Chapter V: Part 5

At 1 p.m. on the following day, that is, at the same time that the Welsh Fusiliers were being so fiercely attacked along the Zonnebeke road, news arrived that Gough's 2nd Cavalry Division was being very hard pressed, and had been forced to fall back on Messines. This left a gap, or--to be more accurate--widened the gap on the right of the 7th Division at Zandvoorde, and the 6th C.B. (10th Hussars, Royals, and 3rd Dragoon Guards) were sent off to fill it, as well as might be, by occupying the two canal crossings north of Hollebeke. This they did with success, and the 10th Hussars and 4th Hussars (from the 3rd C.B.) even attacked the Chateau de Hollebeke itself, but were unable to take it, on account of its being still under fire from our own artillery. Later on in the evening, however, it was felt that the line south-west of Zandvoorde was dangerously open, and the 6th C.B. was shifted in that direction, the 10th Hussars at 3 o'clock in the morning taking over the Zandvoorde trenches from the 2nd Scots Guards in the 20th Brigade. The 7th C.B. went into reserve at St. Eloi, where it remained for the night. In the meanwhile the C. in C. had sent up the 7th Indian Brigade to help support Gough.

This transfer of the Zandvoorde trenches into the keeping of the 3rd Cavalry Division was the first abridgement of the immense frontage (from Zonnebeke to south of Zandvoorde) held by the 7th Division. From this time on, till the moment when they were permanently abandoned, it will be found that these Zandvoorde trenches were in the occupation either of the 6th C.B. or the 7th C.B. They formed the most dangerous position in the whole line of defence, being in the form of a promontory which jutted out defiantly into the enemy's country. The 3rd Cavalry Division suffered very severely during its nine days' defence of these deadly trenches, the 10th Hussars, who were perhaps the worst sufferers, losing on the very first day of occupation Col. Barnes, Major Mitford and Captain Stewart.

THE STAND OF THE FIFTH DIVISION[5]

In the meanwhile, further south, at and around Givenchy, a situation was developing which in point of dramatic interest, and as a test of indomitable resolution, bid fair to rival the defence of Ypres. From Givenchy to Le Gheir the 2nd and 3rd A.C. had now definitely assumed the defensive, and the story of how that defence was maintained in the face of overwhelming odds, and under conditions of extreme difficulty and fatigue, is one of which Britain may ever be justly proud.

[5] 13th, 14th and 15th Brigades.

The 21st French Army was, throughout these La Bassee operations, responsible for the ground up to the canal south of Givenchy. From that point the 5th Division took up the line; then came the 3rd Division, then the 6th, and finally, with its left resting on Le Gheir, the 4th Division. Behind the 5th and 3rd Divisions were the Indians.

Between Le Gheir and Zandvoorde, which we may take as the southernmost point of the arm of Ypres, was Allenby's Cavalry Corps.

In the case of the South Army, as with the Army of Ypres, the impetus of the first advance had carried our troops to a line which was only afterwards maintained under great strain, in the face of the masses of troops which the enemy were gradually concentrating in this particular area. La Bassee and Ypres became, for the time being, the two points on which German attention was specially riveted. With the avowed intention of breaking through to Calais by one or other of these routes, troops were being systematically railed up from the east and massed along the Belgian frontier. It was officially computed that by October 20th there were 250,000 German troops north of La Bassee, and that by the middle of November that number had been increased to 750,000.

The fact that it was the British Army which stood between this vast mass of armed men and its projected advance was in all probability not entirely a matter of chance. If the attempt to break through either at Ypres or La Bassee had succeeded, the little British force would either have been wiped out, or hopelessly disgraced in the eyes of its allies. In either case the prestige of England would have received a rude shock; and, with a German base established at Calais, she would have been in imminent danger of losing something more than prestige.

The fact, then, that the Kaiser's selected road to Calais or Paris, as the case might be, lay through the thirty miles of front held by the British troops, was in all probability part of a carefully-thought-out plan. One factor in the case, however, had been overlooked, or at least under-rated, viz.--the indomitable tenacity of the British soldier in the face of difficulties. Of this essentially British quality the Germans had as yet had no practical experience. At Mons and Le Cateau we had dropped back before their onslaughts--dropped back, it is true, in obedience to orders, and in conformity with a pre-arranged plan. Still, we had dropped back. At the Aisne there had been no serious attempt on the part of the enemy to break through our lines. Such had not been part of the German programme at the moment. It was therefore not wholly unnatural, that the very thin British line between Givenchy and Ypres, should have been reckoned at German Head Quarters as being penetrable at any point where sufficient pressure was brought to bear.

In the face of beliefs such as these, the stone-wall resistance put up by our three war-worn Army Corps must have been a source of equal astonishment and exasperation to the wire-pullers in Berlin. To the Britisher it must always bring a thrill of justifiable pride. Many of the regiments engaged were technically "annihilated." Their officers went; their senior N.C.O.'s went; they were worn to the last stage of mental and physical exhaustion by sleeplessness, and by unceasing digging and fighting. And still they held on. There were no "hands uppers" among these men from Britain. We gave ground, of course, both in the La Bassee area and at Ypres. In the latter case a withdrawal of some kind was dictated by every consideration of military prudence. The original bulge was a danger from every point of view, and with no compensating advantage. It thinned our line and laid us open at all times to the risk of enfilading attacks from north and south.

