MOUQUET FARM
Though it was to the 2nd Canadian Division the distinction fell of
taking Courcelette, this signal triumph would not have been possible
but for the simultaneous attacks of the 3rd Canadian Division on their
left, across McDonnell Road. These attacks resulted, at the moment, in
no great gain of ground, but they effectually held the attention of the
Germans in the Fabeck Graben and Zollern Trench, and so protected the
flank of the 2nd Division's advance. This, indeed, was all that it was
intended to accomplish, the duty assigned to the 3rd Division in orders
being merely to carry out such operations as might be necessary to
protect the left flank of the main offensive. The task with which the
Divisional Commander (Major-General L. J. Lipsett, C.M.G.) found
himself confronted was an arduous one for he had peculiarly difficult
ground before him, and such formidable defensive positions as Mouquet
Farm and the Fabeck Graben and Zollern trenches; but it was
accomplished with complete success, though not without heavy cost in
casualties.
It was on September 7th that the 3rd Division moved south from
Steenvoorde toward the region of the Somme, assembling in the
neighbourhood of Cramont and Colon Villers. On the 10th they
transferred to the Reserve area at Rubempré; and on the 12th they moved
up into the fighting area, on the left of the 2nd Division, with
headquarters at Usna Hill. On their left they had the 11th (Imperial)
Division. The 8th Brigade (Brigadier-General J. H. Elmsley, D.S.O.)
went first into the trenches, beyond the ruins of Pozières; while the
7th Brigade held itself in readiness at Vadincourt, and the 9th at
Herissart. The Brigade was made up of the 1st, 2nd, 4th, and 5th
Canadian Mounted Rifles. The 2nd and 4th Canadian Mounted Rifles were
sent into the front trenches with the 1st in support at Chalk Pits, and
5th in reserve among the mounds of _débris_ which had been La Boiselle.
The task of taking over these front lines in the dark, by men totally
unfamiliar with the lay of the land, over a wilderness of shell-holes
and old, ruined trenches, where all landmarks had been obliterated, and
through a hell of shrapnel, gas and high explosives, was in itself
equivalent to a battle, and calculated to shake the morale of any
troops but those of the finest nerve. It was accomplished not without
loss, and vicissitude, and much thrilling adventure.
That same night of the 12th, hoping to profit by the confusion
attending the taking over of the lines, the enemy launched a sudden
attack from Mouquet Farm, upon the left sector of the divisional front,
at the same time putting up a heavy barrage to prevent the supports
from coming up from the Chalk Pits. The attack fell upon the 2nd
Canadian Mounted Rifles (under Lieutenant-Colonel Bott), who now, after
their fighting in the north, numbered only about 250 bayonets. It was
a rude welcome to this fiercely contested line, where the struggle had
been wavering back and forth for days; but the battalion was a seasoned
one, and was not caught unready. With the aid of the Artillery and
light trench mortars the assailants, after an obstinate effort, were
beaten back with heavy loss.
On the evening of the 14th, the 1st and 5th Battalions of the Canadian
Mounted Rifles were in the divisional front trenches (having relieved
the 2nd and 4th Canadian Mounted Rifles), when the 11th Division, on
our left, made an attack. The Germans retaliated by a counter-attack
upon our sector. Our men had hot work for a time; and the help of the
Canadian heavy guns was called in with effect. By half-past nine the
attack had been beaten back, with much more loss to the enemy, on this
occasion, than to ourselves.
On the 15th began the long series of gruelling struggles which, with
varied fortunes and cruel losses, was to keep the 3rd Division under
almost ceaseless strain throughout the next four weeks, until its
withdrawal, with the 1st and 2nd Divisions, from the Somme area.
According to the plan of operations for the great offensive on the
15th, the part assigned to the 3rd Division was, as has been noted, to
form a protecting left flank to the offensive. This was to be effected
by a thrust against the Fabeck Graben and Zollern trench systems; by
running out a trench and establishing a strong post on the extreme
right, so as to obtain an enfilading fire of machine-guns along the
front of the 2nd Division's objective (thus taking a direct hand in the
attack on Courcelette); and by raiding the trench system around that
ancient thorn in our side, Mouquet Farm, with a view to lessening the
German pressure further to the right. The duty of carrying out these
operations was allotted to the 8th Brigade, which was already in
occupation of our front lines west of McDonnell Road.
