Chapter VI: Part 6

Then, just as we were leaving Monchy to take the track across the three miles of plain to Falvy, our Commanding Officer, who was in command of the rearguard, found the Rifle Brigade digging themselves in behind the village. Gen. Stone, commanding 17th Infantry Brigade, was in attendance, and he was of opinion that one battalion ought to be left there for a time to prevent the enemy if he took the village from debouching on to the plain. The fog was just beginning to disappear, and it appeared that this plan was unwise in the circumstances. However, Gen. Stone wished the Rifle Brigade to fight this position, and he asked for one company of the East Surreys to scout through the wood as a flank guard on his left. The company was accordingly detached, and worked its way through the wood. Later in the day this company got to the Somme, when it was a perfect inferno, and at a place where there was no bridge. Many of the men were lost, and the remnants had to swim the river.

The remainder of the Brigade got to a position on the east bank of the Somme, as ordered, and by this time the whole of the Division could have been safely over the river. About 11 o’clock the sun came out, and every blade of grass on this wide plain was visible. The whole Division, including attached troops, were there. When the Rifle Brigade began to come back at about 11.30 they were shelled unmercifully, so were the Reinforcement Camp Battalion just behind them, and so were the rest of the Division on the bank of or crossing the river.

Our cheery little friend, the Brigade Signalling Officer, Lieut. G. F. Hopkinson, did marvellous work during the terrible time that followed. Again and again he went up on his motor-bicycle across the plain and brought back wounded men to the dressing station across the river.

After every other unit of the Division had crossed the river the 72nd Brigade crossed at about 3.30. It had been a horrible day, and we are firmly convinced that had the whole division marched away from Monchy in the fog, the retirement would have been completed without a casualty.

Just before we crossed the Somme a squadron of cavalry rode over the bridge eastwards. They could do very little at this stage, but they seemed to be spoiling for a fight, and were acting under orders given several hours earlier. With the greatest gallantry they attempted to round up the machine-gun nests which the Germans had now pushed forward, but they suffered very heavy casualties both to horses and men, and had to return. A battalion of the 8th Division passed us as we crossed the river. They were to act as an outpost to the main line on the west side of the river. The division had been sent up from a rest area to hold the line of the Somme, and the men were in splendid fettle as they swung across the bridge.

So with wishes of good luck on both sides we passed through the 8th Division to the village of Licourt, some four miles off. We could not have gone to a more unfortunate place. It was peaceful enough, and our Battalion was got together and camped under the sky in a big field. But in the village was the headquarters of an Infantry Brigade of the 8th Division.

The Brigadier-General commanding this brigade was in doubt about his positions on the river. He found Col. Wyatt, who was commanding our Brigade, and our Commanding Officer was summoned to the Brigade Headquarters. The General stated that he had not received information of the arrival of one of his battalions. Our Commanding Officer pointed out that this battalion had passed through in the direction of the river in buses some time before. This would not do for the General. He ordered _us_ to go.

Our men had been at it fighting or footing it for twelve hours, after two days of hell. They were very nearly dead beat, and now they were ordered back to the crossing of the river they had just passed, almost certainly on a wild goose chase. The Colonel decided to go down to the place himself first, and orders were left with the Adjutant that the Battalion should move off half an hour later.

Arrived at the river, he left his horse and groom at an old church and went on. He found, as expected, the Battalion was in position, and had been on the spot for some hours. It was now getting dusk and he could not find the horses, so he came back on foot, but unfortunately by a road parallel to the one down which the Battalion was marching. The Battalion had to proceed right to the river, and were then sent back. They arrived back at Licourt about midnight, and shortly afterwards Capt. Arnaud brought up the cookers and a wonderful hot meal. The night was again very cold indeed, and it was a case of lying down in the open. This meal was the finest thing we had seen for a long time. In spite of the cold and soreness of limb, we slept like logs.

On the next day, Sunday, March 24, the 72nd Brigade was ordered back early in the morning to Chaulnes, some six miles back. There were welcome signs of our own artillery on this march back. Big guns were in position, and speaking to some purpose on all sides, and more were lumbering up as we marched. At this time we were supposed to be marching out to be relieved by French troops, but we did not really believe it. We had heard that there had been some hitch about demolishing some of the Somme bridges, and the river positions did not seem to be altogether secure.

We arrived at Chaulnes about 9 a.m., and as we were now some miles at any rate from the enemy, we had a few hours’ relaxation. The feet of every man in the Battalion were attended to first, and much-needed water and soap were brought into use. Kellogg, the Medical Officer, had a busy morning.

At noon a council of war was summoned hastily at Brigade Headquarters. The enemy was reported to have forced a crossing of the Somme at Béthencourt, and a gap had been formed between the 8th and 20th Divisions. The 72nd Brigade was ordered to march to Fonches to take up a position there. The American officer in command of a big dump, which had been set on fire, met us just before we left Chaulnes with the comforting news that the enemy was in sight and that we would never reach Fonches. As we marched across the railway, some excited French Engineers were trying to blow up the permanent way, and were doing their best to bring it off as we were crossing. In view of the news we marched to Fonches by companies, with strong flank guards and advanced guards thrown well out. We arrived there without incident at 3 p.m., and found Fonches was a place of perfect peace. The Brigade was disposed in trenches defending the Hattencourt-Fonches-Fonchette road, the 9th East Surrey Regiment on the right, the 8th Royal West Kent Regiment on the left. The 73rd Brigade were on our left in front of Punchy, and the 17th Brigade on their left in front of Omiécourt. The Battalion’s dispositions were quickly made, and close liaison established with the battalions on our right and left. Battalion Headquarters were established at Fonches Church. Very soon it was clear that the enemy was not within miles of us yet, and the cookers, which had been kept a little behind, were ordered up. Fonches was a pretty little village, with an old village green; the weather was delightful, and we wonder if anyone who was there will ever forget the wonderful picnic on the green which we had on the arrival of the cookers.