At La Bassee, too, we had got too far ahead, and from the military point of view we lost nothing by falling back a few miles. But from the three points in the line of vital strategical importance, Givenchy, Ploegsteert and Klein Zillebeke, we were never driven. Those points were held on to with a stubborn determination which nothing could break through; and to the battalions on whose shoulders fell the main weight of this burden is due the homage of all who stayed at home. It is not suggested that there was an entirely uniform standard of excellence throughout all the units engaged. Any attempt to make such a representation would be a gross injustice to those battalions which stand out, and which have for ever immortalized themselves, and the honour of British arms, by an indomitable resistance which can find few parallels in the history of war.

But at first we got too far ahead at La Bassee as at Ypres, and this soon became very clear. During a thick fog on the morning of the 21st, some of the 5th Division were driven out of their trenches; and in lieu of making any attempt to retake the trenches so lost, Gen. Morland--who on Sir Charles Fergusson's promotion had taken over command of the division--thought it advisable to readjust the entire line.

Further north, just east of Fromelles, the 19th Brigade had also to give ground. They fought all through this day with great gallantry, but their losses were very heavy, and, in spite of all efforts, by evening they had been forced back over a mile. The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders were specially conspicuous on this occasion; they fought with indomitable valour, and it was only with the greatest reluctance that in the end they obeyed the order to abandon their trenches. In Sergt. Ross's platoon eighty per cent. had been killed or wounded, but the gallant sergeant still refused to give way.

This succession of small reverses was, of course, disappointing in view of the anticipations of the week before, but they brought home to all concerned a thorough realization of the change of outlook. This was still further emphasized by the shifting northwards of the 3rd A.C., a step which was rendered necessary by the obvious inadequacy of the Cavalry Corps numbers for the frontage allotted to it. By this move that frontage was appreciably shortened, but the gap between the 2nd and 3rd A.C. was correspondingly widened, and the difficulty of Conneau's gallant but highly tried corps of cavalry was proportionately increased. The effect on the Frenchmen was at once felt, these being driven out of Fromelles on the following afternoon with very heavy loss. On the same afternoon the 5th Division again suffered severely. The Cheshires were driven out of Violaines, and the Dorsets--terribly thinned though they had been by the fighting of the 13th--seeing them hard pressed, left their trenches and dashed up in support, but the odds were too heavy and both were driven back with loss. The Germans thereupon occupied Rue du Marais, a little village on the northern slope of the Givenchy ridge, but their advantage was short-lived, for they were promptly counter-attacked by the Manchesters and Worcesters and driven out again.

In the meanwhile the Devons had been forced to fall back some two miles from Canteleux, which they had now occupied for three days, to Givenchy, the former place having been formed into an untenable salient by the withdrawal of the troops on either flank.

In the evening General Morland told Sir Horace that the 5th Division was completely worn out with constant digging and fighting, and that he doubted whether they could withstand another attack. The 2nd A.C. had already in the last ten days lost 5,000 men, to which the 5th Division had contributed more than its share. This division had, in fact, from first to last had a most trying time. It had borne the brunt of the fighting at Le Cateau, and at the Aisne it had struck what proved to be by far the most difficult crossing. It had subsequently throughout the Aisne fighting been forced to occupy trenches in the low ground by the river, which were throughout dominated by the German artillery on the heights beyond. Then, within one week of leaving the Aisne trenches, they were once more engaged in ceaseless battling day and night against superior numbers, for on the several battalions of this division in turn devolved the paramount duty of holding the Givenchy position at all costs.

That night Sir Horace motored twenty-five miles over to St. Omer to explain the situation to the C. in C., who was most sympathetic and promised that he would send all that he could spare of the Lahore Indians to be at Estaires at eight o'clock next morning, with a rider to the effect that they were not to be used except in emergency, as they were destined for other work. As a matter of fact they were not used, the 5th Division proving equal to the occasion without foreign assistance.

Throughout the 23rd, 24th and 25th the Germans continued to attack Givenchy with the utmost persistence, but without succeeding in dislodging the Devons. That gallant regiment, however, was becoming very weak in officers. During their three days at Canteleux, Captain Chichester and Lieut. Ridgers had been killed, and Col. Gloster and Lieut. Tillett wounded. Then on the 24th, Lieut. Ainslie was killed, and on the following day Captain Besley and Lieut. Quick were killed, the latter while running to the next regiment to tell them that the Devons meant holding on and that they must do the same. On the 20th they relieved the Manchesters at Festubert. The latter regiment, during its occupation of Festubert, had held its difficult position with magnificent determination and had won two Victoria Crosses, 2nd Lieut. Leach and Sergt. Hogan being each awarded the Cross for valour.