At 6.30 on the morning of the 15th the first move in the attack was
made. The 5th Canadian Mounted Rifles (Lieutenant-Colonel Draper), on
the right, rushed their first objective, the German front line, so
swiftly that it was gained with few casualties. They jammed the enemy
back up his communication trench some distance and established a block.
Their gain was quickly consolidated and they set themselves to digging
a new communication trench back to our lines. At the same time the 1st
Canadian Mounted Rifles (Lieutenant-Colonel Andross), on the left,
sprung their raid on Mouquet Farm. They gained entrance, after a brief
resistance, and found the place full of German dead, the harvest of our
barrage. Having hastily effected such damage as they could with the
explosives at their disposal, they made their way back to their
starting point, with one prisoner, having suffered only 25 casualties
in the affair, which had lasted just about one hour. They had no
sooner evacuated the farm than the German artillery came down upon it
with a tornado of shells, which inflicted much more damage than our
raiders had been able to accomplish.
So far all had gone well; and now news came across of the unexpectedly
swift and brilliant success of the 4th and 6th Brigades in their attack
on the approaches to Courcelette. Toward 10 o'clock it was decided, by
telephone conference between General Byng and the Divisional Commander,
that, as the 2nd Division was to proceed to the capture of Courcelette
in the afternoon, the 3rd Division should simultaneously undertake a
further advance, with the object of seizing, not only Fabeck Graben,
but the crest of the low ridge beyond it. From this position, if they
could attain it, they would not only support and protect the further
advance of the 2nd Division on Courcelette, but overlook and threaten
the formidable lines of Zollern Trench. For this venture the 8th
Brigade shortened its line toward the left, and the 7th Brigade,
hurrying up from Usna Hill, moved into the trenches on the right,
forming contact with the left of the 2nd Division at Taffy Trench. The
greater portion of the responsibility for the new attack thus devolved,
very fittingly, upon the 7th Brigade, which came in fresh for the
contest while the 8th had already been under three days and nights of
trial. The interest of the story at this point, therefore, centres
chiefly about the fortunes of the 7th Brigade under its able commander,
Brigadier-General A. C. MacDonell, C.M.U., D.S.O.
The disposition of the Brigade for the attack was as follows: The right
half of the attacking wave was taken by the "Princess Pats," under
Lieutenant-Colonel Pelly, the left half by the 42nd Battalion (the 5th
Royal Highlanders of Canada from Montreal), under Lieutenant-Colonel
Cantlie. Immediately beyond the centre of the attacking line waited
the 49th Battalion (the Edmonton Regiment, Lieutenant-Colonel
Griesbach). The plan was for the 42nd and the "Princess Pats" to take
the first two objectives and consolidate them. The 49th was then to
pass on through to the third objective and dig in. Behind the 40th,
again, stood the Royal Canadian Regiment, in support, under
Lieutenant-Colonel C. H. Hill. The plan was well devised; but it was
destined to encounter obstacles which prevented its complete
accomplishment. In one vital respect, however, its purpose was fully
attained. It gave the enemy all he could do on its front, thus
perfectly, though at heavy cost, protecting the flank of the 2nd
Division, and rendering possible the triumphant assault on Courcelette.
The operation must, therefore, be accounted a complete victory for the
3rd Division, which thereby achieved what it was set to do in an
entirely adequate manner, although not gaining all the ground which it
had hoped to gain.
The task confronting the Brigade Commander at the very outset was a
sufficiently hard one. He had to bring up his Brigade over five miles
of extremely difficult and confusing ground, through a succession of
destructive barrages, and deploy it for attack in broad daylight, in
the very teeth of an enemy in force and furiously alert, along an
almost shelterless frontage. This was accomplished on time, at 6 p.m.
The attack was launched as planned, just at the moment when, to the
right, the 5th Brigade was starting its final victorious advance on
Courcelette. The men of the 42nd Battalion reached their first
objective in fifteen minutes with comparatively light casualties; and
by half-past six they had gained their portion of the second objective,
the formidable Fabeck Graben. The "Princess Pats" meanwhile had
carried their first objective with a rush; but running into a withering
machine-gun fire on their right, they were partially baulked of their
second objective. Only the two platoons of their left succeeded in
getting into Fabeck Graben, where they established themselves in touch
with the 42nd. On their right, for the next 200 yards or so, the
trench was still held by the enemy in force. Beyond them again the
trench was occupied almost up to the outskirts of Courcelette, by
parties of the veteran battalion, which had burst their way, with
magnificent audacity, through the hell of the machine-guns, and were
holding on to the precarious gains with the tenacity of bulldogs. The
heroism of these scattered groups was of incalculable service to the
men of the 25th Battalion, then fighting their way through the western
half of Courcelette.
