Chapter XV: The Last Hundred Days

I.—THE SECOND BATTLE OF THE MARNE

The force of the German onslaughts of March 21st and April 9th, 1918, had been spent beyond hope of renewal on the fronts in which they occurred. On the Lys, as, a month earlier, on the Somme, and more necessarily because of the further month’s exhaustion, time had to be taken to reorganize, to recuperate, and to recommence; and the time taken by the enemy was time given to the Allies.

How admirably they employed it in May, June and the first part of July does not fall within the province of the present chronicler. It happened that it was not till July 20th that the Territorial Infantry from the West Riding entered into action since May on any considerable scale. Accordingly, we may pass over the interval. We may pass over the dispatch of the IXth Corps, commanded by Sir A. Hamilton Gordon, and consisting of the 8th, 21st, 25th and 50th Divisions, all of which had had their full share of fighting, to join the Sixth French Army on the Aisne. The intention was, to give them a chance of rest in a section unlikely to be busy; the effect was to give them a worse experience in the sudden battles about Reims than they had endured on the Somme or on the Lys. How they acquitted themselves is best told in the noble language of the French Army Commander, General Maistre, in his farewell letter (July 3rd) to General Hamilton Gordon:

‘Avec une ténacité, permettez-moi de dire, toute anglaise,
avec les débris de vos divisions décimées, submergées par le
flot ennemi, vous avez reformé, sans vous lasser, des unités
nouvelles que vous avez engagées dans la lutte, et qui nous ont
en fin permis de former la digue où ce flot est venu se briser.
Cela aucun des témoins français ne l’oubliera.’

Immediately after this disaster, which had brought the Germans within forty miles of Paris, and Paris within range of their ‘freak’ gun, Marshal Foch withdrew from Flanders his force of about eight Divisions, and transferred them southwards to the French front. Next, he asked that four British Divisions might be moved down to the Somme, so as to ensure the connection between the French and British forces about Amiens; and, ‘after carefully weighing the situation,’ wrote Sir Douglas Haig, ‘I agreed to this proposal.’ But the Generalissimo’s resources still fell short of the plans he was maturing. ‘On the 13th July a further request was received from Marshal Foch that these four British Divisions might be placed unreservedly at his disposal, and that four other British Divisions might be dispatched to take their places behind the junction of the Allied Armies. This request,’ wrote the British Commander-in-Chief, ‘was also agreed to, and the 15th, 34th, 51st and 62nd British Divisions, constituting the XXIInd Corps, under Command of Lieut.-General Sir H. Godley, were accordingly sent down to the French front.’[125]

We resume our chronicle, therefore, with the record of the 62nd Division in the counter-offensive by Marshal Foch, which he launched on July 18th, and which, by repeated hammer-strokes, increasing in strength and velocity, was to bring the war to its appointed end. Exactly a hundred days elapsed between July 18th and October 26th, when Ludendorff’s resignation was accepted, and he left German Army Great Headquarters. Before resuming it, however, for the space of those hundred days, a word, though not strictly within our province, may be said about Haig’s decision on July 15th. We are to recall that the Allies had been defeated three times in less than four months, and had given up far more ground than was ever contemplated in the previous winter Councils. A German gun had found the range of Paris, and might find the range of the Channel ports. The secrets of the autumn of victory were locked up in the harvester’s brain; yet he asked for four _plus_ four Divisions to be moved from the British to the French front. We should leave the matter there: all the papers have not yet been published; but perhaps we may quote at this point the reasoned opinion of Major-General Sir F. Maurice:

‘Haig, being responsible to his Government for the safety
of his army and the ports, felt that he must obtain their
concurrence in this last step, though he was quite ready to
take the responsibility upon himself of advising them to
concur. It does honour to Foch, to Mr. Lloyd George and to
Sir Douglas Haig that in this critical time they all agreed.
Both the British Government and the British Commander-in-Chief
supported Foch, decided to back his judgment, and to accept
the danger of weakening the British forces in the north, and
he was thus enabled to mature his plans for the defeat of
Ludendorff.... It required great courage and determination
to make that attack as it was made. The Germans had still a
superiority of more than 250,000 Infantry on the Western front,
and Foch, as well as Mr. Lloyd George and Sir Douglas Haig, had
to take risks.’[126]

So, we march with General Braithwaite’s Yorkshire lads to the Valley of the Ardre, where for the next ten days (July 20th to 30th) they played a glorious part in the Second Battle of the Marne, after which there was no turning back.

The River Ardre rises due south of Reims, in the forest called after that city. It flows in a north-westerly direction through richly-timbered and hilly country, which afforded every facility for the cunning nests of machine-guns in which the enemy excelled. We have two or three descriptions of the lie of the land from a military point of view. The valley, we read, ‘is bounded on each side by high ridges and spurs, the crests of which are heavily wooded: those on the north by the Bois de Reims, on the south by the Bois de Coutron and the Bois d’Eclisse. The villages of Marfaux and Chaumuzy in the bottom of the valley, also the dominating height of the Montagne de Bligny (some seven thousand yards from the line of departure) afforded the enemy three successive _points d’appui_ of great strength. These centres of defence were further strengthened by natural buttresses formed by the hamlets of Cuitron (North), Espilly, Les Haies and Nappes (South), all perched high up on the abrupt slopes and spurs running down into the valley below. So steep are some of these slopes that the light French Tanks (_Chars d’Assaut_) were unable to operate upon them in places, and the Tanks’ activities were further restricted by stretches of soft and marshy ground on either bank of the Ardre. Standing crops in the undulating valley, the vineyards on the slopes, and the dense woods on the ridges, concealed the hostile positions from view, whilst sunken roads and banks running at right angles to the direction of attack provided ready-made positions for a stubborn defence.’

In this large, dense wood of summer foliage, on slopes running down to marshy ground, we are to remember that the ‘stubborn defence’ was now the business of the Germans. The conditions of the war in the West had changed in several important aspects. Not merely was the enemy on the defensive, to the huge enheartenment of the Allied Forces, but this account of the natural features is necessary because the fighting was now in the open, and no longer in a too familiar entrenched area. To these changes in tactics and terrain, at once so novel and so inspiriting, was added the fresh experience of fighting side by side with new friends. General Godley’s Corps, we remember, was sent at Marshal Foch’s request right away from the British northern sector into the area of the French Command. There it found the 1st Italian Division, the 14th and the 120th French Divisions, and the 1st Colonial French Corps; and we are told that, in this War of Positions, ‘the transference to a sector with its natural obstacles, the novel situation of passing through Italian Troops to attack side by side with our French Allies in the attempt to oust enemy forces (enjoying all the advantages that the possession of the initiative and positions of great natural strength would give them) presented problems to all Arms which had hitherto been met with only in theory.’ The practical problem of language was the least. Education authorities will learn with pleasure, though some of their critics may be surprised, that ‘there were far fewer French Officers with any working knowledge of English than British Officers with a working knowledge of French, and French was the language generally used.’ Whether it was the French of Stratford-atte-Bow, or the French of the British private, ‘Tout-de-suite, and the tooter the sweeter,’ our information does not reveal; but it is satisfactory to know that the ‘working knowledge’ aimed at in our schools answered a test which experts might not have satisfied. Of other details, such as entraining and ‘embussing,’ this is not the place to speak: certain differences in practice were found, and were solved with good will on both sides. We may add here, in this list of new conditions, that the 62nd Division now included the 2/4th Hampshire Regiment, recently arrived in France, and the 1/5th Devons, lately from Egypt. On August 2nd, Major-General Braithwaite wrote to the County Territorial Associations at Southampton and Exeter respectively, to express his high sense of their several distinguished services; and he wrote at the same time to the Durham Association, in connection with the 9th Durham Light Infantry, the Pioneer Battalion of the Division, to say that it has been necessary to employ them in this Second Battle of the Marne as a fighting Battalion, and that ‘they fought magnificently, as Durham men always do.’