On the following day, the whole line in the neighbourhood of Festubert was subjected to a particularly infernal shelling, every known species of missile being hurled against it. The Devons stood firm through it all, but the regiment on their left--an Indian regiment for the first time in the firing line--found it too much for them, and after having lost most of their officers they retired, their trenches being at once occupied by the enemy. This made the position of the Devons very precarious. With as little delay as possible the reserve company of the regiment under Lieut. Hancock and Lieut. Dunsterville was brought up, and with great gallantry the company attacked and drove the Germans out of the right-hand section of the lost trenches, the 58th Vaughan Rifles at the same time retaking the left-hand section. Both Lieut. Hancock and Lieut. Dunsterville were killed during the charge, and Lieut. Ditmas thereupon took over command of the company, but he himself was subsequently killed, after displaying conspicuous gallantry. On the 31st, as a part of the general process of transfer, the Devons were at length relieved, after sixteen days of almost continuous fighting. They received a great ovation from the other troops on their withdrawal. Lieut.-Col. Gloster was given the C.M.G. and Lieut. Worrall the Military Cross. Other officers who showed conspicuous ability and daring were Lieuts. Lang, Prior and Alexander. Sergt.-Major Webb, who on several occasions had given proof of remarkable courage and coolness, got the D.C.M., as also did Lance-Corpl. Simmons and Pte. Worsfold, the latter of whom greatly distinguished himself by carrying numerous messages at Festubert after the telegraphic communication was cut.

We have now, however, got considerably ahead of the general situation, from which we digressed on October 22nd in order to keep in touch with the position at and around Givenchy. We must therefore once more take up the thread at that date.

During the 23rd, 24th and 25th there was no movement of marked importance in the southern area, but continuous attacks all along the line still further reduced the number and vitality of the 5th Division, and by the evening of the 25th it was rapidly becoming evident to all concerned that the condition of that division, and indeed of the entire 2nd A.C. in greater or less degree, was extremely serious. The casualties of this Army Corps since its arrival in Flanders now amounted to 350 officers and 8,204 men, and those that survived were in a state of extreme exhaustion both mental and physical.

Sir Horace summoned General Maude, Col. Martyn (who had taken over the command of the 13th Brigade when Col. Hickie had been invalided home on October 13th), and Count Gleichen, the three Brigadiers of the 5th Division, to meet General Morland, and all agreed that the situation was very grave indeed, and that human endurance was nearly at the breaking point. General Maude (14th Brigade), however, reported that Col. Ballard was determined to hold the canal trenches with the Norfolks to the last gasp, and that the Devons next the Norfolks at Givenchy were equally resolute, though terribly thinned by casualties. All, however, agreed that however willing the spirit might be, the flesh was too weak to make any prolonged resistance. The Generals themselves were well-nigh worn out with the ceaseless strain, and with want of sleep, their nights being largely occupied in motoring hither and thither for purposes of consultation with other commanders. Two or three hours' sleep in a night was a luxury. Luckily the Germans--accurate as their information usually was--seem to have failed to realize the extreme exhaustion of the troops facing them at this part of the line, otherwise the history of events might have been different.

NEUVE CHAPELLE

The 3rd Division had perhaps, if anything, been so far less highly tried in the way of ceaseless fighting against odds than the 5th Division, but any deficiency in this respect was fully made up to them by the fighting at Neuve Chapelle on the 25th, 26th and 27th.

This very costly three days' fighting opened on the night of the 25th, during a heavy downpour of rain which succeeded a beautiful day, by a furious attack, from the neighbourhood of the Bois de Biez, on the left of the 7th Brigade and the right of the 8th Brigade. This wood, which played a prominent part in these three days' fighting, lies about half a mile to the south-east of Neuve Chapelle, in the centre of the equilateral triangle formed by that place, Aubers and Illies. The Germans advanced out of the wood with great courage and with every appearance of meaning business, but the 7th Brigade and the 15th Sikhs, who had taken over from Conneau's cavalry the day before, managed to stand their ground, and in the end drove the enemy back with very heavy loss, though themselves suffering severely, the Sikhs, who fought superbly, alone losing 200 in officers and men.

The 8th Brigade was not so fortunate, the R. Irish Rifles, who were the right-hand battalion, being driven out of their trenches, which lay north of the La Bassee road on the east side of the village. The situation for the moment was critical, but the lost trenches were very gallantly retaken by the 4th Middlesex, led by Col. Hull, and the 4th R. Fusiliers. The latter battalion suffered considerably in the operation, Lieuts. Hope-Johnstone and Waller being killed. This battalion had now only 200 men left. The whole of the 9th Brigade, in fact, had been reduced to mere skeletons. This brigade (Shaw's) had a magnificent record behind it.[6] From the time when, at Mons, it had borne the brunt of the German attack and put up such a magnificent defence, it had never failed in any task for which it had been called upon; and it is possible that its great fighting reputation and the cheerfulness with which it undertook any duty assigned it, coupled with the undoubted military talents of its Brigadier, had earned for it rather more than its fair share of difficult and dangerous work. During the past fortnight it had fought with great gallantry and with invariable success, and during that short period it had lost 54 officers and 1,400 men.

[6] 4th R. Fusiliers, 1st R. Scots Fusiliers, Northumberland
Fusiliers and the Lincolnshire Regiment.

On the following day the attack was renewed, the Germans suddenly swarming once again out of the Bois de Biez opposite, and the R. Irish Rifles were again driven in, their trenches being at once occupied by the enemy, many of whom entered the town and remained there throughout the day.

The 7th Brigade on the right and the 9th Brigade on the left now had the Germans wedged in between them. The Northumberland Fusiliers (the old Fighting Fifth) on the right of the 9th Brigade, now found the position untenable in the weak numerical condition to which they had been reduced, and they were compelled to withdraw to the western side of the town. During this withdrawal, which was carried out in excellent order, Corpl. Fisk found time to extinguish some flames which were enveloping the limber of one of our guns--a gallant act performed under very heavy fire for which he was given the D.C.M.

