CAMBRIN RIGHT.
1st Dec., 1917. 12th April, 1918.
Colonel Currin, our new Commanding Officer, was a South African, a large
man of enormous physical strength. He at once terrified us with his
language, which can only be described as volcanic, and won our respect
by his wonderful fearlessness. Of this last there was no question. In
trenches, he would wander about, with his hands in his pockets, often
with neither helmet nor gas-bag, and quite heedless of whether or no the
enemy could see him. More than once he was shot at, and more than once
he had a narrow escape at the hands of some hostile sniper, but this
appeared to have no effect on him, and after such an escape he was just
as reckless as before. He had withal a kind heart and a great sense of
humour.
A few days before his arrival we had moved from Mazingarbe to Drouvin
and Vaudricourt, and here we were now warned that on the 1st December
General Thwaites would inspect the Brigade in review order. A rehearsal
was carried out in a field near Noeux les Mines, a rehearsal so amusing
in many ways, that the Colonel loved to tell the story of what he called
his first experience with the 5th Battalion: "On approaching the parade
ground I sent forward A----, who was acting Adjutant, to find where we
were to fall in. My Adjutant was in Hospital as the result of falling
off his horse. When I reached the field, I saw an officer galloping
about waving his arms, but whether he was signalling to me, or trying to
manage his horse I could not tell, so sent Burnett to find out.
Burnett's horse promptly stumbled, fell and rolled on him, so I went
myself and found the luckless A---- quite incapable of managing his
pony. I told him to dismount, while I marched the Battalion into place,
but subsequently found he had not done so because he couldn't!
Eventually the Serjeant-Major seized him round the waist, someone else
led the pony forward, and A---- was left in the Serjeant-Major's arms and
lowered to the ground. All this in front of the Brigade drawn up for a
ceremonial parade!" The parade itself also had its amusing side, chiefly
owing to the ignorance of certain Staff Officers on matters of drill.
However, a friendly crump, arriving in the next field, put an end to the
proceedings, and we marched home.
After all this bother the actual inspection was cancelled and we went
into trenches again instead. Our sector this time was Cambrin, called
after the village next North of Vermelles, and the sector immediately on
the left of our last--St. Elie. On the morning of the 1st of December we
marched to Annequin, on the Beuvry-La Bassée Road, and relieved some
Loyal North Lancashires, Worcestershires and Portuguese in the Brigade
support positions. The Headquarters and two Companies were in Annequin
village, the other two Companies in two groups of dug-outs, "Maison
Rouge" and "Factory," about 500 yards East of Cambrin. We only stayed
here twenty-four hours and then went into the front line, "Cambrin
Right" sub-sector.
Cambrin Right was very like St. Elie Left with the good points left out.
The right Company had tunnels but they were not safe, though just as
smelly as our old ones. It was the same on the left, while in the
centre, there were deep enough tunnels, but they were unconnected with
anything and unlit. The front line consisted mostly of craters, a large
series of which occupied what had once been the Hohenzollern Redoubt. At
intervals along the lips were odd posts, each at the end of a short
trench leading back into Northampton trench or the tunnel system. The
right group of tunnels, the Savile tunnel, started half-way up Savile
Row, a communication trench which had originally run from the Reserve
line to Northampton trench, but now stopped at the tunnel entrance. The
centre group had no name, started from Northampton trench, and had no
proper communication trench. The left group was the "Quarry" tunnel
system, starting from the old quarry and running leftwards from the
Northern edge of the Hohenzollern craters almost to our posts opposite
Mad Point. The left Company had no posts actually on crater lips, though
they had one or two craters in No Man's Land. "Quarry" Alley led to the
"Quarry" and a newly dug trench ran from this to Northampton near the
centre tunnels, but it was in bad condition and seldom used. As a rule,
those who wished to visit the centre went through either Savile or
Quarry tunnels to get there. One other trench led forward from the
Reserve Line, Bart's Alley, but this ended in a large pile of sandbags
and one of the Tunnelling Company's private entrances to the mining
galleries. Between the Reserve Line and Northampton a few ends of gas
piping, sticking out of the ground, showed where our 1915 front line had
been, from which we had attacked on the 13th October. The two flank
Company Headquarters were in the tunnels, the centre Company in a deep
dug-out in Northampton trench. The Reserve Company, with one platoon of
each of the front line Companies, lived in the Reserve Line.