The assembly of the Troops for the battle was not an easy matter. Long marches were entailed; the roads were strange and crowded; exact positions on the night of 19th/20th were difficult to ascertain, and it was not till after daybreak on July 20th that the Brigades were in position upon the base of departure. Briefly, the River Ardre formed the dividing-line between Divisions, with the 62nd (West Riding) on the right and the 51st (Highland) on the left.[127] The two Divisional Headquarters remained together throughout the operations, an arrangement which they found of incalculable value. On July 31st, we may note, Generals Braithwaite and Carter-Campbell exchanged letters, expressing in the most cordial terms the pleasure each Division had derived from serving side by side with the other.

A start was made on the right at 8 a.m. on July 20th, under an artillery barrage, the leading Brigades being the 187th (right) and 185th (left), with the 186th in Divisional Reserve, to leap-frog and capture the second objective. As may be judged from the nature of the country and the advantages offered to its defenders, progress was slow and casualties were heavy, and the deadly nests of German machine-gunners proved very stubborn to rout out. Now in one part and now in another, the combined advance was temporarily held up; small groups went too far forward; detachments tried to work a way round; till, through the standing grain or wooded undergrowth, little streams of prisoners trickled out, vocal witnesses to the prowess of the attackers. It was obvious at the end of the first day that a part of the Bois de Reims between Courmas and Cuitron, especially a strong point located on a timbered spur south-west of the Bois du Petit Champ, would have to be thoroughly cleared before the operations could be successful, and at 10-30 on July 21st, the 187th Brigade was detailed for this work. As one result of this day’s heavy fighting, in which the 9th Durham Light Infantry and the 2/4th York and Lancs. may particularly be mentioned, the 103rd and 123rd German Divisions had to be completely withdrawn, and replaced by Regiments of the 50th German Division. Thus, the 62nd had fought two enemy Divisions out of the field.

On July 22nd, the capture and clearance of the obstructive Bois du Petit Champ was entrusted to the 186th Brigade (Brig.-General Burnett), and was successfully carried out with great dash and initiative by the 5th Duke of Wellington’s. Initiative, indeed, was the key to a very trying and tricky situation. The undergrowth in places was found to be as thick as in a tropical jungle, and machine-gun crews hidden in the thickets had evidently been trained to fire in the direction of sound. It was necessary to attack at close range, with casualties increasing as the range shortened. Two companies of the 5th Devons arrived to reinforce their Yorkshire comrades, and to assist in capturing a strong point of eight machine-guns and their garrison. It was a very gallant little enterprise, in which the front company of the Left Column was surrounded after hard hand-to-hand fighting, and its position rendered untenable by the superior numbers of the enemy. Captain Cockhill, M.C., cleverly withdrew his few remaining men, and two Officers and six other ranks fought their way out to the posts of the rear company. By nightfall, the whole of the area was cleared, with the exception of a strong pocket of the enemy situated in the centre of the wood, and very difficult to locate, who were captured next day; and this example of a single, small action in a tight corner of a wood, down south of the long front line, serves to show with what gallantry and courage the invader was driven out of France.

The prisoners’ bag of July 22nd was two Officers and two hundred and six other ranks of the 53rd Infantry Regiment, 50th German Division, together with forty-one machine-guns. On the 23rd, the clearance of the Bois enabled progress to be made all along the northern front of the Ardre, and eight French 75 m.m. guns, recaptured from the enemy, were included in an excellent day’s haul.

Passing over the intervening period, with its daily tale of prisoners and gains, though accompanied by very heavy losses, we come to July 28th, when the 8th West Yorkshire Regiment, supported by the 5th Devons, made a particularly brilliant assault on the Montagne de Bligny, north-west of the Bois de Reims. They started at 4 o’clock in the morning, and, aided by the half-light of a late July dawn, succeeded in reaching the foot of the steep slopes of the mountain before they attracted hostile fire. This surprise, combined with the dash displayed by the assaulting Troops, who, in spite of serious casualties, succeeded in rushing the hill, resulted in the capture of a position of great tactical importance.

How important, in the opinion of the best judges, may be gathered from the following extract from the Minutes of the West Riding Territorial Force Association, held at York on October 28th, 1918:

‘MAJOR CHADWICK asked if any information could be given as to
whether the French Government had awarded the _Croix de Guerre_
to the 8th Battalion, West Yorkshire Regiment (Leeds Rifles).

‘LORD HAREWOOD replied: The _Croix de Guerre_ has been offered
to the Battalion of the Leeds Rifles referred to, but whether
or not the War Office will allow the Battalion to accept it I
do not know.’

The Fifth French Army Commander’s Order on the subject, dated October 16th, was worded as follows:

‘Le 8th Bataillon du West Yorkshire Rgt.

‘Bataillon d’élite; sous le commandement énergique du
Lieutenant-Colonel Norman Ayrton, England, a participé
brillamment aux durs combats du 20 au 30 Juillet, qui ont valu
la conquête de la Vallée de l’Ardre. Le 23 Juillet, 1918, après
s’être frayé un chemin dans les fourres épais du Bois du Petit
Champ, s’est emparé d’une position importante malgré un feu
nourri des mitrailleuses ennemies. Le 28 Juillet, 1918, dans
un brio magnifique, a enlevé la Montagne de Bligny, fortement
défendue des forces ennemies supérieures en nombre, s’y est
maintenu malgré les pertes subies, et les efforts désespérés de
l’adversaire pour reprendre la position.’

It was a great and almost a unique compliment; and, as we shall presently see, the 8th West Yorkshires enjoyed at a later date another striking opportunity of proving their gallantry in action.

July 29th, to return to our recital, was a comparatively quiet day. On the 30th, the 2/5th West Yorks. successfully carried out a small attack to complete the capture of the Mount Bligny, and, meanwhile, the remaining Troops of both Divisions had reached their final objectives.