We felt much fitter after this, and every man was given a task in strengthening our trench positions. The work went on right through the night, while joint patrols of our men and the 7th Battalion Northamptonshire Regiment were out under 2nd Lieut. Pfeuffar, through the dense wood and along the valley east of Fonches as far as Curchy. By daybreak we had greatly strengthened our positions along the road.

About 7 a.m. it was reported that the 8th Division were to make an attack in the direction of Morchain and Béthencourt, in conjunction with French troops. The 24th Division was ordered to move up in support of the attack, and the 17th and 73rd Brigades took up a position on the line Dreslincourt to Pertain. The 72nd Brigade took up a position in support, astride the railway west of Hyencourt-le-Petit. This meant a march of about two miles north from Fonches. The Royal West Kent Regiment deployed north of the railway in three lines, D and C Companies and the North Staffordshire Regiment (the remnants of whom were now attached to us) in front, A and B Companies in support, Headquarters in reserve. The enemy shelling became very unpleasant—the 17th and 73rd Brigades were driven in, and at about 1 p.m. the 72nd Brigade was ordered to return to Fonches and hold the line Hattencourt-Fonchette to the main cross-roads 800 yards north-east of Fonchette. After some difficulty—the main road being now the mark for enemy guns—we took up the new positions, and the Commanding Officer inspected the left flank of our position. It was found that the 73rd Brigade front was at right angles to ours, and running back towards Hallu. We had a telephone line to Brigade from Fonches Church, and the position was immediately explained to General Morgan, who had just got back from leave full of martial ardour.

Our Colonel was ordered to do all he could to re-establish this flank. _In any case we were to hold out at Fonches to the last._ The 9th East Surreys were in position on our right, and, leaving Maj. Clark in charge, Col. Wenyon went with his servant (Pte. Smith) to see what could be done on the left. The enemy had advanced considerably opposite the 73rd Brigade front, and appeared to be occupying Hyencourt-le-Petit, and positions south of that village. Heavy machine-gun fire was being directed on the area north and west of the cross-roads which formed our left flank. After about two hours, two battalions of the 73rd Brigade were got forward to the belt of wire running north and south just west of the Fonchette-Omiécourt road. Our position being now secure, Col. Wenyon returned to Fonches.

The Battalion had been having a bad time. The Fonches cross-roads was, and had been for some time, the mark for most things the enemy could throw over. The spot was under particularly heavy machine-gun fire, and we had our first experience of being shot up by field guns at point-blank range. Capt. Ewen, commanding A Company, had been killed, the Adjutant, 2nd Lieut. J. B. Cryer, had been wounded, and we had had many other casualties.

Kellogg and the medical officer of the East Surreys had their dressing station in the village road by the green, where we had picnicked so peacefully the day before, and they were attending to wounded without ceasing all the afternoon. The enemy was desperately close to this horrible cross-roads, and once again we could see hordes of men coming up from the rear, ready to reinforce his forward battalions. Still our garrison was well disposed to meet attack, thanks largely to the hard work of the night before, and the officers and men were ready to fight the position to the last. We had an exciting evening, and thrust back attack after attack. All the afternoon the enemy had been collecting in large numbers in the wood just south of this valley. After many messages had been sent down, at last some real heavies of ours got on to this wood and did excellent work for some hours.

Shortly after 8 p.m. determined efforts were made by the enemy to break through our lines. A party succeeded in getting into a disused trench about twenty yards in front of A Company. A cutting-out movement was at once organised, and after a stiff fight, in which 2nd Lieut. Stevens was wounded, the enemy retired, leaving behind a store of bombs and ammunition. We then put a post in this disused trench and established a block there.

The night was clear and moonlight, and, apart from isolated sallies by the enemy, which were met by our fire and dispersed, nothing of note occurred. In one of these sallies we secured a hefty Prussian prisoner.

The action of our Padre, Rev. G. D. Barlow-Poole, might be mentioned here. Having heard at Brigade Headquarters the orders that we were to fight Fonches to the last, he deliberately came up and spent the whole time with us.

Knowing what our orders were, 2nd Lieut. Cryer, though shot through the arm and in considerable pain, had refused to go to the Field Ambulance, and behaved with the greatest gallantry.

Numberless acts of splendid heroism could be mentioned, but space does not permit. To mention one would be to mention every man. Throughout the companies the word had passed, “When it comes to it, three Huns for each of us,” and every man was determined to carry this out. Men were not recklessly throwing away their lives, but wherever the fight became hottest, or when any point was gravely threatened, there was a spontaneity about the measures to put things right which made our attacks irresistible. In the midst of all this noise and fury Capt. Arnaud succeeded in getting a cooker up near enough after dark for us to carry hot soup and stew, if you please, to every man in the Battalion.

The cross-roads at Fonches will surely always live in the minds of the little garrison who hung on by the teeth there through that awful day.

FONCHES.