The Reserve Line was about the best trench in the sector. It was deep,
well traversed, and had many good dug-outs. It also contained our
cook-houses and dumps. The light railway from Vermelles, on which came
rations and "R.E. material," ran along behind it, so that Company
Quartermaster Serjeants could deliver their rations to the reserve
platoon of their Company, and there was no fear of a carrying party from
another Company "pinching" some of the rum. Westwards from this trench
ran three communication trenches, all in good condition, Bart's Alley,
Left Boyau and Quarry Alley, all leading to the Vermelles broad gauge
railway line, whose hedges concealed Sussex trench. Here, in some very
elegant, but not very shell-proof dug-outs, lived Battalion
Headquarters. The officers' bedrooms, and the Mess were on one side, the
offices on the other. Here, Corporal Lincoln and Pte. Allbright, the
Orderly Room clerks, took it in turn to look after the papers, keep the
fire alight and generally make a happy home out of a crazy shanty with a
wobbly roof and a door facing the Boche. Many would have preferred to go
elsewhere in case of shelling, but these two never left their papers,
though more than once the roof came perilously near being whisked off by
some whizz-bang. Philosopher James Lincoln was particularly
imperturbable, as he sat surrounded by pipes and beautifully-sharpened
pencils, discussing the weather and the crops with any who chanced to
pass by.
Further down this same trench Serjeant Archer and "Buller" Clarke looked
after the bombs, not quite such a popular weapon now-a-days, and the
Pioneers under Serjeant Waterfield and L/Cpl. Wakefield had their home
next door. Here also was Serjeant Wilbur and that very hard working body
of men the Signallers, "strafed" by everybody when telephones went
wrong, and seldom praised during months and months without a mishap.
Then came Serjeant Major Lovett in a small dug-out by himself, and near
him Serjeant Bennett and the Regimental Police; the latter in trenches
became general handy men, carrying rations, acting as gas sentries, and
doing all the odd jobs. Round the corner a large dug-out with two
entrances provided the Canteen with a home large enough to contain, when
it was procurable, a barrel or two of beer. L/Cpls. Hubbard and Collins
and the runners lived wherever they could find an empty shelter, and as
usual spent most of their time carrying messages or showing visitors
round the lines.
There was one other trench, Railway Alley. This, like its namesake to
"Hill 70," was of enormous length. It started at Cambrin, passed the
Factory and Factory Dug-outs, and, following the Annequin-Haisnes
Railway to its junction with the Vermelles Line, acted as dividing line
between the two halves of the Brigade Sector. From the left Battalion
Headquarters to the front line, an often much battered part of it, it
belonged to the left sector. Our Headquarters had a private trench
running to it, "Kensington Walk," deep and completely covered with
brushwood by way of camouflage.
In the St. Elie sector we had been three months almost without an
incident of any importance; we were only six weeks in Cambrin, and every
tour contained some item of interest. We started disastrously. On the
night after relief Lieut. Watherston was visiting "B" Company's posts in
the centre sector, when a party of the enemy crept up to and suddenly
rushed the Lewis Gun Section he had just visited. Lieut. Watherston
turned back, drew his revolver, and rushed into the fight, but was
himself shot through the head and killed instantaneously. He had fired
three shots with his revolver, but was unable to stop the enemy who,
having wounded the sentry and blown the N.C.O. off the firestep with a
bomb, now escaped, taking the Lewis Gun with them. The N.C.O., Cpl.
Watts, got up and gave chase, but lost touch with the enemy amongst the
craters, and after being nearly killed himself had to return
empty-handed. Our predecessors in the line seemed to have made no effort
to wire this part of the line at all, presumably thinking the line of
craters a sufficient protection. A few nights later 2nd Lieut. Boarland
reconnoitred the whole area with a patrol, and found that not only had
the Boche got a well-worn track across No Man's Land between two
craters, but close to the raided post had fitted up a small dug-out with
a blanket and a coat in it. This would, of course, have been impossible
had the previous occupants of the line done any patrolling; we suffered
through their gross negligence.
Towards the end of the same tour, the enemy made another very similar
attempt against our extreme right pasts held by "A" Company. L/Cpl.
Beale and Pte. Foster were with their gun on the parapet, when they were
suddenly rushed by three or four of the enemy who had crept close up to
them, and were on top of them before they could open fire. L/Cpl. Beale
used his fists on a German who seized him round the throat, but was then
shot in the chest and fell backwards on the rest of the section who were
coming to help. The Germans tried to carry off the gun, but Foster put
up a fight, and they dropped it just outside the trench. However, one of
them managed to knock Foster on the head, and, before help could arrive,
he was carried off as a prisoner. Once again we suffered through the
carelessness of our predecessors, for in this case, too, there was no
protective barbed wire. We spent every night of the tour wiring hard,
but could not of course finish the whole sector in five days.
