Seventh Manchesters index
Stopping the Hun.
"Good God! What is the matter with the Boche to-night?" Such were our
ejaculations on the night of March 21st at Busnes. The coming of darkness had
brought with it the long-drawn out, familiar "A-zoom,
a-zoom--CRASH--CRASH--CRASH," of enemy planes but in closer proximity than ever
before. Previously they had confined their attentions to Bethune each night, but
on this particular evening Lillers was the objective, and plane after plane came
over maintaining an almost continuous bombardment throughout the night. An
ammunition train standing in the station, was hit, and the terrific explosions
that followed at irregular intervals accompanied by huge fires added to the
evening's excitements. Next day, wires from G.H.Q. enlightened us. The German
offensive opened on the morning of March 21st, the fifth and third armies being
engaged. The front line defence had been overwhelmed, but we were led to suppose
that the enemy was being held up amongst the defended localities.
We afterwards learnt that intensive bombing of back areas and particularly of
railheads and junctions had taken place that night in the whole of the British
area. One of the objects of this was to impede the movements of reserve
divisions, and when it is known that detailed instructions had been issued for
the entrainment of the 42nd at Lillers in case we should be required at some
distance, such a policy as this is easily understood. But the German had
reckoned without the London omnibus driver, who before the war had served
another kind of "General." Arrangements were rapidly completed in twenty-four
hours, so that on the morning of March 23rd the whole division, in battle order,
found a huge fleet of buses ready to convey them to--"Somewhere in France." The
French villagers smiled confidently at us as we journeyed northwards in the
direction of the Portuguese front, but they did not know, poor souls, that this
was the only way the large convoy could "about turn," nor did they know,
although perhaps they guessed, that the Portuguese front would collapse the
following month and they would be fleeing for their lives before the blonde
beast. We eventually turned our faces south and rode the whole of that day
without stopping over the dusty roads of France. The Hun had been
extraordinarily lucky in weather, there having been hardly a drop of rain for
more than three weeks, so that the ground was perfectly dry for his operations.
Nightfall found us still travelling, and the day of 24th March had almost broken
before we "debussed" to find ourselves in the devastated area of the Somme
lands, near the village of Ayette. There was no rest to be had. Uncertainty as
to the situation in front and also as to the future possibilities necessitated
an immediate adoption of tactical positions, and the 127th brigade took up a
defensive line, on an outpost principle, to cover the ground between
Ablainzevelle and Courcelles. Until this had been achieved no man was able to
turn his thoughts to sleep, in fact the sun had been up some hours before this
was possible. The day produced a complexity of events in the handling of which
Col. Bromfield proved himself to be at once human and masterful. In the first
place, a "battle surplus" had to be decided upon. This was a small group of
officers and men, selected as far as possible from each rank and from each type
of specialists, who remained behind the line whilst the battalion was in action.
In the event of the battalion being obliterated by casualties, they would form
the nucleus of a new unit. Choice generally fell upon those who were considered
due for a rest from the line. When the necessary officers and men had been
abstracted the Company Commanders were Capt. Tinker, "A," Capt. Nidd, "B,"
2nd-Lt. Harland, "C," and Capt. J. Baker, "D." Headquarters comprised the C.O.,
Capt. J. R. Creagh, Adjutant; Lt. C. S. Wood, Signals; and Lt. S. J. Wilson,
I.O.; while Capt. Philp, the M.O., and Padre Hoskyns were in confident control
of aid post arrangements.
We had now become a part of the third army, and as such we were destined to
remain until the conclusion of the war. General Byng was not a stranger to the
42nd, for it was as a part of his corps on Gallipoli that they made their first
fight against the Turk. As the reports have it, "the situation was obscure" on
this portion of the third army front. As far as we were concerned the 40th
division had experienced a very severe handling but were still fighting gamely.
They had recaptured Mory twice and were now expected to be in possession of the
greater part of the village, while the Guards on their left were only yielding
ground inch by inch. What had happened to the right of this was not very clear.
The orders of the 127th brigade were to go up and relieve some fragments of the
40th division in Mory on the night of the 24th, and when darkness fell we set
out with this object in view, but such plain, straightforward work as that was
not to be achieved in these queer days. Events moved quickly and a change in the
situation was an hourly occurrence; it therefore devolved upon unit commanders,
and as far as possible commanders of higher formations to act with initiative
and resource.