The Cross Roads.
]

The end of it was that at midnight we had orders from Brigade to withdraw to positions at Hallu. We could hardly believe it, but the orders were clear enough. The enemy was very close, and the withdrawal had to be done with great care. It took a long time creeping, section by section, along the grass border of the village road, out beyond the village, until it was safe to march in column of route on the road itself. The withdrawal was made in perfect order, without casualties, and we took up positions at Hallu by 3.30 a.m. About 5 a.m. it was possible to inspect the new line, and a gap was found between ourselves and the 9th East Surreys on our right. A Company, now commanded by Capt. J. H. Selfe, moved up from support to fill the gap.

WARVILLERS.

Some of the billets occupied by the Battalion.
]

We had had practically no rest, and the mental strain of the day before, added to the cold and physical weariness, left us particularly limp at dawn on March 26. We got a hurried breakfast, which improved matters considerably, and it was clear that we were soon to be at it again. At 6 a.m. the empty village of Fonches was being shelled to extinction, and the positions we were in at Hallu did not inspire us with a great deal of hope.

Col. Wenyon was ordered to take up Headquarters at Hallu in a dug-out with a direct telephone to Divisional Headquarters. We managed by this means to get some artillery fire to bear on the advancing Hun, but the shooting was wild, and many shells fell in our trenches. At 8 a.m. we received information from Brigade that the enemy had broken through the entrenching battalion on the right of the 9th East Surreys, and we were to withdraw fighting in echelon from the right. Capt. Thompson, who was commanding in our forward trenches, was accordingly ordered to conform with other units. Shortly after this the left broke also, and the 73rd Brigade withdrew. This left the remnants of the 72nd Brigade with both flanks in the air once more. The advanced enemy were within 200 yards of our trenches, and were advancing in vast numbers. Capt. Thompson informed the East Surreys that he proposed to withdraw by platoons from the left. The enemy was now very near our trenches, but was being well held by our fire. An orderly retirement commenced. Maj. Clark, with part of the East Surrey Regiment, still hung on to his position, and their battalion headquarters and a considerable proportion of their men were overwhelmed and captured.

We can well imagine Clark, dogged old soldier that he was, hanging on like grim death to that bit of trench. It was not till long afterwards that we heard he was wounded and a prisoner, and we all missed him greatly in the Brigade for the rest of the war. There can be no question of the gallantry of himself and his officers and men.

After the Battalion left Hallu, they were harassed from all sides by machine-gun fire, and some half a mile back they were stopped by a senior officer, who attempted to form a line in shell-holes. It seemed that he on this morning had more or less lost his reason, and by his action he placed a large body of men in great danger of capture. Capt. Thompson finally withdrew, and most of the men succeeded in getting back.

The Division now concentrated for the defence of Rouvroy. Our men were utterly exhausted, and were kept in reserve at Warvillers, where they got a clean up and a night’s rest. Here the Battalion was reorganised, and from now onwards was composed of the remnants of the whole brigade. A number of new Lewis guns were issued to the Battalion on that day. The 72nd Brigade now consisted of the Composite Battalion under Col. Wenyon, the 15th and 19th Entrenching Battalions, and a battalion formed from the officers and men of the 18th Corps School.

After close observation by low-flying enemy aeroplanes, the battle for Rouvroy and a Copse known as “Eight Trees” commenced about 10 a.m. on March 27, and continued throughout the day. C Company were disposed in trenches north-east of Rouvroy; A Company and the North Staffordshires in the outskirts of Rouvroy. The East Surrey remnant were with Battalion Headquarters in Warvillers. After ding-dong fighting all the morning, the enemy took Rouvroy from the Entrenching Battalion at about 2 p.m., the locality about “Eight Trees” having been forced by the enemy some time earlier.

Dispositions were then made for the defence of Warvillers after the North Staffordshires had made an attempt to re-establish the position in the south-west part of Rouvroy with the bayonet. A strong line was selected defending the villages of Beaufort, Warvillers, and Vrély. In this line were the two Entrenching Battalions and the 18th Corps School. After dark the Composite Battalion was withdrawn into reserve in Warvillers.

Throughout the afternoon and evening parties of the enemy frequently attempted to debouch from the south-west of Rouvroy towards the trenches held by A Company and the North Staffordshires. Many casualties were inflicted on the enemy by our fire, and any serious attempt to advance was stopped. The new dispositions were completed early in the morning of March 28, the 72nd Brigade, reinforced by the Machine-gun Battalion, being in the line defending Warvillers, the 73rd Brigade being on our left, and the 17th Brigade in front of Vrély on their left. The enemy attacked at 8.30 a.m. in large numbers. The line on our Brigade front held firm, and great loss was inflicted on the enemy by rifle and machine-gun fire. In front of Vrély, however, our troops were beaten back, and on the right south of Beaufort a break also occurred. Warvillers had been shelled very heavily during the infantry attack, but we held on to the last possible moment. When the order was finally given to withdraw, there were a number of the enemy established in the village with us. We had several men sniped at very close quarters, a German post being in one corner of the Château grounds before we left.

The company commander in the front line, when he received the message to withdraw, did so reluctantly after manning his parapet all along the line, and giving the enemy ten rounds rapid fire.

Altogether the Hun had a pretty bad time in this attack on Warvillers.