The tour also contained a very severe Artillery and Trench Mortar
bombardment, which seriously damaged our left and centre trenches. But
more serious than this was the loss to "B" Company of L/Cpl. J.T.
Pawlett, one of the best Lewis Gun N.C.O.'s in the Battalion, who was
mortally wounded during the shelling. A few days later we lost another
excellent Lewis Gun N.C.O., L/Cpl. Stredder, of "D" Company, who went to
England wounded, fortunately not very seriously.
The tour ended on the 8th, and for the next six days we remained in
Brigade Support, Annequin, Maison Rouge, and Factory Dug-outs. Even here
we were not left in peace, for on two occasions the enemy opened very
heavy bombardments against the Cambrin sector. The second occasion, the
night of the 12th/13th of December, this was so terrific, and so much
gas was used, that we had to "stand to" at midnight, while many
messages, "Poison Cambrin" etc., were flying about. The damage to
trenches, and more particularly to the tunnels, caused by this
bombardment was very great, as we soon learnt when, two nights later, we
returned to the line. Savile tunnel was blown in in several places, and
the Company Headquarters completely cut off and unusable. The tunnel
entrances were shattered, and the whole system so badly damaged as to be
almost useless except as dug-outs for the various posts. Quarry tunnel
was not so badly damaged, but several of the left posts had been
isolated by having the main connecting tunnel blown in behind them.
Fortunately the front line trench on the left was still in existence,
and could be used instead of the tunnels. Finally, Northampton trench
was literally obliterated in the centre, and a famous "island" traverse,
no small earth-work, so completely wiped out that we could never
afterwards discover its exact whereabouts.
Once more we had bad luck at the start of the tour, for we had only been
a few hours in the line when a shell on Quarry Alley caught a small
party of men coming down. Signaller Newton and Stretcher Bearer Cooke
were killed outright, and Serjeant Woolley, acting Serjeant Signaller
while Serjeant Wilbur was away, was wounded and had to go to Hospital.
In addition to the wiring we now had the tunnels to dig out, and there
was so much work to do that we had to have assistance from Brigade; this
took the form of a Brigade Wiring Platoon and a Company of
Monmouthshires. On one occasion these two parties, both of course
working "on top," saw fit to imagine each other were Boche, and a small
fight ensued. Fortunately no one was injured, though one of the
Monmouthshires was only saved from a bullet through the head by his
steel helmet.
The rest of the tour passed off quickly, and the irrepressible Capt.
Brooke and 2nd Lieut. Cole of "D" Company started once more wandering
about No Man's Land and the enemy's lines. They did the most incredible
things, and gained invaluable information about the enemy, though
awkward questions were often asked about the name of the "one other
rank" who, according to the patrol reports, accompanied 2nd Lieut. Cole
on these expeditions.
Our Christmas "rest" was spent in Beuvry, and here we arrived on the
20th of December at the end of our second tour. Our first duty was to
inspect a large draft of 140 N.C.O.'s and men who had come to us while
we had been in the line. Most of them came from the 11th (Pioneer)
Battalion of the Regiment, and were men of good physique, very well
trained, and excellent alike at drill, work, games, and in the line.
During the whole time we were in France we never had a better draft than
this. Meanwhile, although the enemy were apparently willing to allow us
a Christmas rest, and kindly refrained from bombarding our billets, the
higher command were not so gracious, and we had much work to do. Ever
since the defection of Russia, the Staff had realized the possibility of
a German offensive on a large scale, and every effort was being made to
organize our defences. With this object, a new "village line" had been
built, including Cambrin, Annequin, Vermelles and other villages, and
this had now to be wired. Accordingly, on the night of the 22nd/23rd
December, the whole Battalion marched up to this line by parties, and
worked hard for several hours putting out a "double apron fence." So
well had Major Zeller and his Engineers organized the work, and so well
did the Battalion work, mainly thanks to the newly arrived Pioneers who
were experts, that we did an incredible amount during the night, and
received the congratulations of the G.O.C. on our efforts.
The actual Christmas festivities had to be held on Christmas Eve, as we
were due to go into trenches on the morning of Boxing Day. Everything
combined to make the day a great success. Plum puddings arrived from
England, large pigs, which Major Burnett had been leading about on a
string for some days, were turned into the most delicious pork, and
there was plenty of beer. The Serjeants' Mess also had a very lively
dinner in the evening, though one Company Quarter Master Serjeant spent
much of his time dragging the Beuvry river for his Company Serjeant
Major whom he had lost. This Warrant Officer was eventually discovered
asleep in an old sentry box, with his false teeth clenched in his hand.