The head of the brigade column had reached Gomiecourt when word was received
that the enemy was attacking again, and there were vague reports that Behagnies
had either been captured or was being hard pressed. It was considered
inadvisable to continue the journey to Mory, and more important to hold up this
possible enveloping movement. We were therefore deflected to the right, and then
those things were done which we used to practise on the desert, but never
expected to put into use in France. We moved across the open in artillery
formation by battalions and finally deployed into a defensive position.
Meanwhile the guns were hammering away at S.O.S. speed from their hastily
improvised positions either on or near the roads. The difficulty of all this
work was not diminished by the darkness, and it was with some astonishment that
we found the 125th brigade coming through our lines diagonally. One or two
stragglers from other divisions came in and told stories of heavy enemy attacks,
but a gunner major rode back from the front on a white horse, and said the
situation was not so bad as these men's reports had intimated. Still, there
seemed to be a good deal of confusion, and the 7th were somewhat bewildered, not
knowing quite what to expect next. Meanwhile they longed hard for daylight in
order to get their whereabouts and some idea of the lie of the land.
As daylight approached on the 25th it was obvious, from the increasing proximity
of rifle fire on our left, that Mory had fallen and the line was falling back
steadily. Quiet seemed to reign now, however, in the direction of Behagnies. We
later discovered that the L.F's. had received orders to push on and cover the
Behagnies-Sapignies Road, and this they had successfully achieved in the night.
At the same time the 126th brigade was in touch with the enemy in front of
Ervillers, so that on the morning of the 25th all three brigades were in the
front line and were rigging up an impromptu battle with the Hun. The enemy soon
made his intentions clear and he commenced a vigorous assault. What troops still
remained of the 40th and other divisions, when they found that the 42nd were in
position, gradually dribbled through in search of a long-delayed and well-earned
rest. They had been fighting without respite since the morning of the 21st. The
6th Manchesters were now on the right of the division in the vicinity of
Bihucourt, but they were uncertain as to the state of affairs on their right. As
a matter of fact, although we were not aware of it at the time, Bapaume had been
taken and a large gap had been left in the line south of our right flank,
through which the Huns were pouring in victorious mass. The New Zealand division
and one brigade of Australians, with the 62nd division on their left were
hurried forward, and after very severe fighting stopped the enemy rush about
Hebuterne, some miles westward of the position we held on March 25th.
Meanwhile we were in blissful ignorance of our hazardous position and the
Manchesters were preserving strict guard over an exposed right flank. The 6th
came in for a good deal of heavy fighting in the vicinity of Bihucourt, but they
held the village all day. The headquarters of the 7th was in an old shallow
dug-out close to the light railway that had been constructed from
Achiet-le-Grand to run eastwards in the direction of Bullecourt. This railway
wound its way through a sort of valley to the north of which lies Gomiecourt and
to the north-east Mory. Due east on higher ground are Behagnies and Sapignies
where the L.F's. were making such a fine stand. This high ground continues
southwards towards Bihucourt and Bapaume, and it was along this ridge that most
of the day's fighting took place.
During the previous night the 7th had been spread out fanwise in out-posts
covering the shallow valley, and it was not long after daylight before the enemy
began to drop shells indiscriminately about this ground. "C" and "D" companies
were ordered forward to assist the 5th and "A" and "B" were left in support.
Tanks came up and they courageously crawled out over the ridge and did some very
sound work before being knocked out by guns which had been brought up to
unwonted proximity. It was whilst crawling out to rescue a wounded man of the
crew of a tank that Sergeant Heath, M.M., was mortally wounded. The 127th
brigade could not be driven from their positions and they dug themselves in, in
small section posts, confidently awaiting nightfall and the next day's fight.
The attacks died down and when darkness came, digging parties went up to assist
in the work of consolidation. Events as described above, however, had decided
otherwise, for about 10 p.m. a divisional staff officer arrived with orders to
fall back to a line of defence between Logeast Wood and Courcelles.
Casualties had been fairly heavy in this day's work. Capt. J. Baker and 2nd.-Lt.