On the night of the 26th the position at Neuve Chapelle was a curious one. The enemy were in possession of all the trenches on the north-east side of the town, but on the south-east side the Wiltshire Regiment, the R. West Kents, the K.O.Y.L.I. and the East Surrey were still holding their ground, in advance of the town. The rest of the 3rd Division were thrown back behind the town.

About 11 a.m. on the 27th the usual morning attack was made on the Wiltshire Regiment, whose left flank was now, of course, quite unprotected, and by noon they too had been forced to retire, the Germans in great numbers following closely on their heels. The position of the R. West Kents was now most precarious, as they had the enemy on three sides of them, and it seemed inevitable that they must follow the example of the several regiments on their left, who had been successively forced to give way. Such, however, was not their opinion, and, undismayed by the apparent hopelessness of their position, they promptly set about preparing a defence which proved to be one of the most remarkable of the campaign. Major Buckle, who was in command, on seeing the Wiltshires forced back, at once made his way to the left of his battalion in order to reorganize the formation so as to meet the altered conditions, but he was almost immediately killed, Captain Legard being killed at the same time and Lieuts. Williams and Holloway wounded. All the company officers on the left flank were now down, but the new movement was carried out under the direction of Sergt.-Major Penny and Sergt.-Major Crossley, the reserve company wheeling to its left, while the left of the firing line threw back its flank, so as to present a convex face to the position now occupied by the enemy. All this was carried out under a murderous fire. In this formation the battalion held on till the evening, when our troops in rear of the town counter-attacked with momentary success. This success was mainly brought about by the 47th Sikhs and the 9th Bhopal Regiment, who made a fine dash into the town from the direction of Croix Barbee, the first-named regiment showing great courage, but they both suffered heavy losses from the ubiquitous German machine-guns in the houses. At the same time three groups of the French Cyclist Corps made an attack from the Pont Logis side. The impetus of these combined attacks drove the Germans back for the time being, and indeed for the whole of that night, but their concealed machine-guns continued to play havoc in the ranks of the assailants, and in the early morning of the 28th the attacking force had to fall back, the Germans once more re-occupying the town.

The position of the R. West Kents was now as bad again as ever, and once more half the battalion had to face about to its left flank and rear. The execution of this movement again took its toll of officers, Captain Battersby and Lieut. Gore being killed, and Lieut. Moulton-Barratt wounded. The battalion had now lost twelve out of the fourteen officers with which it had gone into these trenches, 2nd Lieut. White and 2nd Lieut. Russell alone being left, and on these two it now devolved to maintain the spirit of the corps. The remarkable position had by this time developed that practically the whole of Neuve Chapelle was in the hands of the enemy, with the exception of the little south-east corner by the La Bassee road, which was still stubbornly held by the undefeated R. West Kents. On the other side of the La Bassee road, and in the angle which that road makes with the Richebourg road, the K.O.Y.L.I. were still standing firm with the East Surrey beyond them, but these last two regiments were not so hardly pressed, the main attack being always on the eastern side of the main La Bassee road.

We must now take a glance at the Neuve Chapelle position from the larger military point of view. The counter-attacks on the 27th had failed mainly owing to the exhaustion and insufficiency of the troops employed. The place, however, being of considerable strategic importance (to us), the Divisional Head Quarters determined that it could not be left in the hands of the enemy, and an attack on a more important scale was therefore organized for the following day. Sir Horace motored across at night and saw General Conneau, who told him that in addition to the six hundred Chasseurs already in the line, he could lend him a regiment of dismounted cavalry and nine batteries of artillery. The C. in C. also sent him the 2nd C.B. under Col. Mullens, of which the 4th Dragoon Guards arrived on the evening of the 27th, the 9th Lancers and 18th Hussars during the early part of the night. The whole were placed under the command of General McCracken of the 7th Brigade, to whom the details of the attack on the following day were entrusted.

At 8 a.m. on the 28th, some two hours after the Indians and French cyclists had been forced to retire, proceedings were started with a general bombardment of the village. This was a matter of some little delicacy on account of the position still held by the R. West Kents and K.O.Y.L.I., and the difficulty was not made lighter by the fog which lay thick on the plain in the early hours of the morning. In the circumstances the accuracy of the French artillery was remarkable. The north side of the village was given a great bombardment, and at eleven o'clock the sun came through, the fog cleared, and the infantry attack began. The artillery had now played its part, but, to assist in the assault, one gun of the 41st Battery was pushed forward to the junction of the Armentieres and La Bassee roads. From this point of vantage it was able to work considerable execution on the German infantry massed in the north-east corner of the village, but, as an inevitable consequence, was itself singled out for special attention on the part of the enemy. At the same time, as the attack became more general, its sphere of usefulness became greatly circumscribed, and finally Lieut. Lowell, who was in command, resolved to make an attempt to report the position to his C.O. with a view to getting further instructions. To do this, however, it was necessary to leave his shelter and negotiate a hundred yards of bullet-swept road. He was hit almost at once, but kept on his way till a second bullet brought him down in the road. A gunner of the name of Spicer thereupon ran out to get him under cover, but was himself at once knocked over, and subsequently died. Bomb. Bloomfield then went out to the assistance of his officer and comrade, and was fortunate enough to get them both under cover without himself being wounded.