The Germans, in spite of their boast, dropped in a message from an
aeroplane, "to eat their Christmas dinners in Béthune," caused no
disturbance, and did not show the slightest sign of being offensive.
Christmas, 1917, was unique in one respect. We produced a Battalion
Christmas Card for the first and last time during the war. It contained
a picture, drawn by 2nd Lieut. Shilton, of a big-footed Englishman
standing on a slag-heap, from which a Hun was flying as though kicked.
It was very popular.
Boxing Day, for us "Relief Day," was bitterly cold, and an occasional
blizzard made getting into trenches all the more difficult. The ground
was covered with snow, and each night there was a bright moon, so that
the snipers of both sides were on the watch day and night for the
slightest movement. Our snipers claimed to hit several of the enemy
during the tour, but we, too, had our losses. First, F. Eastwood, M.M.,
of "C" Company, a soldier who had scarcely missed a day since the
beginning, was shot through the head and killed outside "C" Company
Headquarters in Northampton trench. A few nights later, on the 30th
December, Lieut. P. Measures, commanding "B" Company, was sniped while
fixing a sniper's post in the front line, and also killed instantly. He
had not been with us very long, but both he and Lieut. Watherston had
proved themselves very keen subaltern officers, and both had been
praised by the General for their work on patrol. Lieut. T.H. Ball
temporarily took command of "B" Company.
Whenever work was possible--it was often too light even at night--we
worked at two new trenches, "Cardiff" and "Currin," connecting Bart's
Alley with Savile tunnel, as an alternative to Savile Row. These had
been dug by the Monmouthshires, and now had to be wired, and here, also,
we suffered at the hands of a German sniper. Serjeant W.E. Cave, a very
fine N.C.O. of "A" Company, was killed with a wiring party, and one or
two others had narrow escapes. The New Year, 1918, was ushered in with
several bursts of machine gun fire at midnight, but nothing of
importance occurred.
Our stay at Annequin was once again disturbed, this time more
disastrously than before. A curious accident occurred on the 6th of
January, when three of our aeroplanes collided and fell near the
village. The enemy as usual opened fire at once with one or two
batteries, and an unlucky shell fell amongst our Headquarter runners as
they were leaving their billet. The two Corporals escaped, Collins with
a slight wound and Hubbard untouched, but W. Raven, M.M., was killed
outright, and A. Grogan, D.C.M., F. Smith, H. Eady, and H. Kirby, so
badly wounded that they died soon afterwards. It is impossible to
estimate the amount of work that these runners had done for the
Battalion, not only as message carriers, but some of them as personal
orderlies to the C.O. and other Headquarter Officers. In Lens they had
proved themselves not only capable of wonderful endurance, but to be
possessed of the greatest courage, fearing neither the enemy himself nor
his barrages. To lose so many at one blow was indeed a severe loss for
the Battalion. After this, there followed two comparatively quiet tours
in trenches with the usual six days at Beuvry in between them. The
enemy's snipers were mastered, and we suffered no more casualties at
their hands, but our bad luck still pursued us, and on the 10th and 11th
January the left of the Reserve Line was badly battered by trench
mortars. The left half Battalion cook-house was blown in, and Serjeant
Growdridge of "D" Company was killed, while several others were wounded.
In Serjeant Growdridge, "D" Company lost a most capable platoon
Serjeant, the leader of many a daring and successful patrol, and of the
highest courage in battle. On the 20th of January we were relieved by
the 11th Division, and, after spending one night in Beuvry, marched
through Béthune to Busnettes, between Chocques and Lillers, for a long
rest.
We stayed at Busnettes for three weeks, training and playing games, and
doing our best to recover from the ill effects of tunnels and wet
trenches. Our training was carried out on various areas round Chocques
and Allouagne, and near the latter was a good rifle range, over which we
practised for the Associated Rifle Association (A.R.A.) Competition.
This competition was for a platoon, and included rifle and Lewis gun
shooting and bayonet fighting, fire discipline and control, and the
general principles of the advance. The platoon had to fire at various
ranges, advancing from one to the other, and bayoneting sacks on the
way. There were Battalion, Brigade, and Divisional Competitions, and to
the Divisional winners the A.R.A. were to present silver medals. In the
Battalion competition, No. 1 Platoon of "A" Company, under 2nd Lieut.
Roberts and Serjeant H. Beardsmore, was victorious, but the other
competitions could not be held until February, after our next move.
Finally, this same platoon, beating the other Battalions in the Brigade,
beat also the Staffordshires' and Sherwood Foresters' best platoons, and
carried off the silver medals.
At this time there were several important changes in the Battalion.