The Division moved from here to the line between the villages of Caix and Le Quesnel, which was manned by about 1 p.m. Masses of artillery, including the first groups of French 75s we had seen were congregated just behind this line. The artillery horses had had a bad time from aeroplane bombs shortly before we arrived. The position was a good one, and we had a splendid view of the country and a good field of fire from some old trenches. But there were ominous-looking woods some 600 yards in front, and our flanks were very heavily wooded. It took some time for the enemy to move from Warvillers on to our front, but by about 2 o’clock he had got machine-gun posts in the edge of the wood in front, and one or two in some isolated orchards nearer to us.

Our ammunition was, as may be imagined, very limited, and we could not afford to do any continuous shooting at long range. Not so the enemy, who kept an almost continuous machine-gun fire across our trenches all the afternoon. Several times attempts were made to advance against us, but these were all easily frustrated. Our friend, Col. Spiller of the Divisional Artillery, was doing great work with direct shooting of his 18-pounder batteries on this afternoon. He hit the enemy very hard in the orchards where they were trying to collect, and no doubt in the edge of the wood also.

The break which had occurred further on the right early in the morning was, however, the danger point, and it became very evident during the afternoon that the enemy was executing an encircling movement some two miles on our right. So little regard had the Hun at this stage for hiding his positions, that he had adopted the practice of making his forward troops fire Verey lights as they advanced to show his own gunners where they had reached. These lights at about 5 p.m. were going up well behind us on the right; the enemy was evidently approaching Le Quesnel from the south, and there was grave danger of a very large force being cut off. A hurried council of war was held, and the order to withdraw from the right of the Division was given. It seemed that it was none too soon. The whole Division had to get back through a bottle-neck, harassed all the way by machine-gun and artillery fire. The withdrawal was orderly, and by great good chance rain set in and made observation difficult for the enemy. Our own aeroplanes were also getting more in evidence.

Through the rain on this day we had a long and weary march to the Bois de Sencat, west of Castel, where the Brigade was ordered to concentrate. The last five miles of the march was across heavy country. The fatigue on that night after the strain of the day was almost the worst of the whole retreat. Scores of men were dead asleep as they stumbled along.

We arrived at the rendezvous at about 3 a.m., where we found our transport, had a hot meal, and lay down in the rain for the rest of the night. In the morning our Colonel was visited by the Divisional Commander, Maj. Gen. Daly, who thanked the whole Battalion for the work of the past eight days. This was the morning of March 29, and as there was no sound of battle very close to us, we felt we were in for a bit of a rest.

It appeared later that the enemy had taken Montdidier away south, and was thrusting on in front of us at a great pace. The Division was to go up in the evening to take up a position in front of Thezy from Berteaucourt to the Domart-Amiens road—the main road from Villers Brettoneux to Amiens. The 73rd Brigade were to be on the right, 72nd Brigade on the left, 17th Brigade in reserve. We moved up just before dark. The Entrenching Battalion took up positions in the line, which consisted of a series of disconnected posts, just dug by army engineers. We took up a position in the Copse behind them, where we proceeded to dig in. By 10 a.m. we had formed a series of posts just in front of the copse on a front of 1,200 yards, our left resting on the Amiens road. The enemy was reported to have advanced through Mezières, and was proceeding towards Moreuil and Castel.

There were now a considerable number of troops—French and British—between our positions and the enemy, and as there was no immediate threat to Thezy, the Battalion—less the East Surreys, who remained in the Copse manning a few of the posts—moved back to the village. We got good billets in Thezy, and we were able to get a feed and some rest.

At dawn on March 31 we relieved the Entrenching Battalions in the forward posts. In the afternoon considerable activity commenced. The enemy had got into very difficult country now, and his lines of communication with his rapid advance must have been stretched near to bursting point, but he was making strenuous efforts for Amiens, the spires and towers of which he could now see in the distance.

The lines in front appeared to be wavering, but a series of counter-attacks was carried out between 4 and 7 p.m., and the position was more than re-established. The night was quiet and very cold, and we remained in position in the posts. Our artillery pounded the enemy’s positions very severely all night.

At dawn on April 1 we were relieved by two companies of the Entrenching Battalion, and moved back to Thezy. The men rested most of the day and did all they could to clean up. There were a few civilians in the village and plenty of food. The day passed quietly and uneventfully.

On April 2 we were again at rest in Thezy. We were beginning to feel much fitter, and the past ten days felt like some horrible nightmare that is past. The Commanding Officer inspected all the companies during the morning. The day was quiet—hardly a shell had fallen in Thezy. Our own artillery cheerfully enough provided all the fireworks, and continued to shoot incessantly. Clean underclothing and socks—a very welcome event—were issued to the men during the day.

At dawn on April 3 the East Surreys and the North Staffordshires relieved the two companies of the Entrenching Battalions in the forward posts. C Company were detailed for making an advanced Brigade Headquarters, and our indefatigable Staff-Captain and staunch friend, Capt. Ward, who had just returned that day from a course in England, organised baths, if you please, at the Château. We were getting entirely civilised.

The next morning, April 4, we did another side-slip northwards, to take up a position in support to the Australians behind Villers Brettoneux. At 4.30 a.m. we left Thezy and marched across the Amiens road through Gentelles to the Bois l’Abbé, where the Brigade concentrated. The Divisional Reinforcement Battalion, which had been with the 17th Brigade, relieved our forward posts in front of Thezy, and the concentration of the Brigade in the new positions was completed by 6.30 a.m.

The march through Gentelles was unpleasant. The enemy was just beginning his first big attack on Villers Brettoneux, and was shelling everything within reach which might be a billet. Thezy received a few just as we left, and as we marched through Gentelles several shells were about. One fell in the road as a platoon of A Company was passing, and we had eight casualties.