In the meanwhile, the infantry attack was gallantly pressed home, the 47th Sikhs and the 2nd C.B. (on foot) fighting splendidly from street to street. In spite of all, however, the attack once more failed, and at 5 p.m. the Germans were still in possession of the village, always excepting the one small corner still held by the R. West Kents and K.O.Y.L.I.

The anticlimax of the whole thing, and a cause for reflection as to the objects for which modern armies fight one another, is furnished by the fact that in the evening the Germans quietly vacated the town, apparently realizing--after the sacrifice of some 5,000 men--that the position was either untenable, or was not worth the cost of keeping. Our losses in the last day's fighting alone amounted to 65 officers and 1,466 men. The heroes of the three days' fighting were of course the R. West Kents, who immortalized themselves by a performance which in many ways must be unique. The two surviving officers, 2nd Lieuts. White and Russell, were each awarded the D.S.O., and were, in addition, the subjects of some particularly flattering remarks on the part of Sir Horace. The two Sergt.-Majors above referred to were each given the D.C.M., as also was Sergt. Stroud and Pte. Alison. At 2 a.m. on the 29th, the battalion was finally relieved by the Seaforths, having lost over 300 men in the Neuve Chapelle trenches.

This affair of Neuve Chapelle marks the close of the 2nd A.C. operations in the La Bassee district. On the 31st the British troops began to be formally relieved by General Willcocks and his Indians. This corps had now been augmented by the arrival of the Ferozapore Brigade, to be followed almost immediately by the Secunderabad Cavalry Brigade and the Jodhpur Lancers. By 10 a.m. on the 31st the transfer of positions was complete, and Sir Horace and his gallant but war-worn A.C. withdrew to Hazebrouck. A certain proportion of the 2nd A.C. was afterwards called upon to support General Willcocks, but for the most part we shall, in the future, find them co-operating with the 1st A.C. and the 7th Division in the neighbourhood of Ypres.

As far, then, as this record of events goes, we may now bid farewell to the fighting area between Armentieres and La Bassee, and follow exclusively the events east and south of Ypres. These were destined to develop into a succession of battles, in which small numbers of British troops successfully opposed large numbers of German troops, and the details of which furnish, in the words of Sir J. French, "one of the most glorious chapters in the annals of the British Army."

PILKEM

Having now taken a permanent farewell of the fighting in the La Bassee area, with a view to following uninterruptedly the more exciting situation which had gradually been developing around Ypres it becomes necessary once more to pick up the thread of the northern doings where it was dropped.

It will be remembered that on Oct. 19th, 20th and 21st there had been very fierce fighting in and around Zonnebeke, where the enemy made persistent efforts to break through to Ypres--efforts which were frustrated by the timely arrival of the 1st A.C. on the night of the 20th, This Army Corps during the night took over the entire line from Bixschoote to Zonnebeke, and on the 21st the Guards' Brigade, on the right of this line, was able to contribute largely to the repulse of the German attack.

On the 22nd the pressure was shifted to the left of the 1st A.C. line, the 1st Brigade being attacked in great force at Pilkem from the direction of Staden. The Germans advanced to their attack with the utmost determination and with a complete disregard of danger, singing "_Die wacht am Rhein_" and waving their rifles over their heads. The focus-point of the attack was the position occupied by the Camerons, who eventually, by sheer weight of numbers, were driven back, but not before they had taken an appalling toll of the enemy, 1,500 of the latter being found dead upon the ground the following day.

General Lomax, commanding the division, had no idea of leaving the enemy in peace to enjoy this temporary triumph, and at nine o'clock on the same evening the 2nd Brigade, which was billeted some eight or nine miles to the south at the village of Boesinghe, received orders to retake the lost trenches. The R. Sussex regiment was left at Boesinghe, but the remaining three battalions, viz., the 1st Loyal N. Lancashires, the 2nd K.R.R. (60th) and the 1st Northamptons, set out and marched all night to the little village of Pilkem, which was reached at 5 a.m.

The brigade, which had had no food all night, was given no time for rest or breakfast, but was ordered to attack the trenches at once. In the brigade order of October 28th, dealing with this action, General Bulfin, the Brigadier, singles out the 1st Loyal N. Lancashire Regiment for special praise. It may, therefore, be allowable to confine our description of the action to a brief review of the part played by this battalion, which, it will be remembered, had behaved with such remarkable gallantry at the battle of Troyon.

At 6 o'clock, in the dim light of an autumn morning, the brigade set out from Pilkem. The lost trenches lay more or less parallel to the Bixschoote to Langemarck road, a mile to the north of Pilkem. The attacking troops advanced in line, the K.R.R. being on the left, the Loyal N. Lancashires in the centre, with the Northamptons on the right. The 2nd S. Staffords and the 1st Queen's (from the 3rd Brigade) were in support. In this order they advanced to within 300 yards of the trenches, where they began to come under a very heavy rifle fire. Major Carter,[7] commanding the L. N. Lancashires, decided to charge at once with the bayonet, and he sent a message to this effect to the K.R.R. on his left, asking them to advance with him. This, however, they were unable to do, and Major Carter accordingly decided to attack alone. Captain Henderson, with the machine-gun section, pushed forward to a very advanced position on the left, from which he was able to get a clear field for his guns, and the battalion formed up for the attack. Captain Crane's and Captain Prince's companies were in the first line; the other two were in support. The order to fix bayonets was given; a bugler sounded the "Charge," and with loud cheers the battalion dashed forward, and in less than ten minutes had carried the trenches and cleared them of the enemy. Six hundred prisoners were taken, a number which might have been increased but that further pursuit was checked by our own artillery.