We subjoin the official account of these ten days’ ‘continuous fighting of a most difficult and trying nature. Throughout this period,’ runs the statement, ‘steady progress was made, in the face of vigorous and determined resistance. Marfaux was taken on the 23rd July, and on the 28th July British Troops retook the Montagne de Bligny, which other British Troops had defended with so much gallantry and success two months previously. In these operations, throughout which French Artillery and Tanks rendered invaluable assistance, the 51st and 62nd Divisions took one thousand two hundred prisoners from seven different German Divisions, and successfully completed an advance of over four miles.’[128] The total casualties for the period in the 62nd Division alone amounted to 4,126:

Killed. Wounded. Missing.
Officers 28 108 10
Other Ranks 521 3,063 406

Apart from the victory which was gained, the whole operation, as shown above, afforded very useful lessons in the new conditions of warfare, and it was utilized to the full in this sense. Particular attention may, perhaps, be drawn to the experiment of Machine-Gun Battalions, which was found to have more than justified the change of system. The M.G. Battalion of the 62nd Division had now fought in two battles: in a defensive battle in the previous March, and now in an offensive battle on the Marne, and the improvement in the Machine-Gun service was estimated at sixty per cent. at least. Partly, its success might be ascribed to the fact that the Commanding Officer of the Battalion was not selected for expert gunnery, but was a good Infantry Officer, with an eye for country, a knowledge of tactics, and a power of command.

But where all units and Commanders did so well, it is invidious to select one Arm. We may more fitly close this section of the Second Battle of the Marne with some extracts from the congratulatory messages earned by General Braithwaite’s Division. There was, of course, the new fact of a close _liaison_ between British and French Troops, which caused more than common punctiliousness in the preparation and dispatch of these epistles; but the tone is exceptionally cordial, the sentiments are extraordinarily sincere, and the praises were very thoroughly deserved. General Bertholot, Commanding the Fifth French Army, published an Order of the Day, dated July 30th, of which the following is a translation:

‘Now that the XXIInd British Corps has received orders to
leave the Fifth Army, the Army Commander expresses to all the
thanks and admiration which its great deeds, just accomplished,
deserve.

‘On the very day of its arrival, the XXIInd Corps, feeling in
honour bound to take part in the victorious counter-attack,
which had just stopped the enemy’s furious onslaught on the
Marne, and which had begun to hurl him back in disorder towards
the north, by forced marches and with minimum opportunity for
reconnaissance, threw itself with ardour into the battle.

‘By constant efforts, by harrying and driving back the enemy
for ten successive days, it has made itself master of the
Valley of the Ardre, which it has so freely watered with its
blood.

‘Thanks to the heroic courage and proverbial tenacity of the
British, the continued efforts of this brave Army Corps have
not been in vain.

‘Twenty-one Officers and more than one thousand three hundred
other ranks taken prisoners, one hundred and forty machine-guns
and forty guns captured from an enemy, four of whose Divisions
were successively broken and repulsed; the upper Valley of the
Ardre, with its surrounding heights to the north and south
reconquered; such is the record of the British share in the
operations of the Fifth Army.

‘Highlanders, under the Command of General Carter-Campbell,
Commanding the 51st Division; Yorkshire lads, under the
Command of General Braithwaite, Commanding the 62nd Division;
Australian and New Zealand Mounted Troops; all Officers and men
of the XXIInd Army Corps, so brilliantly commanded by General
Sir A. Godley—you have added a glorious page to your history.

‘Marfaux, Chaumuzy, Montagne de Bligny—these famous names may
be inscribed in letters of gold in the annals of your Regiments.

‘Your French comrades will always remember with emotion your
splendid valour and perfect fellowship as fighters.’

It was well and generously said.

The XXIInd Corps Commander specially conveyed through Major-General Braithwaite his high appreciation of the Divisional Artillery: ‘The way in which Batteries worked with Battalions, and Brigades with Brigades of Infantry, in open warfare, must have been a source of enormous satisfaction to all Officers, Non-Commissioned Officers and men, and the way in which it was done is worthy of the best traditions of the Royal Regiment.’ Other letters and orders were published, and the memory of the Marne was added to that of Bucquoy, Cambrai and Havrincourt in the tradition of the 62nd Division.

II.—THE FINAL OFFENSIVE.

Events moved quickly from this date, more quickly, indeed, than they were divined except in the swift mind of the great Marshal, and more quickly than they can be conveniently followed in a day-to-day narrative of two Divisions. The greatest battle in all history was planned, and fought, and won, between August 8th and September 9th, 1918, the period described by Sir Douglas Haig as ‘the opening of the final British offensive.’ It is the word ‘final’ which signifies. So definite, in fact, was the issue, that Ludendorff described August 8th as ‘the black day of the German Army in the history of this war,’ and proffered his resignation a few days later. This was not accepted at the time, but at a Council held on August 14th he expounded the situation to the Kaiser and to the ruling German statesmen, with the result that Prince Max of Baden was subsequently appointed Imperial Chancellor with a view to paving the road to peace. These developments, not quite obscurely hinted at in a Note issued by Sir Douglas Haig on the eve of the Battle of Bapaume (August 21st to September 1st), must inevitably dominate our review of the ‘great series of battles, in which, throughout three months of continuous fighting, the British Armies advanced without a check from one victory to another.’[129] The autumn fighting of 1918 differed from that of previous years, in that there was no fifth winter to the war. We have not to follow our Divisions over the top of their trenches, and back again, when the weather failed, into the monotony of trench life. They did not fully know that they were fighting the last battles: it would be difficult to fix the exact date when this was revealed even to Marshal Foch and Sir Douglas Haig. They did not welcome the Armistice with the joy with which it was acclaimed in London: ‘the news of the cessation of hostilities was received by the fighting Troops,’ writes an Officer of the 62nd Division who was ‘in at the kill,’ ‘without any of the manifestations of excitement that marked the occasion at home’; it was just an incident of the day’s work, and a sign that the work had been done well. But an effect of increasing speed, of the accelerated progress of Titanic forces, directed irresistibly to one end, cannot but be felt during this period. Amiens was disengaged after August 8th, partly by a brilliant feint in Flanders, which deceived even the King of the Belgians. Thiepval Ridge, with its graves of 1916, Pozières, Martinpuich, Mory (by the 62nd Division) were re-taken in the fourth week of August, and on August 29th Bapaume fell. On September 1st, the Australians took Péronne, and Bullecourt and Hendecourt fell the same day. Meanwhile, the Channel ports were safe at last, for the enemy had no Troops with which to threaten them, and he partly withdrew and was partly driven from the Lys salient. Merville, Bailleul, Neuve Église, Kemmel Hill, Hill 63: all the tragic places of the previous spring were once more in rightful hands in September. There followed the Battle of the Scarpe, and the storming of the Drocourt-Quéant Line, by the results of which, on the British front, in the centre, we were brought right in face of the main German defences known as the Hindenburg Line. The question was, whether to attack it now or later. On September 9th, Sir Douglas Haig had been in London, and had indicated that the end might be near. He wrote, after weighing all the chances: ‘I was convinced that the British attack was the essential part of the general scheme, and that the moment was favourable. Accordingly, I decided to proceed with the attack, and all preparatory measures were carried out as rapidly and as thoroughly as possible.’[130] A great month, and a grand decision.