B. Taylor had gone down wounded, while Col. Bromfield, Capt. Creagh and the M.O.
had all been slightly wounded by a shell which knocked in the entrance to the
headquarter's dug-out. They remained at duty, although the C.O. suffered
considerably from an internal bruise in the stomach which made it impossible for
him to walk without assistance. The arrangements for clearing the wounded became
confused when Gomiecourt was evacuated, for there the Advanced Dressing Station
had been established. Then it was that the Padre displayed his vigour, courage
and resource. He commandeered a hut close to Achiet and had a large number of
wounded from various battalions collected there. Eventually he was able to get
an ambulance which carried many of them back to the Casualty Clearing Station,
but this process suddenly stopped. All sorts of conveyances were then seized and
men were gradually carried back. When the order to withdraw became known matters
were critical, but the Padre continued his labours. Difficulties were not
diminished when the Hun commenced to drop 5.9's near this spot. Hoskyns was
slightly wounded, but he was bound up and carried on his self-appointed task
until some time after the last of the brigade had gone by, leaving him with no
one in front but the Hun. Not until the last man had been carried safely off did
he leave this place, and then he collected various stragglers and marched them
up as a platoon to join their own units! This, and his continuous plucky and
considerate work in tending bodily as well as spiritual needs during the next
few days obtained for him a well-earned M.C.
The night of the 25th-26th was even more strenuous than the previous one. About
11.30 p.m. the withdrawal commenced, and was very skilfully carried out, so
skilfully, in fact, that the German battle outposts could be heard firing
intermittently for hours after our troops had retired. After steady plugging,
man-handling everything, we reached a system of admirably prepared trenches
north of Logeast Wood. The pioneer battalion 7th Northumberland Fusiliers, who
had come to the division in February, had been working upon them all day, and,
excellently sited as they were, they inspired everyone with a great feeling of
confidence. Men took a lively interest in their posts, and after a considerable
amount of organisation sentries were mounted and the battalion settled down for
a rest until the enemy should arrive. It was now 3 a.m. At this hour it so
happened that the division had received another urgent order to fall back still
further. Staff officers made their way on foot through the congested roads
behind the front and searched dimly for the various brigades, a most uncertain
task in view of the rapidity of events. We were found eventually and the brigade
major aroused us from slumber to transmit the news.
Once again the 7th rose up, shouldered their burdens, and strode backwards.
"What are we going back for? What does it all mean? We held up Jerry
yesterday--why retire?" It all seemed very unsatisfactory and we were very
tired. Food had naturally been scanty and only obtained in snatches, but much
energy was being consumed. It was a disappointed battalion that straggled
wearily through Logeast Wood. We were only just in time, however, for advance
parties of the enemy were already entering the east side of the Wood as we
emerged from the south-west side. Here we found some explanation of things. Col.
Wedgewood, of the 6th, reported bodies of the enemy moving forward to strike in
on our southern flank, and this news had the effect of an electric shock amongst
us. Col. Bromfield at once ordered positions to be taken up to face the enemy
who were advancing from the south and south-east. "A" and "D" companies moved
out quickly to seize the high ground and one or two Lewis guns opened fire at
the bodies of grey figures in the distance. Meanwhile, however, the brigadier
had decided to cover the Bucquoy-Ablainzevelle road, and so touch up with the
62nd division, who had some hours previously occupied a position from Hebuterne
to Bucquoy, and were at that moment resisting violent efforts on the part of the
Hun to turn our right flank. It was, therefore, in the latter village where we
met the gallant Yorkshiremen of the 2nd line West Riding Territorials. Gen.
Henley personally assisted in getting the platoons of "B" and "C" companies into
position, and then "A" and "D" companies were ordered to withdraw to their line.
When the withdrawal had been completed the 7th were on the right of the
division, with the flank resting on the edge of Bucquoy village. The road from
Bucquoy to Ayette, which was almost south to north, is an important one and is
marked by a row of trees on each side. As one walks from Bucquoy along this
road, another road branching off to the right from the edge of the village is
seen leading down to Ablainzevelle. The road junction marks the highest portion
of ground in the vicinity, and there is a long sweep eastwards towards Logeast
Wood and Achiet-le-Petit. It was when we noticed the latter place that the whole
irony of the situation broke upon us. Eight month's ago we had been enjoying a
blissful period of rest on this self-same spot, and such features as we now
gazed upon had merely been used for the purpose of containing a supposed enemy
in the working out of a tactical exercise--a sham fight. Now--the enemy could
not be more real or more alive. He was here with the sole intent of destroying
us by any possible method if we would not vacate our position. What happened?