The forward part of the Bois l’Abbé received a lot of attention during the morning, and our old friend the gas shell was much in evidence. Fairly heavy rain set in, however, and the gas did little damage. The bombardment throughout the day was directed mainly against our batteries all along the front. The posts in front of Thezy—which were fairly in the midst of guns—had a bad time after we had left them.

In the course of the day it transpired that the enemy had attacked opposite Villers Brettoneux and Marcelcave and further south. He had made some progress, but the ground was very heavy, and in places he had been driven back. In the afternoon the 72nd Brigade, which was in support to the northern half of the 17th Brigade (Gentelles to Bois l’Abbé), moved back about 3,000 yards to a copse a mile or so east of Boves, where Brigade Headquarters was established. The weather had now properly broken, and the rain streamed down. C Company moved up during the night to a position in the Bois l’Abbé in touch with the 7th Londons, and the rest of the Battalion dug in in front of the copse. A number of cavalry officers and others dropped in to Battalion Headquarters during the night. There had evidently been some heavy fighting at Villers Brettoneux, but the result was good, and everyone seemed cheerful. They were all surprised to find us still in the line. Numbers of our visitors told us they had heard of the 24th Division on all sides, and had imagined that we were all killed long ago.

The next morning, April 5, broke chilly, but quiet. We were so soaked that it did not matter how much it rained. We had dug some very fair positions, and the cookers gave us quite a good breakfast.

During the morning we got the breath of a rumour that we were to be relieved. We paid not much attention to it, because we had heard the same thing at least three times before, and we were beginning to think we were in this business for the rest of our lives.

But this time it was true. Orders were issued from Brigade during the afternoon. We were to move off after dusk, and motor-lorries were to take us away back behind Amiens and then to goodness knew where. A significant thing, however, was that during the afternoon maps were sent up to us with Dieppe and St. Valerie and expanses of blue sea on them. Even then we were doubtful, and longed for 8 o’clock to come before the orders were cancelled. We wonder if the reader can imagine what our feelings were. On March 21 we were at the end of a long term—ten days in the line. Since then we had been fighting almost continuously—at most times in desperately tight corners. We were reduced in numbers to about 100 men and five officers. Our boots were worn through, our clothes were torn; mentally and physically we were as tired as men could well be. Up and down the line there were cases of men losing their reason during these fiendish days—and small wonder. So it was a very quiet, but yet a very triumphant little band that finally reached an old town miles west of Amiens in the small hours of April 6. It had not taken many lorries to convey our Battalion home that night.

About midday we entrained and were taken down to St. Valerie. From there we had a ten-mile march—who minded that?—to billets in the village of St. Blimont. The deathly stillness of the place was almost uncanny. We were splendidly received by the villagers. Although it was 2 o’clock in the morning, they tumbled out of bed to give us a welcome. Amiens had been saved—the Royal West Kents had arrived!

Many messages of congratulation were received by the 24th Division for their conduct during the March Retreat, notably from Lieut.-Gen. Sir H. E. Watts, commanding the Corps, from Lieut.-Gen. Sir C. T. McM. Kavanagh, commanding the Cavalry Corps, and from our two late Divisional Commanders, Maj.-Gen. Sir J. E. Capper and Maj.-Gen. Sir L. J. Bols.

The following honours were awarded to the Battalion for service between March 21 and April 5, 1918:

BAR TO THE DISTINGUISHED SERVICE ORDER
Lieut.-Col. H. J. Wenyon, D.S.O.

THE MILITARY CROSS

Rev. G. D. Barlow-Poole, Lieut. G. S. Bowen, 2nd Lieut. J. B. Cryer,
Lieut. E. O. Goulden, 2nd Lieut. B. Stephens, Capt. S. G.
Thompson, 2nd Lieut. P. H. Tyler.

BAR TO THE DISTINGUISHED CONDUCT MEDAL
Regt.-Sergt.-Maj. R. Rankin.

ST. QUENTIN TO AMIENS

_To illustrate Phase VII._
]

[_Reproduced by permission of the Geographical Section, General
Staff._
]

DISTINGUISHED CONDUCT MEDAL
Cpl. E. H. Cherriman, M.M., Pte. A. E. Smith.

THE MILITARY MEDAL
L.-Cpl. G. Boylan, Pte. J. Bradley, Sergt. L. Green, L.-Cpl. F.
Holford, Cpl. W. Jasper, Pte. W. Paine, Pte. J. Scripps, L.-Cpl. T.
Shewry, Pte. R. Simmons, Sergt. C. A. Taylor, Pte. S. G. Wells,
Sergt. C. Williams, Pte. J. Winder, Cpl. C. Woodrow.

THE MERITORIOUS SERVICE MEDAL

Regt.-Quartermaster-Sergt. F. A. Ifould, Cpl. H. R. Verrall.

PHASE VIII
TRENCH WARFARE AND “PEACEFUL PENETRATION” AT LENS—DEAN’S V.C.
_May-September 1918_

On April 10 Brig.-Gen. R. W. Morgan, D.S.O., inspected the Battalion on parade. He afterwards addressed the Battalion, and congratulated very warmly all who had taken part in the recent operations.

At St. Blimont we were reinforced by a draft of 222 and the return of 160 who had been on leave to England. The Battalion was finally made up to a strength of 850 rifles.