So, we return at this point to the services of the Troops from the West Riding, and shall fit them in to the concluding battles, where they occurred.

At the end of August (25th to 27th), the 62nd Division drove the Germans out of Mory, situated in country which they knew, about four miles north of Bapaume. Excellent work there was achieved, among other units, by the 2/4th and 5th King’s Own Yorkshire Light Infantry and by the 2/4th York and Lancs. ‘D’ Company Commander in that Battalion led a charge against a nasty position in an awkward little hold-up, and personally accounted for the machine-gun team with his revolver. Many prisoners, including a Battalion Commander, were captured by the Division in these three days.

There was still hard fighting for the Division before it was withdrawn for a few days’ rest, and the height of efficiency it had reached may fitly be judged by a single instance, extracted from the _London Gazette_, December 26th, 1918. Therein is recorded the award of the coveted Victoria Cross to Sec.-Lieut. James Palmer Huffam, of the 5th (attached, 2nd) West Riding Regiment (T.F.), in the following circumstances:

‘For most conspicuous bravery and devotion to duty on August
31st, 1918.

‘With three men he rushed an enemy machine-gun post, and put
it out of action. His post was then heavily attacked, and he
withdrew fighting, carrying back a wounded comrade. Again,
on the night of August 31st, 1918, at St. Servin’s Farm,
accompanied by two men only, he rushed an enemy machine-gun,
capturing eight prisoners and enabling the advance to continue.
Throughout the whole of the fighting from August 29th to
September 1st, 1918, he showed the utmost gallantry.’

Meanwhile, on August 27th, Major-General Walter Braithwaite was appointed to the Command of the IXth Corps, with the rank of Lieutenant-General, when a Knight Commandership of the Bath was conferred upon him in recognition of his services with the 62nd. It will be recalled that he succeeded Sir James Trotter in Command of the 62nd Division in December, 1915.[131] He took the Division over to France, and led it with conspicuous gallantry till the very eve of its final bout of victory. His affection for his brave ‘Yorkshire lads’ was fully reciprocated by his subordinate Officers, Non-Commissioned Officers and men, who were all sensible of the constant care and fine, soldierly qualities of their Commander. Sir Walter Braithwaite has taken every opportunity, in subsequent meetings with, or references to, the Division, to testify to his pride and pleasure in that office: ‘I look back,’ he wrote to the Secretary of the West Riding Association (November 3rd, 1918), ‘on the time spent in Command of that heroic Division as one of the proudest terms of years in my life.... I don’t think I can be accused of partiality in saying that there is no Division in the B.E.F. with a prouder record of continued success than the 62nd.’ He was succeeded now by Major-General Sir R. D. Whigham, K.C.B., D.S.O., who took over at a most responsible time and who saw the war out and the peace in.

The grand decision referred to above, and concerted early in September between Marshal Foch and Sir Douglas Haig, found the Division in the Gomiecourt area, where they had been withdrawn on September 3rd, in order to rest and train. On the 8th, Lieut.-General Sir J. A. L. Haldane, Commanding the VIth Corps in the Third Army (General Sir Julian Byng), called on Major-General Whigham to explain the part to be taken by the 62nd in the impending operations. It was to attack and capture the village of Havrincourt, and ‘Z’ day was subsequently appointed for September 12th. We may recall from page 150 above, the first capture of Havrincourt by this Division on November, 1917. We may recall, too, how on September 9th, 1919, almost on the anniversary of its second capture, it was announced at a Divisional Dinner that a Memorial to the Division was to be erected in Havrincourt Park. We are now to see how it was won on the second occasion.

There was this difference between the second and the first. In the battle of 1917, the break-through on the Cambrai front did not close with a permanent advance. Owing partly, as we now know, to the diversion of some Divisions to Italy, the brilliant design, so courageously supported, could not be completely carried out. This time, there was no going back. It was the Hindenburg Line which was to be captured, on the road from the River Marne to the River Meuse.

The Hindenburg Line, so called by our Troops, was neither Hindenburg nor a Line. As described and pictured by great generals,[132] it consisted of a series of defences, including many defended villages, and forming a belt, or fortified area, varying in depth from seven to ten thousand yards. It stretched from Lille to Metz, and among its extensions, or switches, was the famous ‘Drocourt-Quéant Switch,’ which had held up our advance more than once. Within this system of barriers, running through a stratum of deep cuttings, the enemy had prepared elaborate dug-outs, shelters, and gun-emplacements, all heavily fortified and wired. The luxurious appointments of some of them, which so much astonished beholders, need not detain us here. The importance of these extraordinary entrenchments to their assailants in the autumn of 1918 lay, first, in their genuine strength, to which German engineers had devoted all the ingenuity of their craft, and, next, in the almost legendary awe with which time and sentiment had invested them. This effect was carried out in their native names. Working from north-west to south-east, they were known in the German Army and behind it as Wotan, Siegfried (supported by Herrmann), Hundung (Hagen), Brunehilde (Freya), Kriemhilde and Michel; and we may well believe that, at the back of the front, until such time as the front broke, German opinion was obstinately convinced that their tutelary heroes must protect the Fatherland from invasion.

It was the task of the 62nd Division to break into this line through Havrincourt, and, by breaking it, to shatter the illusion. For, at last, on the Western front, we were fighting not only positions but ideas.

The operation (September 12th to 15th) proved a complete success. It was carried out on the left by the 187th, and on the right by the 186th Infantry Brigade, with the 9th Durham Light Infantry (Pioneers) attached to the latter as an assault Battalion. One company of the 62nd Machine-Gun Battalion was allotted to each attacking Brigade, and eight Brigades of Field Artillery and three Groups Heavy Artillery were in position to support. The plan of attack entailed a change of direction from north to east, in order to obviate the difficulties of the terrain, and the consequent complication of the Artillery barrage had to be very carefully worked out. In contrast to the attacks in November, no Tanks were employed in this action, but it bore in another respect a superficial resemblance to the First Battle of Havrincourt, insomuch as the first day’s work ‘could not have been bettered, but again there was to be a second chapter, a chapter of hard fighting, in very difficult circumstances, fought to the end, and crowned with success.’ We shall not follow it in detail, save to note that, an hour after Zero (5-30 a.m.) on September 12th, ‘large batches of prisoners were coming back,’ and that four Officers and eighty men of these had been captured at a strong point which ‘offered little resistance, owing to the great gallantry of Sergt. Laurence Calvert,[133] of the 5th King’s Own Yorkshire Light Infantry.’ His great gallantry won the Victoria Cross, in circumstances officially described as follows:

‘For most conspicuous bravery and devotion to duty in attack,
when the success of the operation was rendered doubtful owing
to severe enfilade machine-gun fire. Alone and single-handed,
Sergt. Calvert, rushing forward against the machine-gun team,
bayoneted three and shot four. His valour and determination in
capturing single-handed two machine-guns and killing the crews
therefore enabled the ultimate object to be won. His personal
gallantry inspired all ranks.’