The 7th was assured that this was at last the spot where resistance would be
offered. There were no trenches, and the men lay out in the open on the sloping
ground east and south of the Ablainzevelle road, with intent to dig in as soon
as possible. "C" company were on the right, and they were rather fortunate in
being on the site of an old camp, because in these days of modern war it is
necessary to dig a hole in a tent even, as a safe-guard against bombing. "C"
company then disposed themselves amongst these circular holes, and later found
them useful protection when the heavy shelling commenced. "B" company, in the
centre, were totally exposed, while "A" company on the left, in touch with the
6th, were almost as bad, although two platoons were able to make use of the sunk
road. "D" company were behind in support and could occupy portions of an old
Boche trench running east and west. Headquarters lay out in the Ayette road at
first until an old Boche dug-out, not completed, was found farther up the road,
and then they got into it. Platoons had barely been allotted their areas when
clumps of Huns began to appear on the ridge we had just vacated. They proved to
be teams of light machine gunners, and without preliminaries in the matter of
searching for cover, they promptly opened fire, and soon there was a perfect
hail of grazing bullets swishing over the battalion area. German officers calmly
walked about directing operations and the whole scene resembled a "stunt on the
pictures" rather than modern war. They had made a mistake, though, and if they
were seeking dramatic effect it was only short lived. Our men were delighted at
the perfect target they presented on the skyline, and rat-tat-tatted merrily in
reply to the Hun swish. By this time also "D" company of the Machine Gun
battalion had taken up a position and they also joined in the conversation. The
enemy then considered the advisability of concealment, and he disappeared from
view. Small parties of his infantry meanwhile had dribbled forward, considerably
helped by old systems of trenches which extended down into the low ground. Our
men were ready, however, and met them with a heavy fusillade whenever they
showed themselves.
Between Logeast Wood and Ablainzevelle was a camp of Nisson huts, which had been
protected against bombing, in the usual manner, by thick walls of earth round
each hut. The enemy was now making the fullest possible use of these, for they
afforded him most excellent protection. Luckily they were on a piece of ground
fully exposed to us, and we were able to get some idea as to his movements in
that direction. It was soon evident that they were to be utilised as a stepping
stone to a further advance. First, light M.G's. and snipers were brought up, and
these dribbled out of the huts into Ablainzevelle, where they established
themselves to the discomfort of our men, for they were well on our left flank
and could take some of our position in enfilade. The battalion suffered a number
of casualties from this cause. Unfortunately also, our guns had not got a clear
conception of the state of affairs, and one battery fairly peppered the H.Q.
road with shrapnel, inflicting about a dozen casualties, while others covered
our own forward positions with the same kind of shell, and so added to the list.
I am convinced that there is nothing more demoralising to a soldier in defence
than to come under the fire of his own guns, so, to say the least, these moments
were very trying. The difficulty of communicating with the rear caused a further
delay in the correction of this serious blunder, and our men had to maintain a
grip on their positions whilst subjected to fire from both sides, for by this
time the enemy had got his guns up, impudently close to the front line,
evidently with a view to a further advance, and was using them to advantage.
Some of them could be distinctly seen on the outskirts of Logeast Wood, and it
was obvious that most of the others responsible for our discomfort were in the
Wood itself. Further away the roads from Grevillers, Bapaume, Loupart Wood,
etc., could be seen choked with masses of advancing Germans. If only we had had
a few 60-pounders, what perfect execution we should have accomplished. There
were batteries of guns, companies of infantry, columns of transport, staff-cars,
and all the impedimenta of a moving army. I expect the heart of every Hun of
them swelled with the pride of achievement. They were marching to the last
victory that was going to obliterate the hated English and end the war. They
were not yet aware that just here there was a row of troops, from right to left,
New Zealanders, Australians, Yorkshiremen, Lancashiremen, and Guards, who did
not intend to concede another yard of ground.
How we longed for the heavy guns during the days that followed, but they could
not, of course, come into action until the infantry line had been stabilised.
Weeks later we heard stories of the doings on those roads behind the lines, and
perhaps we should not judge too harshly, for traffic control was difficult and
there was obviously an excessive demand upon transport. Add to this the
disturbing lack of news and the peculiar shape of the front, for whereas we were
facing east, the 62nd division with the exception of one battalion in Bucquoy
were facing south, and some explanation may be found for the slight degree of
confusion. The divisional artillery, 18-pounders and 4.5 howitzers, remained
faithful to the infantry, and the 42nd gunners never showed up to prouder
advantage than they did during those stern days. It was not they who had fired
upon us. They were too close to us to make any mistake in that way, for during
the heaviest fighting they had their guns within 1,600 yards of the front line,
and where cover was unobtainable either for gun or man. Needless to say they
suffered very heavily both in personnel and material, for the enemy aircraft
soon found them, and they were hammered and gassed mercilessly. Their forward
observation officers maintained a liaison with the H.Q. of the infantry
battalions, and in addition to courageous work in searching for targets and
correcting gun fire they showed the greatest consideration for our needs.
