches and advanced towards the "L-shaped"
building. They had hardly started before their ranks were swept from end
to end with machine gun fire from the houses to their left and front.
Capt. Wynne and 2nd Lieut. R.B. Farrer were killed, 2nd Lieut. W.I.
Nelson was wounded, and the company had no officers left. Still, under
the N.C.O.'s, they tried to push forward, only to meet with more losses.
They were compelled to stop, and, under Serjeant Martin, the senior
N.C.O. left, began to dig a line a few yards east of their starting
trench. Serjeant Passmore, who was acting Serjt.-Major, Serjts. Kemp,
Thorpe and Hibbert were all wounded, L/Cpl. Aris and nine others killed,
and more than half the Company wounded. For some time Battalion
Headquarters knew nothing of this disaster, and it was only when the
Signaller L/Cpl. Woolley came back to report, that Col. Trimble heard
what had happened. He at once ordered "D" Company to fill the gap, so as
to protect the left flank of "C" Company, which he knew must be
seriously exposed.
"A" Company, carrying ammunition, had also had their casualties, and 2nd
Lieut. Broughton, after being hit more than once, eventually had to
leave them. He had been personally organizing most of the parties, and
during the battle was everywhere, quite regardless of danger.
Consequently, when he went, "A" Company became scattered; parties which
had delivered their ammunition did not know where to go; and some of
them, a few under Serjeant Putt and Pte. Dakin, wandered into the
slag-heap and took part in the battle, helping to kill some of the Boche
there. "D" Company lost two killed and ten wounded, for their position,
joining the two flanks, was exposed to a considerable amount of enfilade
fire. As soon as they had cleared the summit of the slag-heap "C"
Company started to consolidate "Boot" and "Brick" trenches, while the
most forward of the attackers formed a protective screen. Their position
was precarious. They were exposed to heavy fire from the generating
station and "Hill 65," while unable to keep a watch on the low ground of
the Souchez river valley or East of the slag-heap, where numbers of
Boche could assemble unseen. The "L-shaped" building, too, was a thorn
in their left flank. Still they were well established, when Col. Thorpe
and Captain Wade, the Brigade Major, came round the line and looked at
our new positions. They left the slag-heap just before dawn, and a few
minutes later, when they were talking to Capt. Moore in his headquarters
in the cottages below, a runner came in to announce a big Boche
counter-attack. It was still too dark to see much, but our sentries
could make out large numbers of men closing in on them from three sides,
and fire was opened. The Boche dropped into shell holes, but continued
his advance steadily, making use of all available cover. "C" Company,
finding their rifles useless and very short of ammunition, waited until
they came near enough to start bombing, and then gave them a volley of
Mills grenades. But once again we were ruined by the inefficiency of
those in rear; the bombs had no detonators. In a few minutes the Company
would have been completely surrounded, so slowly and in good order they
withdrew, first to the edge of the heap, and then down to the cottages
at the bottom. One group of men stayed for an incredibly long time on a
ledge partway down the face, but in the end they too had to come away.
During the night the Company lost one killed and twenty-eight wounded,
five of whom stayed at duty; two others were badly wounded during the
counter-attack, were subsequently captured, and died as prisoners in
Germany--Privates A. Beck and R. Collins. At the time, the withdrawal
from the slag-heap seemed like a defeat, but, had we stayed, our
casualties would have been far worse and the result the same; for with
daylight, nothing could have lived on the heap, so long as the
Generating Station and "Hill 65" remained in German hands.
The night after the battle we were relieved by the 5th Lincolnshires and
marched out to Red Mill again for a few days' rest. We were
congratulated by the General on the fight, and Captain Moore and "C"
Company came in for special praise for their work with the bayonet.
Capt. Wynne and 2nd Lieut. Farrer were buried in Bully Grenay, and
Lieut. N.C. Marriott took over "B" Company. For the last twenty four
hours it had been commanded by Lieut. Petch, who returned from Hospital
in the middle of the battle. He now went to "A" Company again, and was
promoted Captain. Lieut. Marriott got his Captaincy a few weeks later.
Capt. Shields returned from leave and took command of "D" again, while
Capt. Burnett went to Headquarters.