[7] Major Carter, D.S.O., was killed on November 10th, 1914. He
was the third O.C. the Loyal N. Lancs, to be killed in action,
Col. Lloyd having fallen on September 14th and Col. Knight at
the battle of the Marne.

During this most gallant charge on the part of the Loyal N. Lancashires, the Queen's and Northamptons on the right advanced and occupied the inn at the cross-roads, where the road from Pilkem joins the main road to Langemarck.

The victory was now complete. The L. N. Lancashires lost 6 officers and 150 men killed and wounded. They won, however, very high praise from the Brigadier and from General Lomax, the Divisional General. Captain Henderson was awarded the Military Cross for

"conspicuous gallantry and ability on Oct. 23rd, when, with his
machine-gun detachment, he performed most valuable services in the
final attack and charge, inflicting heavy losses on the enemy. He
pushed his guns close up to a flank, and helped in a great degree
to clear the enemy's trenches."

One cannot convey a sense of the really remarkable nature of this performance better than by quoting the words of General Bulfin in the G.O. already referred to. "In spite," it says, "of the stubborn resistance offered by the German troops, the object of the engagement was accomplished, but not without many casualties in the brigade. By nightfall the trenches previously captured by the Germans had been re-occupied, about 600 prisoners captured, and fully 1,500 German dead were lying out in front of our trenches. The Brigadier-General congratulates the L. N. Lancashires, the Northamptons and the K.R.R. but desires especially to commend the fine soldierlike spirit of the L. N. Lancashires, which advancing steadily under heavy shell and rifle fire, and aided by its machine-guns, were enabled to form up within a comparatively short distance of the enemy's trenches. Fixing bayonets, the battalion then charged, carried the trenches, and then occupied them, and to them must be allotted the majority of the prisoners captured. The Brigadier-General congratulates himself on having in his brigade a battalion which, after marching the whole of the previous night, without food or rest, was able to maintain its splendid record in the past by the determination and self-sacrifice displayed in this action."

THE SECOND ADVANCE

The 2nd Brigade remained in the position it had captured for twenty-four hours, when it was relieved by the French. In fact during the night of the 23rd and the morning of the 24th the entire line from Bixschoote to Zonnebeke, which the 1st A.C. had taken over from the 3rd Cavalry Division three days earlier, was in turn taken over from them by the French, a Division of the 87th Territorials relieving the 1st Division between Bixschoote and Langemarck, and the 18th Corps of the 9th French Army taking the place of the 2nd Division from Langemarck to Zonnebeke.

The 1st Division went into reserve at Ypres, whilst the 2nd Division moved down to its right across the Zonnebeke road, and took over the position of the 22nd Brigade, which also went back into reserve with its numbers sadly thinned by the fighting of the last three days.

On the following night the 1st Division came up on the right of the 2nd Division and took over the line from west of Reutel to the Menin road, thus relieving the 7th Division of any further responsibility north of that road.

This proved to be the final shuffle of the Ypres defence force, and the positions now taken over proved--broadly speaking--to be permanent. It will be well, therefore, for a thorough understanding of what followed, that these positions should be clearly fixed in the reader's mind. They were as follows: North of the Zonnebeke road the French had now taken over entire charge. From the Zonnebeke road to a point near the race-course in the Polygon wood, west of Reutel, was the 2nd Division; on its right, reaching to the Menin road, was the 1st Division, and from the Menin road to Zandvoorde the 7th Division, with the 3rd Cavalry Division in the Zandvoorde trenches. So far, so good. Our line was everywhere strengthened and consolidated. Between Zonnebeke and Zandvoorde three divisions now occupied the ground hitherto held by the three brigades of the 7th Division; but, on the other hand, fresh German troops were daily arriving in their thousands at Roulers and Menin, and though the line of our resistance might be stronger, the pressure of attack was correspondingly increased.

The shortening and thickening of our line was not, as events proved, accomplished one moment too soon, for on the morning of the 24th the British position was attacked all along its length with a determination which could hardly have been withstood by the attenuated line of a week before.

The 2nd Battalion of the Warwickshire Regiment accomplished a fine achievement on this morning. At dawn they were marched away from Zonnebeke to retake the trenches south of Reutel out of which the Wiltshire Regiment had been shelled. The operation entailed an advance of a mile over ground which was constantly under fire. The final act was the rushing of the German position, the nucleus of which was a small detached farm-house in which were several machine-guns. Col. Loring, who had already been wounded, himself led this last charge and fell dead in the act. The house, however, was captured and the whole German position rushed and occupied, the enemy being driven out with very considerable loss. The Warwicks lost 105 men and several officers.

Almost at the same moment a very similar act, in many respects, was performed by Captain Dunlop's company of the 1st S. Staffords, which it will be remembered had been detached from its battalion on the 21st for the support of the Northumberland Hussars. Here again a farm-house bristling with machine-guns had to be rushed, and here again in the very moment of victory the leader fell dead.