All ranks were inspired to good purpose; or, more precisely, the inspiration of all ranks found its typical expression in the brave act of this gallant N.C.O. The Division’s team-work, now as always, was exemplary; and, whether judged by casualties or captures,[134] the result of the Second Battle of Havrincourt was a great triumph for General Whigham in his new Command.

For Havrincourt looked to the east. It looked through the intricate defences, in which the German people still believed, to Cambrai and St. Quentin, and beyond. Thus it formed one of those ‘formidable positions,’ which, as Sir Douglas Haig wrote, ‘had to be taken before a final attack on the Hindenburg Line could be undertaken.’ By its capture, and that of others, ‘our line advanced to within assaulting distance of the enemy’s main line of resistance.’[135] And General Whigham, in a letter of October 9th, addressed to the Secretary of the Association at York, said, in almost identic terms: ‘On September 12th, the Division was called upon to repeat its former feat of capturing the village of Havrincourt. This village stands on very commanding ground, and formed a most formidable position in the Hindenburg front line. Its capture was essential to the development of the great offensive south of Cambrai, in which we have latterly been engaged.... Without the possession of Havrincourt, the grand attack of September 27th could not have been successfully launched.’

So, we come to that ‘grand attack,’ in which, as the General went on to say, ‘the Division has once more added fresh lustre to its fame.’ On this occasion they were engaged to the south of the scenes of their exploit in November. Graincourt now fell to the 63rd Division, Anneux to the 57th, Bourlon and Bourlon Wood to the 4th and 3rd Canadian Divisions. The 3rd Division moved forward with the Guards, forcing the crossings of the Canal, by capturing Ribécourt and Flesquières (the objective of the 51st in the previous November). To the 62nd was allotted the task of following up the attack, and of securing the crossings of the Canal at Marcoing. Once more, we have the high privilege of illustrating the nature of the operations by a single typical example of the spirit which animated all ranks. The _London Gazette_ of December 14th, 1918, announced the award of the Victoria Cross to Private Henry Tandey, D.C.M., M.M., of the 5th Duke of Wellington’s, in the following circumstances:

‘For most conspicuous bravery and initiative during the
capture of the village and the crossings at Marcoing, and the
subsequent counter-attack on September 28th, 1918.

‘When, during the advance on Marcoing, his platoon was held up
by machine-gun fire, he at once crawled forward, located the
machine-gun, and, with a Lewis gun team, knocked it out.

‘On arrival at the crossings he restored the plank bridge under
a hail of bullets, thus enabling the first crossing to be made
at this vital spot.

‘Later in the evening, during an attack, he, with eight
comrades, was surrounded by an overwhelming number of Germans,
and, though the position was apparently hopeless, he led
a bayonet charge through them, fighting so fiercely that
thirty-seven of the enemy were driven into the hands of the
remainder of his company.

‘Although twice wounded, he refused to leave till the fight was
won.’

No defences made by man, certainly none made by German, could withstand courage of this kind.

In a Special Order of the Day, issued on October 1st, by Major-General Sir R. Whigham, Commanding the 62nd Division, he addressed his gallant Troops as follows:

‘The capture of Havrincourt on 12th September was essential to
the success of the operations south of Cambrai, in which the
62nd Division has been engaged during the last four days.

‘As a sequel to that brilliant achievement, the Division has
now captured Marcoing, Masnières, and the high ground north
of Crèvecoeur, thus establishing a bridgehead over the Canal
de St. Quentin, which is vital to the further successful
prosecution of the campaign.

‘The Field Marshal Commanding-in-Chief visited Divisional
Headquarters to-day, and desired me to convey to all ranks of
the Division his congratulations and high appreciation of their
splendid courage and endurance.

‘For myself, I give you all my warmest thanks for the unfailing
cheerfulness with which you have carried out the most arduous
tasks, often in conditions of great hardship and discomfort.

‘It will ever be to me a pride to have commanded so magnificent
a Division.’

Yet one more word about Marcoing. On an earlier page we remarked that we should have occasion to come back to the 8th Battalion of the West Yorkshire Regiment, the _Bataillon d’élite_ of a French Army Order. This occasion occurred on September 27th, when two companies of that Battalion earned from the VIth Corps Commander (Lieut.-General Sir A. Haldane) the following striking encomium, dispatched through the 62nd Divisional Commander:

‘Please convey to the survivors of the two companies 8th
West Yorkshire Regiment my high appreciation and admiration
of their initiative, dash and gallantry in pushing up to the
outskirts of Marcoing yesterday [September 27th], in spite
of all obstacles. It is by resolution and bravery such as
they displayed that great victories have been won in the past
history of the British Army.

‘I heartily congratulate the whole Battalion, yourself, and
your splendid Division on the inspiring incident in front of
Marcoing.’

Major-General Whigham, in publishing this letter, for the information of all ranks of the Division, showed how well the action of the two Companies illustrated the principle of pressing an advantage, whenever gained.

‘The great and critical assaults, in which, during these nine
days of battle [September 27th to October 5th], the First,
Third and Fourth Armies stormed the line of the Canal du Nord
and broke through the Hindenburg Line, mark the close of the
first phase of the British offensive. The enemy’s defence in
the last and strongest of his prepared positions had been
shattered. The whole of the main Hindenburg defences has passed
into our possession, and a wide gap had been driven through
such rear trench systems as had existed behind them. The effect
of the victory upon the subsequent course of the campaign was
decisive.’[136]

So far, Sir Douglas Haig, with his usual modesty and brevity. In Flanders now, King Albert of the Belgians, leading his nation at last in victory, as he had led it so gallantly in defeat, entered Ostend on October 16th. The Second Battle of Le Cateau in the previous week had driven the last German out of Cambrai; and about this date, as Sir Frederick Maurice writes, ‘The revulsion of feeling and the collapse of confidence were such that no enthusiasm could be aroused for a war of endurance in defence of the Fatherland. Even in an autocratic country it is not possible to deceive all the people all the time, and the German people knew in October, 1918, that the victory which had been promised to them could never be obtained.’[137]

In these circumstances, the battles still ahead, in which the Divisions from the West Riding were to take part, need not detain us long. The 49th were engaged in October (11th to 17th) at Villers-en-Cauchie and Saulzoir, on the road running eastward out of Cambrai between Douai and Le Cateau. They fought with all their accustomed gallantry, especially in the capture of Saulzoir, which was defended by Machine-Guns and Tanks. When the obstinate resistance had been overcome, an Officer of the 1/6th Duke of Wellington’s found the houses full of civilians, who had taken refuge in their cellars, and who welcomed the arrival of the British Troops with offerings of cognac and coffee. The Division fought again below Valenciennes on November 1st and 2nd, and, with the 5th and 61st Divisions, crossed the Rhonelle River and captured the villages of Préseau and Maresches. Lieut.-General Sir A. Godley, Commanding the XXIInd Corps, conveyed to Major-General Cameron the expression of his appreciation of these exploits in the following complimentary terms:

‘I wish to heartily congratulate you and your Division on the
successful capture of all your objectives and the heavy losses
inflicted on the enemy as the result of your two days’ hard and
gallant fighting.