Soon after 8 o'clock the 49th Battalion started up the sunken road on
its way to attempt the third objective; and the Royal Canadian
Regiment, supporting, took their places in the front line from which
the attack had been launched. They got into Fabeck Graben, and held on
there; but concentrated artillery fire and the massing of the Germans
in Zollern Trench, and especially about its junction with the Fabeck
Graben, made further progress for the moment impossible.
To the 8th Brigade, on the left, had been set but a single objective,
namely, the more westerly sector of Fabeck Graben, running in the
direction of Mouquet Farm. But one battalion, the 4th Canadian Mounted
Rifles (from Eastern Canada, and commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel H. D.
L. Gordon), was appointed to this operation. "B" and "C" Companies
formed the attacking waves. But a heavy blow fell upon them at the
outset, which, but for the ready initiative of the captain in command
of "B" Company, would have upset the whole movement. "B" Company
gained the jumping-off trench without mishap; but "C" Company, which
was a little way behind, was caught fairly by the German barrage, just
as it was deploying from the communication trench known as "Tom's Cut."
The result was disastrous. Two of the platoons were practically wiped
out. And the remaining two platoons were forced to draw back into the
shelter of the trench. Perceiving that the whole operation of the
Brigade was in jeopardy through this misfortune, the captain of "B"
Company (Captain Coleman) came to a bold decision. Extending his
company to occupy the whole frontage, he attacked at once, before the
enemy became aware of their advantage. His thin wave made up for its
deficiency in weight by the fury of its charge, burst into Fabeck
Graben with bomb and bayonet, and carried the whole objective. Having
secured his connection with the 7th Brigade on his right, he fought his
way some distance along the trench to his left, and established a block
to protect his heroic handful from interference from the direction of
Mouquet Farm. It was an altogether notable feat, even among the many
achievements of that memorable day. As soon as darkness fell, the
remaining two platoons of "C" Company moved up into the captured
position, a communication trench was dug back to our lines, and patrols
were sent out toward Zollern Trench to guard against a surprise
counter-attack. Throughout the affair the support of our artillery
left nothing to be desired. Had it not been for the fulness and
accuracy of our barrage the success of a single company extended over
so wide a frontage would have been impossible.
Fabeck Graben having been thus secured by the 3rd Division, it was
decided that the Division should, on the following day, the 16th, press
on to the assault on Zollern Trench and the strongly defended position
known as Zollern Redoubt, situated at a commanding cross-roads, about
half a mile due north of Mouquet Farm, which had been giving us trouble
for so long that it had acquired an evil fame out of all proportion to
its importance. The ground about the farm was high, and peculiarly
exposed to the enemy's fire from north, north-east and east alike, so
that it was necessary to take not only the stronghold itself but the
rolling ground far in advance of it, in order to be secure in its
possession. All previous attacks upon it had been made from the south
and south-east; but now the plan was to attack from the east. To this
end it was absolutely essential that the eastern half of Zollern Trench
should first be in our hands.
The whole operation, as will be obvious from a glance at the map, now
depended on the gaining of our first objective, namely, the line of
Zollern Trench east, as far west as Grandcourt Road. With that line in
our possession, the way would be open to attack both Zollern Redoubt
and Mouquet Far, with a reasonable chance of success.
The plan of operation was as follows: At 5 p.m. the 7th Brigade, which
occupied the right of the line was to capture Zollern Trench and secure
their hold upon it. Then, but not till then, the 9th Brigade
(Brigadier-General F. W. Hill, D.S.O.) occupying the centre of the
line, was to swing its right northward till it rested on Zollern
Trench, and then move westward against Zollern Redoubt. This attack
was not timed to start till 6.30, to allow for the completion of the
movement of the 7th Brigade, upon which it hinged. The 8th Brigade,
meanwhile, on the left, was to undertake the task of encircling Mouquet
Farm on the east and north.
Throughout the afternoon all the proposed objectives were subjected to
a heavy bombardment, which at 4.30 was intensified to a close barrage,
behind the shelter of which the assaulting battalions of the 7th
Brigade formed up for the attack. At 5 p.m. the first wave went over
the top, the Royal Canadian Regiment on the right, the 42nd Battalion
(Royal Highlanders, Montreal) on the left, with the 49th Battalion
(Edmonton) in support.