Although the 7th occupied a commanding position it was singularly bare and
exposed so that cover was difficult to find. During the first few hours "D"
company of the M.G's. had all their guns but one put out of action, and almost
all their officers and men became casualties. They had pluckily worked their
weapons in the hastily sited positions until knocked out--not before, however,
they had carried out savage execution amongst the more venturesome Huns, and
they certainly had the effect of making the remainder hesitate. The nature of
the ground made it difficult also for the battalion observers to work, for it
was evident the enemy F.O.O's. were specially searching for such people, and the
moment they fixed up a telescope down came a hurricane of shelling, the close
proximity of the Boche guns making their fire extremely accurate and deadly. The
result was that after the first day's fighting, of the observers only two, Cpl.
Maguire and Pte. Wilmer, remained. Not to be daunted by the fate of their
comrades they clung to their task, and when shelled out of one spot immediately
found another. They kept the enemy under close watch and strung together most
valuable chains of evidence as to their movements, gallant work for which both
received the M.M.
The signallers also suffered heavily. Wires were difficult to keep in repair but
the linesmen continued to go out during the heaviest shelling, while others
maintained a system of lamp signalling to the brigade behind a pile of
ammunition boxes until a 5.9 dropped plumb amongst them with dire results. Other
signallers at once found a new spot and kept communication going. But these were
searching days for everyone, when physical endurance and mental stamina were
stretched to their furthest limit. As the day wore on, the guns that we had seen
in the distance gradually came into action against us until shells were raining
down continuously on all parts of our line. Obviously, the enemy infantry had
given up the hope of further progress, for our men were like terriers, keenly
watching for the slightest sign of a Hun helmet, and the artillery were left to
do their worst upon us. Just before dusk the M.O., Capt. Philp, was killed by a
shell whilst bending over a wounded man on a stretcher. No cover could be found
for an aid-post, and it had to be established in the open at a convenient spot
on the ground. In fact, the only dug-out in the area was that occupied by H.Q.,
and it was shared by Col. Wedgwood of the 6th, so that two battalion H.Q. were
confined in a spot no more than seven feet square, while the entrance faced the
enemy in an exposed part of the road.
Darkness had brought quiet at last, but no rest. Rations had come up and they
had to be distributed. Similarly with ammunition and water. Also the enemy might
attempt a night assault, for it was not to be expected that he would be
satisfied with this very pronounced re-entrant in his line. The 6th, whose line
ran close to the edge of Ablainzevelle, sent a patrol into the village. The
small parties of Boche fled at their approach and left two M.G's. in their
hands. Our patrols searched all the low ground in front but could not find the
enemy.
Next morning, March 27th, about 9 o'clock, the battle re-opened with redoubled
vigour. Fresh enemy troops had been brought up and they made a determined
attempt to push forward. A terrific bouncing barrage came down upon our
positions, but the men stood up to it, in spite of the heavy casualties, and
opened fire upon the groups of Boche who attempted to get across the open. The
main infantry assault took place near Ablainzevelle, and here the 6th had the
work of repelling them, but after some hand to hand fighting the enemy fell back
and confined his energies to sniping and M.G. work. Meanwhile, the landscape was
steadily changing its appearance in the 7th sector. What had once been good
roads and respectable fields were shell-pitted and strewn with debris, a pile of
S.A.A. boxes that had been left behind had been hit and in the fire that
resulted there was a disturbing display of fireworks from the exploding
cartridges. The trees were losing their accustomed beauty, many having been
smashed down completely. But picture the trepidation of the aid-post detachment,
now in charge of Capt. Greville, for they lay close to a huge dump of shells
that was liable to be hit at any moment. During the quieter days Bucquoy had
evidently been an ammunition park, and as not much of the stuff had been
removed, it was an exciting spot to fight in.