The work of reorganisation of companies was taken in hand immediately and completed by April 12. The remainder of the month was devoted to intensive training. The instruction of new section commanders and the training of a large number of new Lewis gunners was actively carried out. During the month our Lewis guns were increased to twenty-four, including four for anti-aircraft work.

The Battalion was fortunate in its drafts. About 40 per cent. were men who had had previous experience in the field; the remainder were men of the A4 class from England—about nineteen years of age and very keen.

On April 17 the Battalion moved to Ourton, near Pernes, where the Division was in General Headquarters reserve and ready to move at six hours’ notice. Every third day the Canadian School Training Ground at Pernes was at our disposal, where there was an excellent 20-target rifle range, bayonet fighting courses, and drill grounds. At Ourton we made two rifle ranges, and much valuable musketry training was done.

A large draft of officers joined us at Ourton, including Capt. H. S. Brown from a six months’ tour of duty at home. Capt. Brown became 2nd-in-command, and the Battalion organisation at this time was as follows:

Commanding Officer, Lieut.-Col. H. J. Wenyon, D.S.O.
2nd-in-Command, Capt. H. S. Brown.
Adjutant, Capt. R. P. Baker.
Transport Officer, Capt. J. N. Arnaud.
Quartermaster, Capt. J. R. Wood.
Company Commanders:
A Company, Capt. J. H. Selfe.
B Company, Capt. R. G. Rogers.
C Company, Capt. S. G. Thompson.
D Company, Capt. F. Proctor.

There was very little time for pure recreation now, but we got a holiday one Saturday, and Capt. Brown organised a very successful athletic sports meeting held on April 27. There was some very good running, one feature being the winning of the 100 yards officers’ race by Gen. Morgan. The meeting did a lot of good, as the men were in danger of getting a little “stale” with the pressure of continuous training. The events in which mules participated caused considerable amusement.

A Brigade rifle meeting was held at Pernes on April 29. On the total points scored for shooting the Battalion was first, and on the points scored for field work, particularly section commanders’ control, the Battalion was also very easily first. This was a very satisfactory feature, and was a direct result of very hard work by the officers and N.C.O.s during the previous weeks. Of the total prize money of about 550 francs, the Battalion took 385 francs.

On this day we heard rumours of a move to the line, the region of Lens being hinted at as our probable destination. On April 30 representatives were sent to reconnoitre the line in front of Lens—the very front, as it happened, on which the Battalion was fighting a year before when the enemy withdrew after the battle for Vimy Ridge.

On May 1 we found ourselves in old familiar spots—Sains-en-Gohelle, where we stopped for tea, Bully-Grenay, and Maroc, where we spent the night in cellars. At dusk on the 2nd we moved up the Fosse 11 road, along which the Battalion had fought its way in April 1917, into Cité St. Pierre, where we took over from the Canadian Cameron Highlanders, and became battalion in support. The 72nd Brigade took over the St. Emilie Sector. This had been a thickly populated mining district, and the trenches wound about through the ruins of old houses and under roads. The whole district was a mass of demolished houses, brick rubble, and debris of every description.

The front line ran just short of the northwestern outskirts of Lens. Two main roads, the Lens-Bethune and the Lens-La Bassee roads cut through our trenches and joined in the city just behind the enemy’s line. All our trenches here were old German lines captured a year before. There was a lot of the enemy’s concrete work everywhere, chiefly in the shape of reinforced cellars and houses and forward observation posts. One of these observation posts formed the inter-battalion boundary in the front line.

No Man’s Land on the right was a tangled mass of ruins of every description: broken houses, old demolished mine buildings, wire entanglements, the whole churned up by shells in a remarkable way. On the left there were not so many buildings in front, and No Man’s Land was old grass land, with here and there an isolated ruined house. On the left within our lines was the Canteen Tunnel, an elaborate underground work with about fourteen entrances, stretching from the support line, Douglas Trench, up to the front line, Chicory Trench, where an exit could be made into Mason’s House, an old ruin just in front of our parapet. This tunnel was always more trouble than it was worth. All the entrances had to be guarded, and it became later the favourite hunting-ground of Hun raiding parties.

The fact that this had been once a flourishing and thickly populated district made it the most desolate-looking sector we were ever in, and yet one of the most interesting. It offered neverending opportunities for exploration. Searching for good places for Lewis gun or rifle posts, cellars worth reinforcing as shelter for the men against bombardments, salving and building—all became sports which were developed to a high degree. Small wonder was it that this was the sector we shall always remember for its defence schemes, changing nearly every tour and baffling overwrought company commanders by their intricacies. At the end of our stay here, any company commander who could tell where every one of his sections was, and where they would be in case of attack, was established as a Pelmanist of no mean order.

The 72nd Brigade front at the outset was held by two battalions, with one battalion in support, but this was changed almost at once to one battalion in the line distributed in depth, one battalion in support at Cité St. Pierre, and one battalion in reserve at Bully-Grenay.

We started with three days at Cité St. Pierre. Battalion Headquarters was in a dug-out under a ruined house known as Hodson’s House, and everyone in the Battalion had pretty good billets in the cellars of the ruined houses. During these three days we were reconnoitring the left battalion front which we were to take over.