First, we were very glad indeed to see Captains Tomson and Petch back
again with us, the former to command "B," the latter to "A" Company. At
the same time, Capt. Barrowcliffe returned to the Royal Engineers.
Lieuts. C.S. Allen and R.W. Edge went to England for six months, and 2nd
Lieut. Todd became Transport Officer. We also received a large draft
from the 2nd/5th Battalion. Finding that it was impossible to obtain
sufficient recruits to supply all the Battalions formed at the beginning
of the war, each Brigade was now reduced to three Battalions, and we
lost from our Brigade the 4th Lincolnshires. In the 59th Division, the
2nd/5th Leicestershires were broken up and divided into drafts for the
4th Battalion and ourselves. Capts. J.A. Ball and W.H. Oliver, Lieuts.
S.G.H. Steel and A.D. Pierrepont, 2nd Lieuts. A.B. Bedford, H. Coxell,
K. Ashdowne, and, later, A.E. Hawley and Everett came to us, bringing
with them 200 N.C.O.'s and men. Amongst the latter were several
Serjeants, one of them, Serjeant T. Marston, M.M., destined to add
further laurels to the honours he had already won with the 2nd/5th.
There were also several "old hands" who returned to us, amongst them,
Privates Garfield and Law of "D" Company, both original members of the
1914 Battalion. These reinforcements enabled us to form again four
platoons per Company, and we became once more a full Battalion.
Another batch of reinforcements, which arrived at Busnettes, contained
several drummers of the 1st and 3rd Battalions. We already had a few,
and L/Cpl. Perry was given the rank of Serjeant Drummer and formed a
Corps of Drums. With Drummer Price, an expert of many years' service
with the side drum, and L/Cpl. Tyers, an old bandsman, to help him, he
soon produced an excellent Corps, and all of them worked hard and keenly
to make a good show. Within a week they played us on route marches and
appeared at guard-mounting. Within two months they played at Mess, and
the Fifes gave several very good concerts.
While in the Busnettes area, we were in Reserve for the 1st Army, and in
case of attack were liable to be sent to support the Portuguese on the
Neuve Chapelle-La Bassée front. In case of this, the C.O. and Adjutant
spent a day reconnoitering the Locon, le Hamel, le Touret area and its
keeps and strong points, many of which we afterwards occupied when the
Portuguese had been driven out.
On the 8th of February, we moved to Fiefs through Lillers, and the
following day marched to Reclinghem in the Bomy training area. The march
took the form of a tactical field day, and we ended by taking up an
outpost position on the river Lys at Reclinghem, where "B" and "D"
Companies and Headquarters were billeted. The other two Companies were
at Vincly, a little more than a mile further South. A fortnight later,
to the great regret of all ranks, Colonel Currin had to leave us, after
being only three months in command. During this time we had become very
fond of him, and there is no doubt that his never-failing cheerfulness,
his reckless courage, and the atmosphere of "the fighting spirit" which
always accompanied him, did more than anything else could have done to
raise our "fighting spirit" to a high pitch. His successor, Lieut. Col.
G.B.G. Wood, D.S.O., of the Lancashire Fusiliers, had commanded the
2nd/5th Battalion until he was wounded, and now, returning to France,
was sent to us as his Battalion had been broken up.
Towards the end of February, the Staff became more than ever convinced
that the enemy intended making a big spring offensive, and our training
was devoted almost entirely to counter-attack practice and the
re-taking a line of trenches which had been temporarily lost. We had
several large field days near Bomy, with this as the general idea, and
would have had several more had not the Division been suddenly recalled
to the line. On the 1st March, in a snow storm, we marched to
Ligny-les-Aire, and the next day moved on again to Ecquedecques, where
we stayed three days. Our billets were fairly comfortable, but there
were very few for the officers; this, however, was soon righted after
the first night, when we discovered many officers' billets occupied by
Serjeants of an A.S.C. Company who were permanent "garrison" of the
village.
On the 5th of March we marched through Lillers and Béthune again to
Beuvry and, after staying one night there, moved the following day to
Annequin and Sailly Labourse, where we were responsible for the defence
of the Annequin locality. The 1st Corps scheme of defence was a series
of fortified localities, Philosophe, Cambrin, Annequin, Noyelles, and
many others further West as far as Vaudricourt. Each locality had its
trenches, dug-outs, stores of ammunition and rations, and was ready for
defence at any moment. The German offensive was expected to start any
day, and the "wind" was terribly "up." This, however, did not prevent
the Infantry from amusing themselves whenever possible, and though the
higher authorities may have been sleeping in their boots, we managed to
get some football. General Rowley gave a cup for a Brigade Company
Competition, and, while at Sailly, our "A" Company beat Brigade
Headquarters in the "final," after which "Tinker" Evans, the captain of
the team, received the cup from the Brigadier.