The attack was ably planned and launched with the greatest resolution,
but it met with an altogether unexpected weight and fury of opposition.
It found the enemy massed before it in unprecedented force, and ran
into a devastating storm of machine-gun fire from left and front. It
turned out that the Germans had gathered all their available strength
on that sector for an overwhelming counter-attack on Courcelette. The
result was an unforeseen one for both sides, a stalemate as far as
these operations were concerned. The great counter-attack, which might
conceivably have wrenched Courcelette from the grasp of its weary
conquerors, was shattered before it even got under way, and nothing was
heard of it thereafter on any such scale. At the same time our
attacking waves broke in vain upon the fiery parapets before them, and
none gained an entrance to the trench.
The 9th Brigade meanwhile had reached their jumping-off trench, and
were waiting impatiently to move on Zollern Redoubt. The appointed
hour went by; but the Zollern Trench was still in the enemy's hands,
and they could not start. In this crisis the commander of the 7th
Brigade ordered up his supporting battalion, the 49th, to add its
weight to the attacking line. The enemy's barrages were so intense
that the signal wires were all broken, and the order had to be sent
through by runners. For these runners, too, as ill chance would have
it, the barrages proved equally destructive, and the order never
reached the 49th till 11 o'clock. By that time it was too late, and
the order had been already cancelled. In the meantime, the leading
battalion of the 9th Brigade had sent three platoons to the aid of the
hard-pressed 42nd. General Hill had not yet given up hope of getting
his blow in against the Zollern Redoubt and he asked that the artillery
should keep up their barrage on the redoubt till 7.30, which was done.
By this time, however, it was clear that the 7th Brigade had been
baulked. Thus disorganised in its foundations the whole attack fell
through and was abandoned, and our battalions, angry and bleeding, drew
back into their own lines.
As far as the object with which it was undertaken is concerned, the
operation was a confessed failure. But inasmuch as it brought to
naught the great German counter-attack the failure was not without its
compensations, and the account may be regarded as fairly squared. At
the same time, while the major operation had thus missed its aim, a
very important success had been scored for the Division by the 8th
Brigade, on the extreme left. The 2nd Canadian Mounted Rifles, during
the night of the 16th-17th, took Mouquet Farm. A party, under Major
Foster, bombed the Germans out of a trench which covered the north side
of the Farm, consolidated it, and established two machine-gun and
bombing posts. Then other parties of the battalion entered the Farm
itself, and blew up the dug-outs, wherein the garrison was sheltering.
Among these dug-outs one was discovered which threw light upon the
source of many past reverses. A cunningly concealed tunnel led
northward from it to a maze of German trenches outside. By this
tunnel, when Australians or Imperials had captured Mouquet Farm on
previous occasions, the Germans had been wont to steal in with
machine-guns and bombs and take them in the rear. Now, this tunnel was
effectually closed by exploding a Stokes gun shell within it, and the
enemy beyond were sealed away from further mischief.
[Illustration: Map--MOUQUET FARM. Progressive Stages, Sept. 3rd 14th
16th.]
In a few hours a new trench was dug, completely surrounding the Farm,
and the stronghold so drenched with blood, so often won and lost again,
so long a menace to our lines on the south and east, was at last
securely in our hands. Before daylight the Canadian Mounted Rifles
handed it over, with pardonable exultation, to a relieving Battalion of
the 11th (Imperial) Division. On this day the 8th Brigade moved back
to the Brickfields at Albert, and the 7th to Tara Hill; and the 9th
Brigade took over their lines. The next few days were occupied with
sharp but fluctuating struggles, carried out by the 1st Division on the
right around Courcelette and the 3rd Division on the left, which
yielded no permanent result except the improvement of our position
between Courcelette and the Bapaume Road, and a slight but valuable
gain of ground along the northern outskirts of the village, towards
Kenora Trench. Zollern Graben still defied us. Though it was taken on
the 20th, for an extent of 250 yards, by the 43rd (Cameron Highlanders
of Canada, Winnipeg), and 58th (Toronto) Battalions, we were not yet
able to maintain our hold upon it. These confusing and sanguinary
struggles may be regarded as leading up to and preparing the way for
the next great series of operations, which aimed at, and at last, after
bitter cost, resulted in, the capture of Regina Trench.