‘All three Infantry Brigades, your Artillery, and Engineers,
have added another page to the distinguished record of the
Division.’

The 62nd Division, on October 19th and 20th, had the task of capturing Solesmes, and of driving the enemy from the line east of the River Selle, to which he had retired a few days before, partly as a result of the operations in which the 49th had borne themselves so gallantly. This further assault on the German positions, directed ultimately at Le Quesnoy, was to be a surprise, without preliminary bombardment. It was carried out ‘according to plan,’ with very conspicuous success. Twelve Officers and six hundred and eighty-seven other ranks, seventy-one machine-guns, thirteen trench mortars and five guns were captured at the cost of a casualty list of fifty-seven other ranks killed, ten Officers and three hundred and seventy other ranks wounded. The River Selle was crossed by wading, the water being in many places waist-high. The ground to be traversed proved difficult, with dense hedges and barbed-wire fencing, and in Solesmes itself the street-fighting was serious and severe. But the fine leadership of Platoon Commanders and the excellent spirit of the men carried all obstacles before them; and, once more, and now for the last time, we have the advantage of illustrating these qualities by an extract from the _London Gazette_ (January 6th, 1919), announcing the award of the supreme decoration of the Victoria Cross to Corpl. (A/Sergt.) John Brunton Daykins, of the 2/4th York and Lancaster Regiment, 187th Infantry Brigade, 62nd Division, in the following circumstances:

‘For conspicuous bravery and initiative at Solesmes on October
20th, 1918, when, with twelve remaining men of his Platoon, he
worked his way most skilfully, in face of heavy opposition,
towards the Church. By prompt action, he enabled his party to
rush a machine-gun, and during subsequent severe hand-to-hand
fighting he himself disposed of many of the enemy,[138]
and secured his objective; his party, in addition to heavy
casualties inflicted, taking thirty prisoners.

‘He then located another machine-gun, which was holding up
a portion of his Company. Under heavy fire he worked his
way alone to the post, and shortly afterwards returned with
twenty-five prisoners, and an enemy machine-gun, which he
mounted at his post.

‘His magnificent fighting spirit and example inspired his men,
saved many casualties, and contributed very largely to the
success of the attack.’

The war’s end on November 11th at 11 o’clock in the morning found the bulk of the 49th Division resting on its well-earned laurels in the neighbourhood of Douai. The Gunners, the Royal Engineers and the Pioneer Battalion went forward in the final stages of the advance, and the Artillery had the distinction of finishing at a point further east than any other Divisional Artillery engaged. The 62nd Division ended in the Valley of the Sambre. If we draw an irregular quadrilateral, dipping a bit on the southern side, with its north-west angle at Valenciennes, its south-west at Le Quesnoy, and its north-east and south-east angles at Mons and Maubeuge respectively, we shall be able to prick in the places of the Division’s stout advance between November 4th and 11th (Orsinval, Frasnoy, Obies, Hautmont, Louvroil: it is at this end that the line dips towards Avesnes), by the help of which, as Sir Douglas Haig wrote: ‘On the 9th November the enemy was in general retreat on the whole front of the British Armies. The fortress of Maubeuge was entered by the Guards Division, and the 62nd Division (Major-General Sir R. D. Whigham), while the Canadians were approaching Mons.’[139]

And Mons, as we know, is the last word of the war on the Western front.

On November 18th, 1918, the 62nd Division started to march to Germany, where it formed part of the British Army of Occupation in the Rhine Province of the Kingdom of Prussia. As a Division of the IXth Corps of the Second Army, it had the luck to come under the command of its former Divisional Commander, Lieut.-General Sir W. P. Braithwaite, K.C.B., then commanding that Corps, who, accordingly, saw the Pelican at last put down his foot on German soil.

FOOTNOTES

[1] This includes the 2nd and 3rd Lines. The last had recently been authorized for formation at, approximately, two-thirds of War Establishment. The Peace Establishment of the West Riding T.F. had been fixed for one Line only.

[2] Introduction to _The Territorial Force_, by Harold Baker, M.A.: London, Murray, 1909.

[3] See Appendix I.

[4] The first Meeting of its Executive Committee was held on October 12th, 1908.

[5] This letter was published in the Press on February 28th, 1913.

[6] It is worth noting that the cost of the recommendations (including extra allowances to officers, efficiency bounties to other ranks, separation allowances during annual camp, insurance concessions, employers’ income-tax abatement, grant for boots, shirts and socks, but excluding the proposed grant for amenities) was estimated at £2,300,000 per annum.

[7] Lieut.-Gen. Sir E. C. Bethune, K.C.B., of ‘Bethune’s Horse’; General Cowan’s successor as Director-General of the Territorial Force at the War Office, 1912-17, when he was succeeded by Lord Scarbrough.

[8] See page 3.

[9] _Ibid._

[10] Later, Colonel, and first Hon. Colonel of the Battalion.

[11] These Colours were deposited in All Souls’ Church, Halifax, on April 3rd, 1910.

[12] Brig.-General Archibald John Arnold Wright, C.B., appointed April, 1908. This officer had served in Bengal, 1883-88, as D.A.A.G. (Musketry), and in the Chitral Relief Force, 1895. He was awarded the C.B. after the South African Campaign (Queen’s Medal, 3 clasps; King’s Medal, 2 clasps), and subsequent to his retirement in 1910, was recalled to service, November, 1914, as Brig.-General Commanding the 90th Infantry Brigade.

[13] Circular Memorandum, No. 131 of 14-1-1910; 9/Gen. No. 1700 (C. 3).

[14] Lieut.-General Sir George Mackworth Bullock, K.C.B., of the Devonshire Regiment. After distinguished service in India, he commanded the 2nd Devons in the South African Campaign, and was Major-General Commanding in Egypt, 1905-8. He was created C.B. in 1900, and K.C.B. in 1911, in the September of which year he relinquished the West Riding Command.

[15] Major Symonds was only able to hold the appointment for a few months. Thereafter, General Mends resumed it again, and carried on with conspicuous success till August, 1914.

[16] Major-General Thomas Stanford Baldock, C.B. The General had served in South Africa, where he was awarded the King’s Medal with two clasps, and when he was created C.B. His honourable record in France, 1914-15, will appear in a later chapter of this book.

[17] See page 14, note 1. The official Memorandum quoted in the text is dated October 31st, 1916.

[18] See page 18.

[19] To whom I am immensely indebted for the continuous archives of the Unit from 1859 to 1914. They were kept till 1910 by the late Major J. B. Howard, from whom Major Chambers took over the labour of love.

[20] Invalided home in November, 1916. About 47,000 patients passed through the C.C. Station during Col. Wear’s two years’ command. The C.M.G. was awarded to this Officer in June, 1915, when the Military Cross was conferred on his Quartermaster.

[21] Constable and Co., 1918.

[22] ‘We must grasp the trident in our fist’ said Kaiser Wilhelm II. at Cologne in 1897. The British Army occupied Cologne in 1918.