The following morning we went once more to the line, back into the
familiar Cambrin right sector. Unfortunately there was now a change. The
Engineers, in an endeavour to make Headquarters less elegant and more
shell-proof, had thrown up so much white chalk, that they had attracted
the attention of the German artillery, who had promptly shelled the
place out of existence. The Headquarters now lived in the old left
Headquarters under Railway Alley. We had only two Companies in the line,
one in support, and one in Reserve near the Factory; we were thus
organized "in depth" to meet the coming offensive.
The enemy's artillery had certainly become more active during our two
months' absence, and he was now using far more gas shells than before.
These were of three sorts: "Green Cross," the most deadly, was filled
with phosgene; "Blue Cross," the least harmful, with arsenic; both these
were very light gases and soon blew away. Far more dangerous were the
"Yellow Cross," mustard shells, which now made their appearance in ever
increasing numbers. The mustard hung round the shell holes and was not
blown away; in cold weather it had no effect, but as soon as the sun
came out it became exceedingly powerful. A mustard shell falling on
frozen snow might have no effect until the thaw came several weeks
later, when it would be just as powerful as if it had only just been
fired. A very little of this gas was sufficient to cause temporary
blindness and loss of voice, burns and bad blisters. Much of it was
fatal. During this tour, however, we did not suffer any casualties, and
nothing of any importance occurred until our last morning before relief,
the 16th of March.
At about 1-0 a.m. on this morning, Privates Culpeck and Johnson were
sentries together at one of "D" Company's Lewis gun posts. Hearing a
noise in the wire, one of them challenged, and, receiving no answer,
fired his Lewis gun. Two minutes later, two Boche, one an unwounded
warrant officer, the other a wounded soldier, were being escorted down
Railway Alley to Headquarters. Neither of the two prisoners would say
much, but what they did say still further confirmed the opinion of the
Staff that the attack was soon coming.
"Brigade Support" now consisted of the Headquarters and two Companies in
Sailly Labourse, the remainder at Windy Corner near Factory Dug-outs. To
this last area went Major Griffiths and the Right Half Battalion. They
had an unpleasant time and were more than once heavily shelled, on one
occasion having a narrow escape. The officers were sitting in a dug-out
when an armour piercing field gun shell passed through the roof and out
of the door, hurting no one. Major Griffiths and 2nd Lieut. Dunlop
received slight scratches, as also did Adams, one of the batmen, but no
serious damage was done. After four days of this, the 5th Lincolnshires
relieved us, and we marched to Beuvry to be in Divisional Reserve. While
here, the new Battalion distinguishing marks arrived from England, and
were taken into use--a half-inch yellow ring, two inches in
diameter--worn just under the shoulder on the sleeve. They were rather
bright at first, and earned us the name (amongst other ruder epithets)
of the "Corn-plasters."
On arrival at Beuvry we were told that the Major General would inspect
us at Fouquières two days later, the 22nd of March. This was
considerably more alarming than the prospect of the German offensive,
and we at once started training, cleaning equipment, and revising our
platoon organisation. Meanwhile, the offensive did begin in the South,
and the Boche on the morning of the 22nd actually launched a big raid
against the Divisional front. However, the Inspection was not postponed,
as we had hoped, and for several hours we performed at Fouquières. Our
ceremonial was by no means bad, considering we had done none for months
it was very good, but what most pleased General Thwaites was our
organization. In vain he tried to find mistakes. Soldier after soldier
was asked "Who is your Section Commander?" "Who takes charge if he is
killed?" "When will it be your turn to take charge?" etc. etc., and
soldier after soldier answered promptly and correctly. The result was a
good word for all of us, and we went back to billets much relieved and
feeling quite elated.
Meanwhile, the morning's raid had left a prisoner in our hands, and he
had now caused about as much sensation as one man could, by stating
quite definitely that the Boche would attack from the la Bassée Canal to
"Hill 70" on the 25th of March with three Divisions. We went into the
Cambrin sector again on the 24th, this time with three Companies in the
line. News of the disaster to the 5th Army in the South had reached us,
and what with Generals coming round to pay farewell visits, and
conferences every few hours, everything was as depressing as possible.