CITÉ ST. PIERRE—THE OPERA HOUSE.
]

On the 5th we moved up after dark and relieved the 1st Battalion North Staffordshire Regiment. B and D Companies were in the front line, A Company in support, and C in reserve. Battalion Headquarters was well forward in a dug-out in Counter Alley, the main communication trench. The enemy was quiet, and we settled down at once to learn the new front. On the 8th we got alarming news from a prisoner captured on another front. Lens was to be the next jumping-off place for a big enemy offensive. He was to attack in force on the night of the 9th/10th on the front from Lens—Robecq. His bombardment was to commence at 10.30 p.m., and his attack, with twenty-two divisions, was to be launched at about 3 o’clock in the morning. May 8 and 9, therefore, we spent in fortifying our positions as much as possible. By the afternoon of the 9th all possible preparations were completed. Gen. Morgan came round our front during the afternoon. Every man was in his appointed place, and we settled down to a weary wait for the Hun to start. There was no “wind up” in the trenches. We felt we could do no more than we had done.

OLD GERMAN CONCRETE OBSERVATION POST IN OUR FRONT LINE OPPOSITE LENS.

In foreground—“No man’s land.”
]

The great offensive did not take place. Why, we never found out, but we did learn that everything was in fact ready for a big attack on our front at this time. We waited patiently for 10.30 to come. After that we waited all night, and for several more nights, but nothing extraordinary happened at all.

On May 12 the Divisional front was rearranged, and was henceforth held by three brigades in the line.

The 1st North Staffordshire Regiment took over part of our line on the right and the 1st Royal Fusiliers (17th Brigade) relieved the rest of us.

On the night 13th/14th we moved out into reserve at Bully-Grenay. A Company were at Cité Calonne, about two kilometres away. The billets at Bully and Calonne were by no means clean or comfortable, and we commenced the work of cleaning up, building, and repairing in every direction.

On the 16th we moved up again to Cité St. Pierre in support. Two companies had battle positions in the red line, our main forward battle position here, and two companies were in brigade support to be used for counter-attack or reinforcement where necessary on the Brigade front.

During this tour at St. Pierre, Maj. Brown organised a raid on the enemy’s trenches opposite Conductor Trench. The Lens front at this time was famous for gas, and at Cité St. Pierre we concentrated on gas-proofing the cellars and making them more comfortable. The Hun used mustard and sneezing gas on the forward and battery areas, and we indulged in retaliation in the way of projector attacks, gas-cloud attacks, and a certain amount of gas shelling. On the 22nd we moved up to the front line. The dispositions were now two companies forward in the outpost zone, and two companies back in the intermediate or Blue Line. On the night of May 24/25 A Company carried out the raid in conjunction with gas-projector attacks. This was the first occasion on which a raid had been attempted in conjunction with a projector attack. In view of the uncertainty as to the enemy’s intentions here at this time, it was essential that prisoners should be taken, and we were very warmly congratulated on the capture of three very useful Huns in this raid. The following is the official account, sent in by Lieut.-Col. Wenyon at the time:

“The raid on the enemy trenches east of Conductor Sap took place last night.

“The whole party was assembled in the sap and in correct order by 10.50 p.m., and the end of the tape secured ready to move out.

“The party left the assembly position on commencement of the barrage at 10.54, and moved on a compass bearing of 153°. At 10.56 the gas-projector attack took place. A number of the cylinders fell in No Man’s Land among the raiders, and, although they probably contained smoke only, they had a suffocating effect on the men, and the whole party got badly disorganised. 2nd Lieut. Treacher reached the enemy’s wire with one or two men only. He found that it was possible to get through the enemy wire, but, as he was practically alone, he decided to come back.

“The party was back in our trenches at 11.13 p.m.

“I did not hear of the situation till 11.20, as the telephone wires forward of advanced Battalion Headquarters had been cut.

“At 11.25 Maj. Brown came to advanced Headquarters and reported that the raiders had failed to enter the enemy trenches and were back in our line. The artillery barrage had been stopped.

“I decided that the raid should be done again with half the party at 2 a.m., when another gas-projector attack was due.

“A new barrage was arranged for 2 a.m., to remain on the enemy front line for one minute, then lift on to his support line. I saw the officers of the raiding party, and the Officer Commanding 6-inch Newton Battery. The men of the raiding party had been sent back to their posts in our trenches, and collecting them took a long time.

“Major Brown, with a runner, went out at about 1.40 from the assembly position and laid the tape to a point within thirty yards of the enemy wire. On his return he found 2nd Lieut. Wallis and 2nd Lieut. Piggott with one section ready in the assembly position.

“The projector attack which had been put forward ten minutes, and took place at 1.50, called forth some retaliation on our front line and hampered the assembly considerably.

“The party proceeded at once down the tape, and successfully got through the loose wire and entered the enemy’s trenches. No opposition was encountered in entering the trench, and only one machine gun from the left was firing while the party was crossing No Man’s Land—and that very wildly and without effect. On entering the trench, 2nd Lieut. Piggott worked to the left with four men, and 2nd Lieut. Wallis to the right with the remainder of the party. Maj. Brown and a runner took up a position at the point of entry as Raid Headquarters. As 2nd Lieut. Wallis started down the trench with his party, two of the enemy appeared round a traverse. They were at once fired on, and 2nd Lieut. Wallis threw a bomb into the next fire bay. The Huns gave a loud yell, and retired at the double, followed by 2nd Lieut. Wallis and his party. About forty yards down the trench 2nd Lieut. Wallis came to a dug-out entrance. He called down, but got no response; he then threw a Mills bomb down, and, following shrieks from the bottom of the steps, one man emerged. No signs of anyone else being inside could be found, so, after doing as much damage as possible to the dug-out and throwing more bombs down, 2nd Lieut. Wallis returned with the prisoner to the point of entry.