All day this steady pounding continued, and when the enemy infantry definitely
gave up their efforts to get near our line they supplemented the shelling by an
unceasing hail of traversing M.G. fire. Yet, through this the runners and
stretcher bearers performed their appointed tasks, and there was no period when
perfect touch was not maintained between the C.O. and any part of the front line
and also back to brigade H.Q., nor were there cases of wounded men being left
unduly exposed after they had been hit. The constant stream of runners, etc., of
both battalions converging on the H.Q. dug-out, exposed to observation as it
was, soon made the truth of the matter plain to the enemy, and he began to pay
attention to it with 5.9's. An anxious moment came when he hit the entrance and
buried a number of men standing in the improvised steps. All were extricated,
however, and those who were wounded carried away. The entrance was cleared,
steps constructed again, and the work carried on as usual. "D" company lost its
commander again, for Lieut. Morten was hit, and this left Lieut. Gresty in
charge.
Evening again brought a welcome respite, and it was decided to minimise
casualties by reducing the garrisons of the front trenches, for by now a sort of
trench had been made and a little wire had been put out in front the previous
night. One platoon per company was taken out and sent back, where they were
placed under the command of Col. Blatherwick of the 5th, who remained in brigade
support. Daylight of March 28th brought a resumption of the enemy effort at
least to straighten his line and masses of Huns could be seen gradually
collecting in the Nisson huts. In the previous days the 18-pounders had kept
this spot under fire, but Col. Bromfield decided to call for howitzer assistance
to smash down the earth walls round the huts, a plan which met with great
success. Our shells dropped plumb amongst them, and Huns could be seen dashing
about in all directions in search of more effective cover. Our shrapnel barrage
had been considerably improved also, and the moment the enemy left their
positions it promptly came down and drove them to earth again. The 7th were worn
out, and the men were losing their spruce appearance, but rifles and L.G's. were
kept clean, and amidst the terrific shelling of that day they asked for nothing
better than that Jerry would try to come across to give them an opportunity for
revenge. The enemy's guns had increased in number, chiefly the heavy variety,
and it was now his obvious intention to blow us off the ridge. The heavy
pounding never ceased. Many gallant deeds were performed by runners,
stretcher-bearers and ammunition-carrying-platoons through this inferno. Lieut.
Bagshaw was awarded the M.C. for his work in leading ammunition fatigues, but
the supreme decoration of all--the seal of death--came to a large number of the
Fleur-de-lys. Amongst the officers--Capt. Tinker, Lieut. Walter Thorp and Lieut.
Ludlam were killed outright, while Lieuts. Woods and McLaine were mortally
wounded.
After a final effort in the late afternoon to advance against our positions in a
line of small sections, which was met with the usual devastating fire, the enemy
gave it up and occupied the remaining hours of daylight with fierce shelling.
Our heavy artillery had at last returned and got to work and their shelling
began to have effect, for it was noticeable that the Boche shells were now
arriving from a greater distance than formerly. The 6th had an exciting episode
that day. A party of courageous Germans, led by an officer, had pushed forward
and were throwing bombs amongst them. Lieut. Mall decided this must be stopped,
and he led one platoon over in a short sharp charge. Fifteen Huns were
bayonetted, and Mall returned triumphantly with the officer and one man as
prisoners. They proved to be Jaegers, and although the officer told us nothing
the man was very voluble. It was some comfort to find that of one fresh
battalion that had entered Ablainzevelle, about forty only remained. A couple of
packets of Woodbines were found in the pockets of the officer--loot from the
canteen at Achiet-le-Grand. The soldier told us that this form of German
enterprise was reserved for the officers.
This day, March 28th, marked the end of the heavy fighting. The German thrust
had been checked, and the effort to reach the Coast had failed. A glance at the
map will show that, had the advance continued here the Arras position would have
been seriously threatened, and the Germans would have been well on their way to
Abbeville and the Channel Ports. That night the 7th were overjoyed to hear that
they were to be relieved. The L.F's. took over the brigade sector, but the
relief had been ordered so suddenly that there was no time for reconnaissance,
with the result that it was almost dawn before the last platoon of the battalion
had struggled over the crest line to the old system of trenches 1,500 yards
further back in dead ground. Heavy rain, during the evening had converted these
neglected trenches into veritable ditches of mud. A few cubby holes had been
constructed by the previous occupants, and filled with mud though they were, our
men dropped into them and fell fast asleep. It was the first undisturbed sleep
they had had for nearly a week, a period which had seemed more like a month.
During the afternoon the battalion received orders to furnish a billeting party
which had to proceed to Gommecourt. Billeting--this was indeed bliss. They
received a rude shock on arrival however to find that the word was a misnomer.