Curiously enough we were not depressed, and, though most of us regarded
the attack as a certainty, the private soldiers were particularly more
cheerful than usual. Late at night we were ordered to withdraw all
except the tunnel sentries from the front line, so as to minimise the
casualties during the enemy's preliminary bombardment, and to
concentrate everything on the defence of the Reserve Line, which must be
held at all costs. Some of the N.C.O.'s and men grumbled a little at
what they called giving up the front line, more especially as patrols
reported that the enemy was busy strengthening his wire, which did not
seem the prelude to an attack. Finally, by 2-0 a.m. on the 25th all was
ready. The Staff at Corps Headquarters, ten miles back, slept in their
boots, all support and reserve Battalions moved to "battle" positions
and stood to, we in the line behaved very much as usual. All waited for
dawn.
Dawn came at last--the quietest since war began, not a shot was fired.
Morning followed and high noon, still no movement; the Staff breathed a
sigh of relief, the Infantry groused, and we occupied our front line,
preparing to pass a normal night. However, this was not to be. We had
scarcely posted our night sentries when at 8-30 p.m. came another
message to say that the prisoner who had originally caused the alarm had
remembered that the attack was for the 26th, not the 25th. All
precautions were to be taken as for the previous night. With this
arrived a long epistle from the Intelligence department, showing that
various new dumps and camouflaged screens had been seen in the German
lines, motor transport had been increased, etc. etc. etc.--all tending
to confirm their wretched prisoner's statement. Once more we evacuated
our front line, once more we waited and once more we were disappointed.
The 26th was as quiet as the 25th, and, except for a humorous telephone
message from "C" Company, which caused much laughter as far back as
Divisional Headquarters, there was nothing to disturb the morning's
peace.
The following evening the 11th Division took over our sector, and we
marched out--the Headquarters and Left Half Battalion to Sailly, Right
Half to Labourse. It was a cold and rather miserable night, for, owing
to a sudden move of our Q.M. Stores to Noeux les Mines, we had no
blankets. Meanwhile, all schools and classes were closed, and those
students who had not been taken to stop the German advance on Amiens
returned to us. The situation was serious, and another blow was expected
at any moment in the neighbourhood of Vimy. The Canadian Corps was
chosen to oppose this, and we were consequently ordered to relieve any
units of that Corps still left on "Hill 70." But on the 28th March
before relief had started the expected attack came--at Oppy. It was a
miserable failure, we lost a few front line trenches, but our line stood
firm; however, the Canadians were wanted in a hurry and we were sent up
to relieve them at once. The other Battalions went into the front line,
we relieved the 46th Canadians in support round Loos Crassier and
Railway Alley. Relief was complete by 10-35 p.m., an almost incredible
performance, considering that there had been no time for reconnaissance
and practically no arrangements made for guides.
It had rained hard throughout the relief, but our first two days in the
line were dry and warm, and we managed to dry our clothing and make
ourselves fairly comfortable. The enemy after the failure at Oppy was
very quiet on our front, though his documents captured in that battle
showed that, had he succeeded in his first day's attempt, the second day
was to include an attack on the Hulluch front. So the "state of
readiness" in the Cambrin sector had not been entirely without
justification. On the 31st the weather broke again, but this did not
prevent the Padre holding his Easter services at each of the Company
Headquarters. The following evening we relieved the 5th Lincolnshires in
the "Hill 70" right sub-sector.
Our new sector was very much the same as the "Hill 70 left," which we
had held in November. The reserve line was the main line of defence, and
was in fairly good condition; the front line was shallow, wet, and
dangerous. Opposite our right and centre was Cité St. Auguste, strongly
held by the enemy; opposite the left, Bois "Dixhuit" and a broken down
farm. There was one tunnel, "Hythe," leading from the reserve line to a
railway cutting in the front line, but except in cases of extreme
emergency this was not intended to be used by the Infantry. Battalion
Headquarters occupied a small and evil smelling German dug-out on the
reverse slope of the hill. Our tour lasted eight days, and almost every
hour was eventful.
We started the tour with a gas bombardment soon after relief on "C"
Company's support platoon, who occupied an old "pill-box" near Cité St.
Pierre dynamite magazine. The gas appliances were defective at the
dug-out entrance, and several men were slightly gassed. At 8-0 a.m. the
following morning, the 11th Division on our left carried out a very
successful raid. This did not in itself affect us very much, but a
bomb-dropping aeronaut during the raid observed large bodies of troops
massing near Meurchin, a large town behind Hulluch. Immediately the old
alarm about a coming attack was renewed, and we once more were ordered
to be in readiness. However, by evening as nothing had happened, we
resumed normal conditions.