“2nd Lieut. Piggott had meantime worked down about fifty yards to the left, and was having trouble at a dug-out with some fractious Boches. Hearing the noise, Maj. Brown sent his runner to investigate and assist. On arriving at the dug-out entrance, 2nd Lieut. Piggott had shouted down, and some guttural response had been given, but no inclination to come up. He then fired his revolver through the gas curtains, which were down, and the gas curtains were then raised. A Hun appeared on the steps, and was evidently inquiring what was the matter. 2nd Lieut. Piggott then threatened him with his revolver. The Hun emitted a piercing shriek, and came forward with his hands up. Another Boche came to the bottom of the steps, and was extracted in a similar fashion. No more response could be got from this dug-out, although Mills bombs were thrown down. 2nd Lieut. Piggott then returned with his prisoners to the point of entry; 2nd Lieut. Wallis fired the green light—the signal for withdrawal. The whole party then returned to our line. They had been in the enemy trenches twelve minutes. No trouble from enemy machine guns or rifle fire was experienced while the party was crossing No Man’s Land. Maj. Brown and 2nd Lieut. Wallis got back most of the tape from No Man’s Land when they returned.

“The party which entered the enemy trench consisted of the following: Maj. H. S. Brown, 2nd Lieut. G. A. E. Wallis, 2nd Lieut. D. T. Piggott, L.-Cpl. Warford, Pte. Baker, Pte. Tilby, Pte. Smyth, Pte. Bonney, Pte. Harcin, Pte. Bowes.”

The following decorations were awarded for the raid:

THE MILITARY CROSS

Maj. H. S. Brown, 2nd Lieut. G. A. E. Wallis, 2nd Lieut. D. T.
Piggott.

THE MILITARY MEDAL

L.-Cpl. H. G. Warford, Pte. J. Baker, Pte. E. Bowes.

Battalion Headquarters was now in the old Mine Offices near the Red Line, and just off the Bethune road, known as Cameron Castle. On the night 28th/29th we were relieved and returned to Bully-Grenay. On May 29 a terrible tragedy occurred. In the course of a football match the Hun dropped two bombs among the players, and we had terrible losses. Regt.-Sergt.-Maj. Rankin, Sergt.-Drummer Goldsbury, and Pte. Lloyd (Battalion runner) were men who in their own spheres it would be difficult to equal. Rankin had been in every fight. He had won the D.C.M. on the Somme, and two days after his death the news of the award of a bar to his D.C.M. for his matchless bravery on the March retreat was announced. It would be difficult to say how much the Battalion owed to the energy and devotion of its senior warrant officer. Sergt. Goldsbury had worked our drums up to a wonderful pitch of perfection. He was a ceaseless worker—his energy and cheerfulness were a byword in the Battalion. A splendid fellow in every way. Young Lloyd had been a runner for a long time. On the Somme, through the Ypres fighting of 1917, at Hargicourt, and right through the March retreat he had been one of the bravest of the brave at all times. Nothing was too hard or too dangerous for him to take on. He was always so cheerful and absolutely reliable. Two signallers were also killed. It was indeed a cruel fate that these men after facing death a thousand times should be killed at a football match far away from the fight. There were very few dry eyes at the Bully cemetery when we buried these brave men the next day.

June was on the whole a quiet month. Two deserters gave themselves up to C Company, and the enemy attempted two or three raids on our trenches unsuccessfully.

The month of June 1918 is chiefly remembered for the extraordinary epidemic of influenza which swept through the British Army—and it is believed in a worse form through the German Army. We lost temporarily during the month upwards of 300 officers and men through this scourge. For about ten days the Battalion was commanded by Maj. Esdaile of the Queens, when the Commanding Officer was on leave and 2nd-in-Command down with ’flu.

On the night of June 12/13 a party of B Company, under 2nd Lieut. Michie and 2nd Lieut. Binney, got into the enemy’s trenches with the assistance of a Bangalore torpedo. The following is the report on the patrol:

“A fighting patrol of two officers and two sections entered the enemy trenches last night.

HODSON’S HOUSE.

Support Battalion Headquarters.
]

“The tape-laying party (2nd Lieut. Michie and two other ranks) left our trench at 11 p.m. Proceeding beyond our wire by Conductor Sap, an enemy patrol of about sixteen was seen advancing on Mason’s House. Our trenches were being trench mortared at the time. Our raiding party was temporarily got into position to repel this raid, and our two officers went forward again into No Man’s Land to reconnoitre. On being approached, the enemy dispersed and made his way hurriedly to his own line. The enemy was using gas in trench mortars. After this, 2nd Lieut. Michie went out and laid the tape successfully, from Conductor Sap to the enemy wire. A covering party (with Lewis guns) was then placed in position in No Man’s Land, and the two sections and the Bangalore torpedo party advanced to the end of the tape on the enemy’s wire. The torpedo was exploded successfully at 1.10 a.m., and 2nd Lieut. Binney led half the party through the gap into the enemy’s trenches.

CAMERON CASTLE.

Front line Battalion Headquarters.
]

“Immediately the Bangalore torpedo exploded the enemy put up two green lights, and within a few seconds he opened up with trench mortars on No Man’s Land and his own wire. Several trench mortars fell almost in the gap made by the torpedo and divided our patrol into two parts, inflicting two casualties on the rear section. 2nd Lieut. Binney, with the leading section, remained in the enemy trenches for some minutes and thoroughly investigated it.