These single company engagements were a special characteristic of the fighting at this period. Owing to our scarcity of men, it was seldom that an entire battalion could be spared for purposes of support, and single companies were consequently sent hither and thither to do the work of battalions--to fill gaps, strengthen weak spots, and even--as sometimes happened--to retake lost positions and drive back parties of the enemy which had broken through. A case in point on this very morning of October 24th was that of No. 4 Company 1st Grenadier Guards. The circumstances here were that the Germans had succeeded in breaking through the right flank of the 21st Brigade, and, as serious consequences threatened, a counter-attack was ordered to be made by Major Colby with No. 4 Company of the Grenadiers, who were at the time on the left of the 20th Brigade. The undertaking in this case was an extremely difficult and dangerous one, both on account of the numerical insufficiency of a single company for the task assigned it, and also because the attack entailed the negotiation of our own barbed wire entanglement. This entanglement, it need scarcely be said, was under a very constant fire from the enemy, making the undertaking, on the face of it, almost a hopeless one. However, it was done. The Grenadiers crawled through, over or under the wire, reformed on the far side, charged and drove the enemy back once more to their own lines. The losses of the Grenadiers were very severe, and, as in the case of the other two companies, the leader, Major Colby, fell dead at the head of his men. Lieut. Antrobus was also killed and Captain Leatham was severely wounded. In the meanwhile the 5th Brigade had been brought up from reserve and completed the rout of the enemy.

On the same morning the 6th Brigade, which had taken over the position of the 22nd Brigade south of the Zonnebeke road, began pushing forward with the ambitious view of re-occupying the advance trenches originally held by the 7th Division along the Paschendael--Becelaere road. The 1st Berkshire Regiment, under Col. Graham, was on the left of the brigade next the road, with the King's Regiment on its right, the other two battalions being in support. In this formation the brigade now advanced with such dash and vigour as completely to outstrip the troops to right and left. The woods in front were full of Germans; every yard gained had to be fought for, and there were considerable casualties, Col. Bannatyne, of the King's, being amongst those killed. However, the brigade made its point and got into the old trenches, but as the French on the north side of the road had not succeeded in making the same progress, the position was a precarious one, and two companies of the Berkshire Regiment had to be thrown back almost at right angles, that is to say, parallel with the road, in order to cover the half mile which separated them. The performance of this regiment was a distinctly meritorious one, several guns being captured as well as prisoners, and it was duly recognized as such in high quarters, Lieut. Nicholson and Lieut. Hanbury-Sparrow getting the D.S.O. for their conduct on this occasion, while Sergt.-Major Smith, Sergt. Taylor and Pte. Bossom were awarded the D.C.M.

The push and enterprise of this regiment on the 24th roused the activity and emulation of the whole division, which, on the following morning, was ordered to advance against Reutel. The attack opened with a furious bombardment of that place by our artillery, and in the afternoon the 4th Brigade was ordered to clear the Polygon wood, the object now being to bring up the 4th and 5th Brigades in line with the 6th.

The 4th Brigade advanced with the Irish Guards and 2nd Grenadiers in the front line, the two Coldstream battalions being in support. Night fell before any great advance could be made. The night was one of torrential rain, which the troops passed in the extremity of misery waiting for the dawn. The attack was then resumed, the 2nd Coldstream coming up into line between the Irish Guards and the Grenadiers. Later on the 3rd Coldstream were also brought up into line on the right of the Grenadiers. The 5th Brigade was on the right of the 4th. Good progress was made, and the line with the 6th Brigade having been established, the men dug themselves in at dusk. This wearisome but highly necessary step had hardly been completed before a furious counter-attack was made at 10 p.m. It was, however, repulsed with loss, and the 2nd Division, cold, wet and weary, remained unmolested for the rest of the night.

This successful advance on the 26th was--as far as this chronicle is concerned--the last act of the 4th (Guards) Brigade as an integral unit. From this time on, the 2nd Grenadiers and the Irish Guards will be found acting quite independently in another part of the field, under the command of Lord Cavan, while the 2nd and 3rd Coldstream remained in the Polygon wood trenches under Col. Pereira. Later on these two Coldstream battalions were joined by the remnant of the 1st Battalion from the 1st Brigade, so that the regiment was, in fact, consolidated. It is important in view of subsequent events to keep this clearly in mind. The Coldstream--with the exception of the 1st Battalion--will not again appear in these pages as actors in the great Ypres drama. But though not directly under the limelight, the role allotted to them henceforth was probably as trying as that to which any regiment could be subjected. For twenty-two consecutive days from the date of the advance they occupied the Polygon wood trenches. In the case of the 3rd Battalion these trenches zig-zagged along the eastern edge of the wood, while the 2nd Battalion trenches ran through the wood itself and were straight. In each case the general lie was north and south, in contrast to the trenches of the 6th Brigade on their left, which faced north-east, making, in fact, the first bend back in the Ypres salient. These Polygon wood trenches proved most abominably wet even for Flanders, the neighbourhood abounding in springs which kept them half full of water even in dry weather. Here the Coldstreamers stayed unrelieved for over three weeks, up to their knees in water, under ceaseless shell-fire, and sniped at with horrible precision on every occasion when they raised their heads. To add to the unpleasantness of the position, the woods in front were thick with unburied Germans, from which the whole atmosphere was polluted. Luckily during the whole of their tenure the wind blew from westerly quarters, which while it brought abominably wet weather, nevertheless blew the tainted air in the direction of the enemy.