This same evening we were given an entirely new scheme of defence,
consequent upon the failure of our trench system to stop the enemy's
advance in the South. The front line was to be held by isolated
observation posts only, and there was to be no garrison within effective
trench mortar range of the enemy. We were to consider the Reserve or
"Red" Line the line of defence, and this must be rebuilt if necessary,
to ensure that it was everywhere out of reach of the enemy's
minenwerfer. Our chief difficulty was to find accommodation for the
front line troops as they were withdrawn; however, we cleared out old
dug-outs, and, after a few days of terribly hard work, were able to
comply with the order.
Meanwhile, the enemy's artillery became very active, and in addition to
frequent gas bombardments of Loos and the Crassier, he harassed our
transport very badly as they came along the main road. Some of this gas
blew back over our lines, and for several hours we lived in an
atmosphere of gas, scarcely noticeable, but none the less dangerous.
The 5th of April was particularly noisy. At 3-0 a.m. we discharged a
large number of gas projectors on to Bois "Dixhuit" and Cité St.
Auguste, to which the enemy replied by shelling our reserve line,
fortunately doing no damage. In the evening, however, he replied in
earnest, and, just after "C" Company had relieved "B" in the front line,
he put down a "box barrage" round their posts. Coloured lights were
fired in all directions, the noise was terrific, and Captain Moore,
expecting a raid, sent the "S.O.S." This was promptly answered, and
within a few minutes the gunners were hammering away vigorously at the
enemy's lines, until he stopped shooting. Our front line was damaged in
many places, but by extraordinary good fortune we escaped without a
casualty. During the day, however, "A" Company lost another very good
N.C.O. in Serjeant Putt, who was wounded and had to go to Hospital.
Throughout the 6th the shelling of Loos continued, and the following
morning, in retaliation to a heavy gas projection on our part, the enemy
turned his attention again to our front line. This time we were less
fortunate, and a Lewis gun post of "D" Company was wiped out by a direct
hit: two of the gunners, C.H. Payne and T.P. Hardy, were killed. In the
evening, in spite of a slight West wind, the enemy poured blue cross gas
shells into Loos, and much of the gas again drifted back across the
lines. During the night, Lieut. Banwell, exploring the enemy's lines,
single-handed ran into three of the enemy, who were almost on top of him
before he could use his weapons. However, he managed to make his way
out, and returned to our lines, having lost nothing worse than a little
breath.
On the 8th of April, the enemy's artillery was never silent. Mustard gas
was fired into the plain East of Vermelles and Philosophe almost without
intermission, while Mazingarbe and Les brebis were similarly bombarded,
only with larger shells. 2nd Lieut. Todd and Serjeant Yeabsley were both
gassed with the transport, the latter so badly that he was several weeks
in Hospital. The following morning in a thick mist the enemy attacked
the Portuguese and drove them from their trenches, pushing his advance
Westwards towards Estaires and Locon. The mustard gas bombardment of the
plain still continued, but the front lines were comparatively quiet.
That night we were relieved by the 4th Battalion, and went once more
into Brigade support. After relief, Capt. A.G. Moore, M.C., and
forty-three other ranks were sent to Hospital with gas poisoning. This
was not due to any one bombardment, but to the fact that for the past
week "Hill 70" had hardly ever been entirely free from gas, and though
never in very large quantities this had gradually taken effect. Capt.
Moore was sent to England, where for some months he was seriously ill
with gas poisoning, and never returned. He and Capt. Shields commanded
Companies longer than any other officers in the Battalion. No amount of
tedious trench warfare could shake their enthusiasm or damp their
spirits, "soft jobs" and six months' rest were not for them; they simply
stayed with their Companies until wounds took them to England--a really
magnificent record.
For three days we remained in support, and the whole time the plain
behind us was full of gas. The Artillery suffered most heavily, for they
could not always wear their masks, and after the first 24 hours there
was a continuous stream of blinded gunners helping each other back along
the road to Philosophe--a terrible sight. We too had several casualties,
for the platoons, on their way to bath at Les brebis, had to pass across
the plain. At Philosophe we lost two mules, through a direct hit with a
heavy shell, and the driver, H. Gamble, was very lucky to escape with
nothing more than a bad wound. It was a miracle he was not killed. On
the 12th the battle became quieter, and that night, relieved by the
Canadians, who arrived very late owing to a railway accident, we marched
out to Bracquemont. Before we went the Germans to the North had advanced
so far that we could see their lights in our left rear. Béthune, too,
was in flames, so we were not sorry to be leaving the sector. Most
thankful of all were the transport drivers, for there are not many worse
places than the Loos road, and few more desolate spots than Philosophe
coal mine on a dark wet night, when the wind is making the loose sheets
of iron rattle, and the horses have "got the wind up."