[23] Col. Sir T. Pilkington was given Command of a Regular Battalion at the end of 1914, since when Col. Husband took sole charge of this branch.

[24] The Administrative Centres were independent of the Establishments of the three Lines. They were commanded by an Officer not below Captain’s rank, and were charged with the duty of recruiting and of clothing all recruits prior to passing them to their units, and had charge of the Headquarters and Stores.

[25] By authority of a War Office Letter from the Adjutant-General’s branch (No. 40/W.O./2481) of May 7th, 1915, published in IV. Army Corps Routine Order, No. 609, on May 16th. No change was made in the designation of the Artillery, Engineers and Medical units, but the number of the Division instead of the Territorial designation was attached to the Divisional Cyclist Company, Ammunition Column and Park, Signal Company, Supply Column, Train, and Sanitary Section.

[26] The General Officer Commanding the 62nd Division from February, 1915, to May, 1916, was Major-General Sir James Trotter, K.C.B. He had served in Bechuanaland and South Africa (Queen’s Medal with two clasps, and C.B.), and was appointed C.M.G. in 1897, and K.C.B. in 1912.

[27] Field-Marshal Viscount French of Ypres (created 1915), O.M., K.P., etc., Commander-in-Chief of the Expeditionary Forces in France, 1914-15.

[28] See page 3.

[29] On one occasion a scouring of latrines with a solution of chloride of lime caused a rumour of the arrival of poison-gas.

[30] By Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

[31] John Buchan, _Nelson’s History of the War_, Vol. vii., p. 93.

[32] Its numerical designation was not published in Corps Orders till the following week (see page 40), but it is more convenient for use.

[33] The 146th Brigade was between the 7th and 8th Divisions, on the right of the rest of the 49th. ‘We were holding the line pretty thin. My own Company,’ writes an Officer of the Brigade, ‘had 650 yards of front line trench.... Thus, you will see we did take part in the battle of May 9th, although we did not go over the top.’

[34] By John Masefield. Heinemann, 1916.

[35] General Edward Maxwell Perceval, of the R.F.A., served in India, Burmah, and South Africa, where he was awarded the Queen’s and King’s Medals (with 5 clasps) and won his D.S.O. He went to France, 1914, Commanding R.A., 2nd Division, and was promoted Major-General and appointed C.B. in the following year. He was acting as Sub-Chief of the Staff at General Headquarters when the accident to Maj.-Gen. Baldock gave him his appointment to the 49th Division, which he commanded till October, 1917.

[36] One word about the field telephone will be in place. The whole countryside behind the British line was a network of telephone wires at this time; ‘one keeps tripping over them everywhere,’ it was said, and there were probably 30 to 50 miles of wire to a single Artillery Brigade.

[37] So called, because they were on you and exploded before you heard the report. As to ‘heavies,’ a visitor to the lines in September, 1915, wrote: ‘Guns, particularly big Guns and Howitzers, are going to win this war, not rifles.... I was shown a most interesting map giving all the German gun positions discovered by our aeroplanes.... Ours were shown, too, and they outnumber us by about three to one.’

[38] Including Colonel E. O. Wright, A.D.M.S., killed while organizing Ambulance traffic under heavy fire with his habitual gallantry.

[39] Sixteen men at a time were stripped, and given three minutes each under a hot shower-bath, their underclothing changed, and their uniform cleaned and fumigated.

[40] Wooden grids laid down like duck-boards to obviate the wet and slipperiness of the trenches.

[41] See page 14, above.

[42] _The Territorial Force_, by Harold Baker (John Murray), page 246.

[43] Professor Spenser Wilkinson wrote in _The Sunday Times_, June 1st, 1919: ‘Lord Kitchener does not seem to have been aware of the existence of an organization—the County Associations—for the purpose of raising new troops upon a Territorial basis.’

[44] The numerical designation, 62nd Division, was affixed, as we have seen, in August, 1915; for convenience we shall henceforward employ it by anticipation.

[45] The official figures of the draft sent out from the 62nd to the 49th Division from March to August, 1915, are: Officers, 116; Other Ranks, 2,778.

[46] Walter Pipon Braithwaite, served in Burmah (1886-87) and South Africa (1899-1902; Brevet-Major, Queen’s Medal, 6 clasps; King’s Medal, 2 clasps); C.B., 1911; Major-General, 1915; K.C.B. and Lt.-General (Commanding IXth Army Corps), 1918.

[47] It may be worth while to note that the 62nd was the first Division to proceed to France with an equipment of steel helmets complete.

[48] Gustave Lanson.

[49] _Despatches_, page 20.

[50] He succeeded Lt.-Col. A. E. Kirk, V.D., in Command of the Battalion, August, 1916.

[51] Brig.-General M. D. Goring-Jones, C.M.G., D.S.O., of the Durham L.I., had succeeded Brig.-General F. A. Macfarlane, C.B., in Command of the 146th Infantry Brigade, after a brief interregnum by Lt.-Col. Legge (December 20th, 1915, to January 12th 1916).

[52] _Despatches_, page 21.

[53] _Ibid._

[54] _Ibid._

[55] See page 49.

[56] John Masefield. _The Old Front Line_, Heineman, 1917.

[57] It will be remembered that the Division, being in reserve, was directly under the orders of the Corps Commander.

[58] The award to Sgt. Sanders, V.C., was notified in the _London Gazette_ of September 9th, 1916, in the following well-merited terms:—

‘For most conspicuous bravery. After an advance into the enemy’s trenches, he found himself isolated with a party of thirty men. He organized his defences, detailed a bombing party, and impressed on his men that his and their duty was to hold the position at all costs.

‘Next morning he drove off an attack by the enemy and rescued some prisoners who had fallen into their hands. Later two strong bombing attacks were beaten off. On the following day he was relieved after showing the greatest courage, determination and good leadership during 36 hours under very trying conditions.

‘All this time his party was almost without food and water, having given all their water to the wounded during the first night. After the relieving force was firmly established he brought his party, 19 strong, back to our trenches.’

[59] See page 62.

[60] _Despatches_, page 26. In a footnote to this passage, Sir Douglas Haig writes: ‘In the course of this fighting, a Brigade of the 49th Division, Major-General E. M. Perceval, made a gallant attempt to force Thiepval from the north.’

[61] _Despatches_, pages 25, 27, 30.

[62] _Despatches_, page 51.

[63] The 1/7th West Yorkshires.

[64] _Despatches_, page 44.

[65] _Despatches_, page 53.

[66] See page 40, above.

[67] See page 7, above.

[68] Army Council Instruction, No. 1830, of September 21st, 1916; 9/V.F./128 (T.F. 2).

[69] “The configuration of the ground in the neighbourhood of the Ancre Valley was such that every fresh advance would enfilade the enemy’s positions, and automatically open up to the observation of our troops some new part of his defences. Arrangements could therefore be made for systematic and deliberate attacks to be delivered on selected positions.”—_Despatches_, page 63.