THE FIGHTING AT KRUISEIK

While four of the Guards' battalions were thus pushing their way through the Polygon wood near Reutel, the two Guards' battalions in the 20th Brigade were enacting a small drama of their own at the village of Kruiseik, south of the Menin road. Here two companies of the Scots Guards, and the King's Company, 1st Grenadiers, had been posted in some advance trenches east of the village in the direction of the country road running from the village of Vieux Chien to Werwick. About 8.30 at night these advance trenches were attempted by peculiarly German methods. Through the intense darkness that reigned that night, and through the torrential rain, the enemy crept up close to our lines with the aid of every device known to twentieth century warfare. Some said they had come to surrender, others said they were the S. Staffords, and others again called appealingly for Captain Paynter, who was, in actual fact, in command of the right-hand of the two Scots Guards companies. That officer's response, however, took the form of a well-directed fire, and the friendly inquirers departed with some haste. Lord Claud Hamilton (1st Grenadiers), who was in charge of the machine-gun section, was also undeceived by the friendliness of the visitors, and his maxims contributed to the haste of their departure. This officer had now been seven days and nights, unrelieved, in the machine-gun trenches, and the coolness and resource which he displayed during that period gained for him the D.S.O. He was relieved early on the morning following this night attack by an officer of the Scots Guards, who was killed the same day.

The inhospitable reception of the enemy above described made the night attack a distinct failure as far as Captain Paynter's company was concerned. The left-hand trenches were less fortunate. It may be that they were more unsuspecting, or perhaps the British accent of the figures advancing through the darkness was purer on the left than on the right. In any event a report reached the battalion headquarters in rear about nine o'clock that these trenches had been rushed and all the occupants killed. On receipt of this news the two reserve companies of the Scots Guards were sent up under Major the Hon. H. Fraser to investigate, and if necessary to retake the lost trenches. These two companies filed silently through the main street of Kruiseik, keeping close under the shadow of the houses on either side. Not a light was burning, and not a sound was to be heard.

At the far end of the village Major Fraser halted the column, and went forward alone to try and get in touch with Captain Paynter in the right-hand forward trenches, and find out from him what the truth of the matter really was. He managed after a time to find that officer, who assured him that not only were his own trenches still uncaptured, but that he had every intention of keeping them so. As to the trenches on his left he knew nothing. With this information Major Fraser made his way back to the east end of the village, where he had left his men. He decided to investigate for himself the truth as to the left-hand trenches, and, accordingly, accompanied by Lieut. Holbeche, in the capacity of guide, and forty men, he crept down the cinder track which led from the road to the trenches in question. The trenches were in absolute silence, and he was beginning to doubt the story of their occupation, when suddenly a flashlight was turned on to his party, a word of command rang out, and a volley broke the stillness of the night. Major Fraser gave the word to charge, and the little party dashed forward with fixed bayonets, but they were shot down before the trenches were reached. Major Fraser was killed and Lieut. Holbeche severely wounded, and of the whole party only four returned.

In the meanwhile the rest of the two companies which had been waiting at the end of the village street noticed a light in a house standing by itself in the fields. Lord Dalrymple and Captain Fox held a consultation and decided to surround it. When this was done, Sergt. Mitchell, with great courage, went up to the door and knocked. It was flung open and he was at once shot dead. The house, however, was well surrounded, and all within it were taken prisoners. They numbered over two hundred, including seven officers, and they were promptly sent to the rear under escort. Further back, however, the prisoners were transferred to the custody of some of the 2nd Queen's, and the Scots Guards escort rejoined the two companies at the end of the village, whereupon the lost trenches were attacked and re-captured, and connection once more established with Captain Paynter.[8] This was not effected without considerable further loss. In addition to those already mentioned, Lieuts. Gladwin and Dormer were killed, and Col. Bolton, Lord Dalrymple, Captain Fox, Lord G. Grosvenor, and the Hon. J. Coke were all wounded, and, in the darkness of the night, fell into the enemy's hands. The 2nd Scots Guards in all lost nine officers during this night's fighting. On the following day the battalion was ordered to abandon the Kruiseik trenches, and was taken back into reserve, mustering only 450.

[8] Captain Paynter and Captain Fox got the D.S.O. for their
share in the night's work.

The withdrawal of the 2nd Scots Guards from the trenches east of Kruiseik, which it had cost them so dearly to hold, marks the first step in our retirement from the advanced position we had taken up, following the forward movement of October 19th, and consequently the first step in the straightening out of the salient bulge. They were not replaced, and this ground passed permanently out of our hands.

The King's Company, 1st Grenadiers, which, it will be remembered, were also posted in the advance trenches east of Kruiseik, by some means failed to receive the order to withdraw, with the result that, on the afternoon of the 26th, they found themselves absolutely isolated, and cut off from their army by the better part of half a mile. The position, on the face of it, appeared absolutely hopeless, as the Germans were by this time in occupation of the village of Kruiseik itself. However, as the Guards, like the Samurai, do not surrender while yet unwounded, they faced the situation, and actually fought their way back through the main street of the village. The Germans had machine-guns in the windows of the houses, but for once in a way these weapons were less effective than usual, and in the evening the company rejoined its battalion, considerably thinned in numbers, but triumphant. Lieut. Somerset was the only officer killed during this retirement.

The night of the 25th was a bad one in every way for the 20th Brigade, and the wastage of life owing to the darkness, and the rain, and the impossibility of distinguishing friend from foe, is not good to think upon. Here is another instance.