We were to relieve the 15th Hampshires of the 41st division, who had just been
hurried back from Italy. They occupied trenches on the edge of Gommecourt
village in support to the front line, which was only about 400 yards away. The
astonishment of the battalion on arrival about 3 a.m., on March 30th, when they
found the nature of their new headquarters, can be easily imagined. They were
indeed "fed up"--back to the old game, mucking about in a muddy trench, keeping
a keen look-out when on sentry (for owing to a gap in the front line a portion
of our position virtually was front line), and still shell dodging. We were also
becoming rather disreputable for the weather had broken, and mud became the
ruling element. In this manner, Easter Sunday was spent. But there were cheering
rumours about going back for recuperation, and these kept our spirits up.
April 1st--All Fools Day--we might have known. The brigade went back to the old
spot and thus settled all rumours for the present. Our work was not yet done.
The 7th went to the support trenches they had recently vacated, but the 41st
divisional R.E's. had been busy upon them during our absence, and a few
habitable bivvies had been made. The 5th and 6th were further back behind
Essarts. The Hun had converted Essarts into a perfect hell, and at irregular
intervals he subjected it to tremendous bombardments with his largest guns,
particularly during the night. Our transport knew something about this, for
their road passed through the village when bringing up rations at night. In this
connection Lieut. Wilkinson distinguished himself by the courageous manner in
which he got his column through during the most anxious moments. His job at this
time was not an enviable one, but we could always rely upon his arrival each
evening, very seldom late, with his store of rations, water, rum and bundle of
letters. After three days in reserve the brigade took over the front line, in
practically the same position as before, but there had been a readjustment of
divisional boundaries, so that we were now on the left, while the 125th brigade
were on the right, and their line ran in front of Bucquoy. The 7th were in
support at first, so we only moved about 400 yards to trenches vacated by the
8th Manchesters.
At dawn on April 5th the Hun commenced to send over thousands of gas shells in
the direction of Essarts. It was a dull, misty morning--perfect conditions for
this form of devilry--and we could hear the brutes whistling and whining over
our heads for more than three hours. The intention was, of course, to silence
our guns, and the object of this was to make an attack upon Bucquoy all the
easier. He came over at the L.F's. and there was heavy fighting all the morning,
but he did not progress much. The 8th L.F's. suffered severely, losing all their
officers, including Lt.-Col. Davies (previously of the 6th Manchesters), who was
killed. The enemy's intention had been to take the village and push on with a
view to straightening the line, but he only captured the eastern portion of the
village, and that only after very heavy losses. Similar progress had previously
been made against the division on the right, and this made the L.F. situation
impossible. We afterwards learnt that a large number of gas casualties had gone
down from the Essarts district. In their solicitude during the bitterest days
the division had called upon the battle surplus of each unit, and had made a
composite battalion of them to act in reserve amongst the trenches N.E. of
Gommecourt. These people, as well as the gunners, came in for the gas shelling,
and it was very disappointing to hear of our own men, like C.S.M. Shields, Sgt.
Tabbron, etc., who had been left behind as battle surplus, going down gassed.
Fortunately, most of them rejoined the battalion later. During this day's
fighting some L.F's. were staggered to find an old French woman in a cellar in
Bucquoy, and they had the utmost difficulty in persuading her to leave her
"home." That was her abode and she was prepared to live in it whatever the
conditions.
The next few days resulted in a complete victory for mud. Rain continued, and
work as we would the conditions could not be conquered. Men stood in it, and
when they could, slept in it. To move about meant wading through it, in places
up to the thighs, and this was steadily wearing out the last flicker of humanity
and grit in our men. Casualties were also increasing. Lieut. Bateman was wounded
in Essarts whilst on his way back to the battalion from a Course, and in "B"
company 2nd-Lt. Woodworth was hit. Eventually we relieved the 5th in the front
line near Ablainzevelle, where we found the trenches in an even worse condition,
if that were possible. Real joy possessed our souls, although it is doubtful
whether at the time we were capable of appreciating it, when the news was
definite that the division was to go right out for a rest. On the night of April
7th, the 2nd 7th West Ridings (62nd division) came up and relieved us, and the
Fleur de Lys set their faces joyfully to the west and marched off in good
spirits, although with exhausted bodies, conscious of having done their duty in
stopping the mad rush of the Huns.