[70] Captain Tom Goodall, D.S.O., M.C., to whom I am much indebted for the loan of this diary, and of some documents, etc., which he was at pains to collect and has kindly put at my disposal.

[71] Later in the year, the surgical skill of French gardeners succeeded in some instances in joining the severed arteries of these trees.

[72] _Despatches_, page 102.

[73] _Despatches_, page 76.

[74] Nelson’s _History of the War_, Vol. XIX., page 23.

[75] _Despatches_, pages 82-83.

[76] _Despatches_, page 93.

[77] _Blackwood’s Magazine_, July, 1919. See page 131, above. The articles have been collected in book-form since this chapter was in type.

[78] The present writer is indebted to Captain Joseph Walker for the particulars of this gallant and desperate exploit.

[79] 58th and 62nd Divisions, Major-General H. D. Fanshawe, Commanding the 58th Division.

[80] _Despatches_, pages 99 and 102.

[81] Competitors mounted and armed with a pick-handle dribbled the ball 100 yards, then round a post and back to shoot through a goal.

[82] Ride a mule and drive another (tandem) round a course through various obstacles, finish with 100 yards down the straight.

[83] Run in heats of 16 or less. In front of each competitor, standing dismounted in line, is a row of stones at 10 yards distance from each other. At the word ‘go,’ mount, and bring each stone severally and drop it into bucket.

[84] _Despatches_, pages 127, 129, 130. In a footnote to the first passage (page 127) F.M. Earl Haig has amplified the causes which led to the continuing of the Ypres offensive by a summary of a speech delivered in the House of Commons (August 6th, 1919) by Major-General Sir John Davidson, M.P.

[85] _Ibid._, page 133.

[86] See page 48, above.

[87] ‘Any port except Nieuport’ became a catchword.

[88] See page 59, above.

[89] A Special Order of October 19th contained the following message from the retiring General Officer Commanding:

‘On giving up the Command of the Division which I have
held since July, 1915, I wish to thank all ranks for their
invariable loyal support, and to express my great admiration
for their gallant conduct and for the cheerful manner in which
they have borne the many hardships which they have had to
endure.

‘It will always be a special source of pleasure and pride to
me that I was in Command of the Division in the recent action.
Nothing could be finer that what the Division accomplished on
that occasion. The performance of the Division will remain
my chief interest in life, and I feel sure that, whenever
opportunity offers, more fine records will be added to those
already possessed.’

[90] Some revelations have been made from French documents, but in a limited history of Territorial troops it has not appeared necessary to discuss matters not bearing immediately on these operations.

[91] Complete lists will be found In Appendix II.

[92] See p. 136, above.

[93] _History of the War_, Nelson, Vol. XXI., page 94.

[94] Lt.-General the Hon. Sir Julian Byng, G.C.B. (1919), K.C.M.G., Commanding the Third Army since June, 1917, when he succeeded General (Lord) Allenby, transferred to Palestine; created Baron Byng of Vimy, 1919.

[95] _Despatches_, pages 155, 156.

[96] Captain Lynn and 2nd Lieut. James. We mention their names _honoris causa_. They were the first men in the enemy’s trenches that morning.

[97] We may note here that the ascertained casualties in the Territorial Troops of the West Riding up to December 31st, 1917, amounted to 44,049 all Ranks, included 406 Officers and 5,242 other Ranks killed.

[98] Details as complete as is practicable will be found in Appendix II. Here we select for mention a few particulars from the Divisional lists, completed to January, 1918. In the West Yorkshires, 62nd Division, for example, there were 19 awards to the 2/5th, 33 to the 2/6th, 30 to the 2/7th, and 28 to the 2/8th, headed in each instance by a D.S.O. (or a Bar to his D.S.O.) for the O.C. the Battalion. The four Battalions of the West Ridings in the 62nd carried off over 110 awards, including Col. Best’s (killed) Bar to his D.S.O., three D.S.O.’s, and six M.C.’s. These items are typical of the Division.

[99] _The British Campaign in France and Flanders: January to July, 1918._ Hodder and Stoughton, 1919.

[100] _The Last Four Months: The End of the War in the West._ Cassell, 1919.

[101] _Despatches_, page 177 (July 20th, 1918).

[102] _Ibid._

[103] _Op. cit._, page 82.

[104] Sir A. Conan Doyle, _op. cit._, page 10.

[105] _The Last Four Months_, page 38.

[106] _Despatches_, page 208. The appointment of the future Marshal of France as Generalissimo (C. in C. of the Allied Armies) was confirmed on April 14th.

[107] See page 117, above.

[108] _Despatches_, page 206.

[109] _Op. cit._, pages 63-64.

[110] _Despatches_, page 208.

[111] _Ibid._, page 212.

[112] _Despatches_, page 218.

[113] _Ibid_, page 220.

[114] Sir A. Conan Doyle, _op. cit._, page 227.

[115] _The Last Four Months_, page 59.

[116] _Despatches_, page 229.

[117] _Despatches_, page 232.

[118] _Op. cit._, page 301.

[119] The 9th Division, after its tremendous fighting, for which it was thanked by both Army Commanders, was withdrawn on April 26th, when Major-General Cameron, of the 49th, took Command of the sector.

[120] The assailants brought up an Alpine Division (among three others), trained especially for hill fighting.

[121] _The Last Four Months_, page 52.

[122] From a Memorandum on the Yorkshire Dragoons, prepared for the purposes of this history by Lieut.-Col. W. Mackenzie Smith, D.S.O., in Command, 1914, of which full use has been made in the present chapter.

[123] Col. Smith relinquished his Command of the Dragoons at this date, since in its new form it was only a Major’s Command, to Major, afterwards, Lieut.-Col. R. Thompson, D.S.O.

[124] See Table, above.

[125] _Despatches_, pp. 254-55.

[126] _The Last Four Months_, pages 71, 97.

[127] These Divisions, it will be recalled, had fought together at Cambrai in November, 1917. See page 148, above.

[128] _Despatches_, page 255.

[129] _Despatches_, page 257.

[130] _Ibid._, page 278.

[131] See page 74, above.

[132] See, particularly, _Despatches_, pp. 278 _ff_, and Sir F. Maurice, _The Last Four Months_, pp. 133 _ff_.

[133] It should be observed that Sergt. L. Calvert, V.C., was enlisted in the 1/5th K.O.Y.L.I., 49th Division. This Battalion was amalgamated in February, 1918, with the 2nd Line unit, and became the 5th K.O.Y.L.I., 187th Brigade, 62nd Division.

[134] The figures were: _Killed_, 8 Officers, 199 other ranks; _Wounded_, 34 Officers, 1,068 other ranks; _Missing_, 228 other ranks; _Total_, 42 Officers, 1,495 other ranks.

Captured: _Prisoners_, 18 Officers, 866 other ranks; _Field Guns_, 4; _Trench Mortars_, 12; _Machine Guns_, 46.

[135] _Despatches_, page 276.

[136] _Despatches_, page 285.

[137] _The Last Four Months_, page 203.

[138] A Battalion record gives the number as seven.

[139] _Despatches_, page 297.